Brittany
Serial #A 31108Bore: 14.7mm
An earlier and somewhat better-playing Brittany is serial 2212, reviewed on a subpage of this page.
#A 26471
Barrel 63.3mm
Bore at top of LH joint: 14.6mm
Bore at bottom of same: 14.55mm
Valentino Pad sizes: Left hand: 9mm. Right hand joint: 11.5mm x 2, 4 x 16mm.
The key work looks like it could be Czech made, especially as seen at the register key. The keys are not nickel, but perhaps stainless steel alloy of some kind, roughly the same stuff as Selmer Signet keys. They are almost as thick as Czech keys. The left pinkie keys are not pin in hole style. [Update Jan2012: I now doubt that these were Czech keys. I think this was a Malerne product, just like the second Brittany reviewed. This one is just like the Andre Piccard. The Boosey & Hawkes Edgeware keys are similar in that the key cups are flat on the inside.]
[Update Jan2014: The register key shape and outward protruding button are like a La Monte clarinet from about this same era. I don't know yet if there is a relationship between Malerne and La Monte.]
Since the key cups are flat inside, unlike most, one needs to use very little glue and thinner pads. See the picture below.
Picture notes:
Key cups flat on the inside on all keys.
This shape register key is like my Malerne, but also very like those that are Czech made.
There's the little bend upward so typical of French stencil clarinets.
Note the redness visible underneath the left hand keys. This clarinet had a very red cast before I oiled it. It is definitely a somewhat different kind of African hard wood. Very heavy.
This is good intonation and compares favorably with a Selmer Signet. A closer comparison is that this is virtually the same as an Evette (not Evette Schaeffer).
#A 26471: I would trust these results more than the first ones. But there certainly were also differences and inconsistencies between #A 31108 and this one. I will undercut the throat tone A tone hole to improve the throat tone Bb a bit. /results after slash mark. This is not as good as the Selmer Signet comparison above.
Phil' other Brittany cursive logo reconditioning:
4Jan2014, #A 26471, for Josh Trembley.