Good stuff on ebay

[DaveLeBlanc]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wurlitzer-Bass-Clarinet-Untested-may-need-servicing-/222253248738?hash=item33bf5370e2:g:cGUAAOSw8w1X3aEV

Somebody might want this for the neat engraved bell

[Windsong]

Oh boy...not a quick flip, there...
But I do love the engraving.  Very 1920s.

[DaveLeBlanc]

I was all in until I saw the broken key and backed out faster than a carjacker from a parking spot

[andybeals]

I do not know much about clarinets (I played saxophone) So Im not sure if or what this instrument needs besides a mouth piece.

Oh, I think he knows more than that.  The photos he took of the broken off (missing?) guard over the bell is kind of a broad hint.  I didn't see a close-up of where the L3 keywork should be attached, but I'm sure he saw that.

[Silversorcerer]

This is truly something you do not see every day. 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-Antique-Bass-clarinet-EJ-Albert-Brussels-London-/191974603605?hash=item2cb293fb55:g:B6YAAOSwLnBX66Fi

One for the real collectors.

[DaveLeBlanc]

Oi, I ain't THAT real of a collector...

I do have an albert bass but its just a normal one.  Certainly nothing that funky!

[Silversorcerer]

Nor I, but I did collect the photos. Pretty good photos of how that all works. That neck is one twisted mess with the register key like that. That has to be a fun one to regulate. 

It looks like really nice wood and near perfect condition. Given what some of the recent more typical basses are priced at, the price is not so bad, although I am inclined to be quite happy with my Harry Pedler bass.

[Windsong]

That neck is one twisted mess with the register key like that. That has to be a fun one to regulate.  ;

I was thinking the same thing, but also thinking how easy such manufacturing would be nowadays, and how difficult it must have been when this one was made.  Truly a labor of love, there.

6000 quid is a lot of scratch, and, of course, it might not be nearly as valuable as the "asking" price, as we've not played it. It's pretty, but perhaps it plays like a dog.

My best clarinets are the ones I've paid the least for.  It doesn't always work out that way, but with exception to my Noblet 45, my top 5 were all purchased for less than $75.00, and my absolute best player I picked up for $15.00, with an additional $9.85 in shipping, and I haven't even repadded or corked it. 

[Silversorcerer]

That Harry Pedler unmarked but serialized BBb of mine is a deal I might never beat. The tone is just to die for. The more I play it, the closer it comes to being my pet favorite.

Of course I have a couple of really good soprano players that I paid less than $15 for. It's far more difficult to get a deal like that on a BBb or other more unique instruments. My C LPs both were $50 or under and both needed overhauls. The Harry mostly needed adjusting and regulating. I was able to keep all the pads that were on it and just replace a couple that were missing. Since it was the first thing I had worked on with all plateaus, it was a challenge to get it all synchronized but once done, what a nice sound. There is no hint of harsh, just smooth like a deep river. My total investment in it with all accessories is well under $300, plus a lot of time getting to know the mechanism.

This Albert is one of those to keep an eye on to see what it might finally sell for. One gets the idea looking at it that the maker just wanted to do something very unique as a one-off. I doubt there are two identical like that. Of course there could be dozens, or might have been dozens. It's old enough to be a sole survivor.

[DaveLeBlanc]

Back in those days when they were still trying to figure things out, I'll bet every 5th bass built was a one-off.

[Windsong]

I do not typically post live auctions, but this one is well beyond the price I pay for clarinets in need of service, and it's rare enough, that it deserves attention.  It will sell for whatever the masses are willing to pay, I'm sure.
First off, I was not aware that Whaley Royce outsourced anything.  Second, the length of this clarinet has me thinking that it's in the key of low F.  It's posted as a Bb, and it may be, since it has 7 rings, and additional keys.  Add the length of the barrel, bell and MP, and we're looking at a clarinet over 30" long.  It's far too long to be in the key of A.
Any ideas?  Perhaps some form of a Basset? 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-1920s-Buffet-Crampon-One-Piece-Bb-Long-Wood-Clarinet-NORESERVE/391577751582?_trksid=p5411.c100167.m2940&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140131123730%26meid%3Dcef51ed5e49f46ebbe822dd392dbfa90%26pid%3D100167%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D2%26sd%3D302089727634
       

[Airflyte]

Wow, that is rare . . . and cool.  Yet another item added to the watch list for "market research" purposes.

Thanks for posting Windsong.

[mechanic]

I think it is an A.  I have a 2 piece with similiar keywork that is marked LP A and measures 21" end of tenon to end of tenon.  Other than a serial number, there are no other markings on mine.  It's also unplayable right now, missing pads and cork and on the list of things to do, a list that grows faster than I can mark things off.

[Windsong]

Interesting.  A little research indicates that a Bassett clarinet is typically in the key of A, and 4 semitones below a Bb, instead of just one semitone below a Bb which describes the typical A.
Perhaps this, like yours, is a Bassett?

Airflyte--yes, this is a most unusual clarinet, and the price it has escalated to, so soon from just .99, is abundant and irrefutible proof that these don't come around often.  No doubt the entire clarinet world is watching this auction like hawks on prey.

[DaveLeBlanc]

The easiest way to tell if something is a basset or not is to see what the lowest note is.  A basset clarinet is extended to low C.

This is extended to low Eb, which explains the extra length, so it's a FB and not a basset.

This is getting way more than I'd pay.  I bought my Buffet plateau Full Boehm A for all of $202.50.

It is a neat instrument, but not neat enough to warrant the $500 it's probably going to get up to.