For fun I picked up a McIntyre "Artiste" wood model for a reasonable price, and was pleasantly surprised to find it in totally playable condition, no pad leaks at all, key chrome still intact. Tenon corks barely functional and will need replacing at some point but something I enjoy doing.  The "only" issue I have with it is the left hand index finger Bb key has considerable play on the ring before the mystery mechanism opens the keypad.  If I am not aggressive on it the note seems to appear when it wants to,  sort of like a sticky pad on a sax...

I decided to acquire a second Artiste to be able to have one to take apart and learn to regulate.  It arrived, missing pads and sluggish keywork due to decades of neglect, just what I needed!  As it turns out the disassembly is pretty simple and straightforward and cleaning and lubricating the long screw rods that hold the bizarre mechanism on the upper joint solved all of the keywork problems on reassembly.  I will add, that the key delay on the Bb carries to this one as well, but I have some ideas on how to deal with it, and once I install new pads I will work on that. 

The playable one is probably an OK intermediate clarinet, holding no candle at all to my Selmer 10S or the Centered Tone.

A total expenditure of $300 bucks for the pair makes this a very good purchase as far as I am concerned.

I'll follow with some pictures at some point.

The confusing part to me is that there are no serial numbers anywhere on either horn.  "Made in France" is stamped on the top front of the upper joints.  The McIntyre System logo stamp on bells, upper joints, and barrel are sharp and still factory gold.  No SNs....  strange.