Is there a way to tell the age and brand of a clarinet?

Question

I received a used wooden clarinet about 25 years ago. My aunt had picked it up at a tagsale in New England. It was old then. It has a serial number of 78108. The mouth piece and bell are not original. I am curious at to the age, brand and value? I could never sell it.

Answer 1

I would take it to a long time established music store or repairman. Some brands have certain things they do just a little different, that makes them recognizable to the trained eye.

Answer 2

Well,   you know the clarinet is at least 25 years old.   Clarinets are normally stamped with the brand on the front of the pieces.   Some of the namebrands that would be nice instruments are Buffet - Selmer - Normandy - LeBlanc.  The names would be stamped into the wood on all of the pieces but if it were played very much, the stamping might have been worn down.  Try to use a magnifying glass in  very good lighting to see if you can make out a worn down stamp.  Also.  you can take it to a instrument repair to see if the repair tech recognizes it by its characteristics, though if no name is anywhere to be found.. and never was stamped into the wood,  it is probably not a well known instrument.  Hope I was able to help.