Kenosha Wis (Vito)

Lisa sent this KENOSHA WIS. USA clarinet to me to recondition, and I was surprised to see several things worth noting about this Vito. I decided to add this page to aid those who will search for information about a brand-less Kenosha clarinet.

This is obviously a Vito in every respect. I suspect that the Leblanc company decided cut corners (as some Bundys) and produce clarinets with a stick-on logo instead of the molded and painted logo . The stickers on Bundys come off, and result in no-name plastic clarinets. That's what I suspect here. Either that or they decided that the logo on the bell alone was enough. Another difference is that there is no serial number on either keyed joint.

The Vito logo is lyre shaped and barely visible on this bell, and for those who don't know, a lyre pictured here.

Things that convince me that this is a Vito are these: The oldest pads were marked Vito on the back, and only Vito clarinets are made in Kenosha. The key work is completely like Vito clarinets. This model has two coil springs instead of 3-4. These are under the Eflat/Bflat and C#/G# on the LH joint.