Artley alto clarinet serial no.24837

[gatwa]

This Artley alto clarinet serial no.24837 looks in good nick.  Would anyone know it's orgins, vintage and value? I'm not a clarinettist but random notes sound fine - easy to get a sound out of.  It spent a year in storage, in a nice hard case, then got shipped by sea from the UK to South Africa.  Shall I take it in for a service or just start learning to play it?  I have a Clarineo - touted for beginners - but it's harder to play (especially with that plastic reed it is supplied with)

[DaveLeBlanc]

An Artley alto clarinet? I have to say, Artley is NOT known for branding alto clarinets. I don't think I've seen one before, but there's a first time for everything. Without seeing anything I would imagine it is from the 1980s; that seems to be the most common vintage for Artley clarinets of any breed.

The Clarineo is a soprano clarinet in the key of C - a great key if you don't want to transpose, but a real tough one on the fingers. My thumb would hurt pretty badly after just a short period of time.

you can try a cane Eb clarinet reed on the Clarineo, and it should work reasonably well.

IF the Artley is an alto, then you can expect a value of around $250 USD; MAYBE $300 if you've gotten it overhauled.

If you can't attach pictures here feel free to email to daveleblanc@clarinetpages.net

[gatwa]

Hi Dave, thanks for your reply and all the useful and interesting info about Artley alto clarinets.  Here is a picture of mine.  A cane reed did, in fact, come with the Clarineo and I shall try that.  I'll also have the alto serviced, I think.

[DaveLeBlanc]

Neat! The Artley's keywork looks absolutely identical to that of a Selmer USA.

I would wager that Selmer made the clarinets, while for this one Artley put their name on it. Artley was a division under Conn-Selmer, Inc., so that does make sense.

I've attached a Selmer USA for comparison.

[DaveLeBlanc]

I'm not a huge fan of open-hole altos myself, mainly due to my tiny, feminine hands. I simply have a very difficult time stretching my fingers to fully cover the holes.

However, some people say that the open-hole models have better intonation and sound less stuffy, since there's more room for air to escape. It's probably very much a personal decision.

However, most premium-line altos (such as LeBlanc models) are closed-hole, so that might mean something right there.

[LarryS]

Very nice clarinet! And good luck with the clarineo.