Selmer, Centered Tone, B Flat Clarinet
This is a Selmer Paris, Centered Tone, enhanced Boehm Bb clarinet, which is a commission sale for Clarinets Direct. The Centered Tone was the penultimate large bore Jazz Selmer clarinet, only the Series 9 was larger. Thereafter Selmer switched to making smaller bore clarinets more in the manner of Buffet.
This Bb clarinet features a fork Eb/Bb in the left hand, i.e. 7 rings, LH Ab/Eb, and articulated C#/G# key, in other words, apart from the missing low Eb key, this is a Full Boehm model. The matching serial nos. are Q6486 which dates to 1956. The instrument has German Silver key work in pristine condition, with no wear. The wood throughout is in very good condition, apart from a repaired, glued crack to the barrel, see photo 4. As is the case with all Selmer Centered Tones the upper joint bore is a reverse taper, it measures, 15.1mm at the top of the upper joint narrowing to 14.7mm at the bottom. The clarinet has been through our workshop for a full service in fish skin pads and is sold with our 1 year warranty. The clarinet plays with very fine intonation and a warm full sound, typical of the jazz style of the big band era. The original pouchette case is in good used condition, and the m'piece is a Selmer USA student model.