Just felt like sharing my new acquisition with the community. It's a wooden Albert system Eb clarinet made by Rampone in Milano. I recently wanted to get a clarinet in a key other than Bb and have been interested in Albert clarinets since the fingerings look fairly close to saxophone, which I also play, so this was a good combination for me, plus I got it for $70 plus shipping. All the keys work and seal properly, though the pads might benefit from being replaced in the future. Meanwhile, the corks all need to be replaced. (I knew both of these before buying)
As for the instrument, I've liked it so far in my short time playing it. I haven't bought my Eb reeds yet so I cut down an extra Bb reed. It plays pretty well through the range, but the low end is a bit difficult right now, which I believe is from all the tenons being loose and leaking. I'm slowly getting used to the different fingerings, throat F (LH thumb & 2)is pretty easy for me to remember from sax but the chalumeau low B and Bb will take some time.
Some things that I noticed looking this clarinet over are the lack of needle springs, which I am used to being everywhere on a woodwind instrument. This one only has four. All the other keys use flat springs. The mouthpiece that was included is also made out of wood instead of hard rubber or plastic.
