Penzel-Mueller A

This wonderful clarinet was sold to me at a bargain price by a member of the clarinetpages.info forum.

Serial #8207 marked horizontally (unlike some PM clarinets) on both keyed joints, in the back and at the bottom. All four pieces have the logo stamp with the eagle.

Barrel: I tested this with 64.1mm barrel. The original trade-mark stamped barrel is 67.39mm. A barrel made by a former owner was 68.43mm. He was trying a different strategy that I used to try to get this to play in tune.

Bore LH joint top: 15.1mm

Bore LH joint at bottom: 14.8mm Wide bore and poly-cylindrical.

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

For this test, I pulled 2.16mm at the barrel, and 1.77mm at the center tenon.

Intonation summary: This now plays at a 100% modern professional level intonation with a 64mm barrel. And it plays so freely. It’s beautiful. It had sharp throat tones before and other sharp notes. The method I used to get the throat tones and some upper register notes in tune was to introduce a gap at the barrel. But for some notes in the right hand, white poster tac was used to lower them. Two such places are visible in the pictures. I may have undercut a few other tone holes. Penzel-Mueller was a great company, but they probably didn’t make very many A clarinets. This one looks like it has stayed in a case since the day it was made. Given the intonation problems, it would have discouraged former owners from playing it. I use the second bell pictured when I play this clarinet because it seems better in tune for E/B than the original. It is narrower bore and a couple of millimeters shorter.

Key work quality: chrome plated, perfect condition, and nice sturdy quality.

This clarinet is most appropriate for: Anyone who plays in an orchestra or in church groups with stringed instruments. An A clarinet will play very easily in guitar keys.

Condition issues noted: None, other than the odd intonation when I received it.