Selmer Pre-Centered Tone
Thanks to Victoria M for letting me review this fine instrument!
Victoria says this was played by her 86 year old father in the early 1930s. When you get a good clarinet, there is no reason it cannot be used for 3-4 generations!
Serial #L416 Both keyed joints have a batch mark: 8435.
Barrel: 66.5mm
Bore LH joint top: 14.9mm
Bore LH joint at bottom: 14.7mm Can it be truly poly-cylindrical?!
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 1mm at the center tenon. Probably should be pulled more in the center than that.
Intonation summary: Terrific! This would have been professional quality in its day, and it continues as almost that quality today. The one place I would fault it would be low C to A.
Key work quality: Very nice.
This clarinet is most appropriate for: anyone, beginner to pro. If I had had a Selmer this good when I started college, I would be playing it still. Lovely tone quality. A vintage treasure.
Condition issues noted: I fixed some cracking in three places in the bottom tenon.