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Clarinet Ebonizing - Why?

6/23/2013

I was buffing this customer clarinet - A c.1900 'Bay State' Albert system in C - when I noticed I'd gone through a layer of black tinting (most likely a colored vanish or shellac) to a lighter color underneath. 'Uh -oh' thinks I, 'now what do I do?' Upon closer examination, I saw that the even layer of black was covering up reddish brown and honey stripes that were far more attractive than the tint, so I kept buffing.

What I ended up with was a body that looks like it was carved out of Tiger's Eye, although my picture only gives a hint of its attractiveness! Is this what's under the ebonized tint on modern clarinets, and, if so, why would they cover it up? Or is the modern wood considerably less attractive and covered up for a good reason?

This isn't the first time this has happened to me, but I don't have an explanation for it, so I thought I'd post and ask: does anyone know the reason for this? Please click on the pic for a better look, and let me hear from you....

8 Comments

6/23/2013 01:10:24 am

I found an interesting conversation about this topic on the Clarinet BBoard: http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=40640&t=40640

Bottom line: staining was used to ensure that the finished clarinet looked consistent across the instrument, despite color and sometimes quality variations in the wood.

jeremy soule

6/23/2013 01:45:19 am

Thanks Al,
That's sort of what I suspected, but prefer the variegated look of the better wood in its natural state. I wonder what a modern r13 would like un-dyed? :)

Mykel

11/23/2014 05:52:15 pm

It's not the first time i see old ebony wood looking like this. A guitar repair man tells me that wood crystalise with time, maybe it's a kind of.

Gary Kern link

6/23/2013 05:15:36 am

Jeremy, I have a G. Penzel with some beautiful brown hues in one of the sections. The bell used to have the same, but lost the brown after its oil bath during reconditioning. Send m your email address and I will send you some pix. By the way, I have a Jean Barre that plays ok, but could stand to be cleaned, keywork polished, etc. Any idea on cost?

6/23/2013 06:48:40 am

There's a couple of comments on the Bulletin Board that indicate that very high quality wood used for unstained grenadilla on high end Buffets is generally selected based on its darker color and better consistency. Less expensive wood -- that is, less consistent in terms of color -- is almost always stained because apparently it ain't always pretty.

Your customer's instrument looks great....probably some great quality older wood that was stained because it was part of the standard process, not because it needed it! Or, maybe we've all just come to like the more natural stuff better....which may not have always been the case.

Timothy Tikker link

6/23/2013 09:33:23 am

Yes, I've puzzled over this too. It has also happened in the piano world: a piano tech friend of mine took his personal Steinway and stripped all the black off it (I think the finish had been damaged) to reveal the mahogany underneath, which he gave a natural oil finish. Boesendorfers have spruce cases: I heard of one with a damaged finish years ago, and fantasized about stripping that down to the bare wood!

Howard Adamsky

4/9/2014 02:13:21 pm

I believe that some people think a clarinet must be dark black to be considered of quality. the term "African Blackwwod" comes to mind. I have always suspected that the colors under some of the black reveal a beautiful and special clarinet.

Wyatt

10/23/2014 07:14:42 am

That is the coolest clarinet I have ever seen. I want it so bad.

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Clarinet Ebonizing - Why?

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