Selmer 9* A Clarinet
The 9* was marketed by Selmer as "pour la musique symphonique", the 9 was "pour le jazz et les varietes." In other words the slightly smaller bore 9*, with tone hole undercutting, was aimed at the classical market, the wide bore 9 at the Jazz market. These instruments were introduced in the 1960's as the top professional Selmer models.
This A clarinet, matching serial nos. X8539, dates to 1973. The Nickel Silver plating is good throughout, with no areas of wear. The main pieces of the instrument have no cracks or repairs, but the barrel has cracked in the past, it has been filled on the exterior and glued in the interior. The pads are all "as new" tan leather, apart from the register key pad which is of cork. The case is a Boosey & Hawkes double which is fully functional, but does show scuffs to the exterior and stains to the interior. This clarinet would pair well with most of the current mainstream Bb clarinets on the market today, and will tune well with all French bore mouthpieces.