Meinl / W. Meinl A
This clarinet has the wrap-around register key. I think it was made before 1915.
This has a very interesting logo stamp. Under a Lyre symbol and in an oval:
W.MEINL
MANUFACTURED
NEW YORK
A
Thanks to Dr. Nophachai (the clarinet professor at UArk) for this information:
Most of W. Meinl clarinets I have seen were German system but if yours is Boehm system then it will be quite interesting to see.
Wenzel Meinl (b. Germany 1864- d. NY 1916) worked for C. Kruspe in Germany then came to NY listed as William Meinl as "ww maker” in 1901. After his death, his family took over the operation until 1921. I could not find any connection between W.Meinl and Penzel-Muller.
I attached a photo of W. Meinl in my collection stamped: W.Mein Menufactored NEY YORK B Patt. Jan 21, 1902 (Serial# 589330)
Hope this help.
Best,
Nophachai.
That certainly does help! And Bbrandha from the clarinetpages forum sent in the wonderful patent information that Meinl filed for his Albert system clarinet!
Serial #589, found on the bottom-front of the RH joint, just below the low E key.
Barrel: 70.3mm
Bore LH joint top: 15.8mm !!
Bore LH joint at bottom: 15.4 mm
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 2.3mm at the barrel and 1.8mm at the center tenon. I now pull out about 1mm at the mouthpiece, 1.5 to 2mm at the barrel, and 1.3 at the center tenon.
Intonation summary: This is very odd intonation to me. But this is obviously an odd instrument. Back in 1913 or so, one probably needed to play quite sharp at times, and this seems to have been made to accommodate that. The sharpness is not because it was made for high pitch. The flat throat tone E can be cleared up by using the first side key with it. The sharp G might be fixed by just lowering the key. The low Bb and 12th highter F could be lowered by filling in the tone hole with some poster tack. All in all, this might be played in tune by someone who knew the problem spots, and it would certainly be OK for someone who only very rarely needs an A clarinet. [31August2015 update: I tweaked the trouble spots and Wow, I like the way this clarinet plays! Now in tune, and it has an amazing tone.
Key work quality: This appears to have French key work. I don’t think these keys were made in the USA.
This clarinet is most appropriate for: I bought this for $400. I'm not selling. If anyone finds another Meinl, I urge that it be saved from being made into a lamp. Once the intonation issues are tweaked, this is a fantastic instrument.
Condition issues noted: None.