American Leader

Thanks to Deone for letting me review this instrument!

This is obviously a Boosey & Hawkes model that was made for the American market. The barrel and bell are made of hard rubber. The clarinet is stamped on the back of the RH joint, at the top, Made in England. This has those flat pad cups like other Boosey & Hawkes clarinets.

Serial #70907

Barrel: 66.7mm

Bore LH joint top: 14.84mm

Bore LH joint at bottom: 14.84mm

OVERVIEW

Pitch: Bb

Key System: Boehm System

Maker: Boosey & Hawkes

Brand Name: American Leader

Place of Manufacture: England

Approximate Date: 1960s?

Body Material: Wood and Hard Rubber

Bore Type: standard

Key Metal: unknown

Keywork Quality: poor

Serial Number: 70907

Recommended For: Anyone

Value: up to $200

Intonation results taken when playing loud and not lipping. See how to interpret these results on the Model Comparison Page.

For this test, I pulled 0 at the barrel and 0 at the center tenon.

Intonation summary: This is like the best Boosey Hawkes intonation. There is no reason why a professional would want to reject this clarinet because of intonation. Pro-level intonation in a student level instrument. In addition, this instrument plays with the free open response of a wide bore clarinet.

Key work quality: It will work. It takes patience and tricks of the trade to get this clarinet regulated well. The keywork is clunky. The design as far as key-cup alignment is good, but the key metal is not great. It is just a step better than pot metal. The little pivot screws also do not help when making adjustments.

This clarinet is most appropriate for: Anyone.

Condition issues noted: Note that this had metal tenon protectors on every joint.

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