Find a serial number on a string instrument. Friday, Feb 08 2013. Have you had difficulty finding the serial number on a violin, viola, cello or string bass? Watch this insightful video for some tips and tricks to find it! Information about the instrument, with history, specifications, serial numbers, well-known players, and advice about modifications. Conn Model Numbers Index Information about C. Conn Brass Instrument Model Numbers and Dates of Manufacture.
Musical instruments can be large investments. With such a large investment, it can be heart breaking when an instrument is stolen. It can also be a major headache to purchase a musical instrument only to find out later that it was previously stolen and must be returned, often for only a limited refund if a refund is available at all. This article lists the steps necessary to avoid the purchase of a stolen musical instrument.
Buy from reputable sellers to avoid the purchase of a stolen musical instrument. This is one of the most important steps in the avoidance of stolen goods. If an instrument seems too cheap, there is a possibility that it may be stolen. However, do not turn down a good deal if the serial number checks out.
Instrument Serial Numbers
Locate the serial number on the instrument. On most wind instruments, the serial number will be printed on the instrument near the mouthpiece. On string instruments, the serial number is typically printed on the inside of the main portion. String instrument serial numbers are typically visible through the left F-Hole if you are facing the front of the instrument. You may need a magnifying glass to see the serial number on some wind instruments. It is likely that you will need a flashlight to see the serial number printed inside most string instruments. The serial number will be a set of numbers containing anywhere from 2 to 6 characters.
Write down any specific remarks about the instrument in addition to obtaining the serial number. For example, if a string bass contains a band sticker on the back, write down a description of the sticker. You should also record the brand, model and other distinguishing features of the instrument.
Enter the serial number at Tunevault.com, if you obtained it, to check if the instrument has been stolen in the past. Otherwise, this website also lists distinguishing features about each stolen instrument. People whose instruments are stolen often offer rewards for the safe return of their property.
Check the website Screamingstone.com to see if anyone in your area has reported a musical instrument stolen. If their description matches the description of your instrument, you may want to investigate the matter further with the dealer and the person that reported the instrument stolen. People that list their instruments on this website typically offer rewards for the return of their property.
Check with the dealer of the instrument should you discover that the musical instrument is stolen (whether or not you purchased it). The dealer from which you made the purchase will be able to find out who sold the instrument to them and further action can be taken. If your purchase was made from a private seller, you will need to contact your local police department to report the crime and take further action against the seller.
Tip
Report stolen instruments as soon as possible to make it more likely that you will receive a refund. If you buy a musical instrument, always register it with your school or through the dealership in case it is stolen from you.
Warning
Always protect yourself from buying stolen musical instruments. Although unknowingly buying a stolen instrument is not a crime, trying to resell a stolen instrument could land you in a great deal of legal trouble.
'Carolyn Sue Kincaid Chesnut Plays Exclusively Leblanc Paris Clarinets'
Our roots trace back to 1750, to the court of Louis XV, before Mozart was born. Wind instruments were still evolving into the forms we would recognize today when Ets. D. Noblet was founded in France. In 1904, ownership of Noblet passed to Georges Leblanc, descendant of a long line of distinguished French instrument makers.
Shortly after World War I, Georges Leblanc and his son, Léon, organized G. Leblanc Cie. as an experimental laboratory for acoustical research and for the development of new and more accurate woodwind manufacturing methods. The company prospered and grew under the management of Léon Leblanc (1900-2000), the world’s only clarinet maker also recognized as a gifted artist, holder of the coveted First Prize of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris.
On both sides of the Atlantic, formerly led by Léon Leblanc, then by Vito Pascucci (1922-2003), and now by Leon Pascucci, Leblanc has dedicated its research to finding the delicate balance of hand-craftsmanship and machine tooling that produces wind instruments of unsurpassed quality. Today Leblanc is the only company in the world specializing in the manufacture of the complete family of clarinets.
Carolyn Sue Kincaid Chesnut plays exclusively Paris Built Leblanc Clarinets; Models Symphonie (1953), along with other Leblanc models from 1958, 1962, and 1969, including a Model built by Charles Houvenaghel in Paris Factory.
Carolyn Sue Kincaid Chesnut plays an Original Leblanc Symphonie, Dynamique Model II, Dynamic Model H built by Charles Houvenaghel in the Paris Factory, and a Model LL LeBlanc Clarinet built for Orchestra and Ensemble.
All other known Leblanc models serial number and date of manufacture are noted below including the Leblanc Paris Clarinet series of fine instruments.
The following information and article is presented here drawn from information furnished by The Bis Key Chronicles, The Woodwind Forum, and woodwindNYC.
This old picture formerly on the Leblanc site but has since disappeared.
- Ab Sopranino
- Eb Sopranino
- D Sopranino
- C Soprano
- Bb Soprano
- A Soprano
- (missing basset clarinet in A)
- F Basset Horn
- Eb Alto Clar
- Bb Bass Clar to low Eb
- Bb Bass Clar to low C
- EEb Contralto to low C (paperclip model)
- BBb Contrabass to low C (paperclip)
- EEEb Octocontralto to low C
- BBBb Octocontrabass to low C
The last 2 were built for some exhibition or another in the 1930s. The BBBb was supposedly the lowest pitched wind instrument ever, going down nearly an octave below the piano keyboard. One or the other of them was supposedly lying around the Paris factory as late as the 1970s, but no sign of them has been seen or heard since.
There was (I believe) only one Octocontrabass built, and three Octocontraltos. They were all in the private collection of Leon Leblanc, but (again, I believe, but don't quote me) the Octobass and one of the Octoaltos now reside with Terje Lerstad.
The Octocontrabass sounded an octave below the Contrabassoon, which made it indeed one octave lower than the lowest Bb on the piano.
You'll note that all of the horns in the photo were products of Leblanc Paris. Omitted from the photo were the 'Bassett Clarinet' (which did not exist in their line at that time), the A Bass Clarinet (which only Selmer has made in modern times), but examples of which have existed since the 1800's.
The FB and articulated models, they went out of production in the 60s.
The year 2004 marked one of the most significant milestones in the long history of Kenosha, Wisconsin-based Leblanc, Inc., known until recently as G. Leblanc Corporation. On July 21, 2004, contracts were signed for Leblanc to be acquired by Steinway Musical Instruments, forging a partnership of undisputed greatness within the music industry. The transaction was completed on August 12, 2004. Leon Pascucci retained his key management role as president of Leblanc, Inc., and the company is now managed as a division of Conn-Selmer, Inc.
Other recent milestones have also marked Leblanc's centuries-old history and traditions. The Noblet name, for example, still vital as a brand within the Leblanc France line, marked its 250th anniversary in the year 2000, and the Frank Holton Company, Leblanc's brasswind division, celebrated its centennial in 1998. G. Leblanc Corporation itself, founded in 1946, marked the beginning of a new era of vigorous leadership in 2003 when Leon Pascucci assumed the primary management role upon the death of his father, Vito Pascucci.
Since its modest beginnings in America as a two-man shop, the company grew to a position of international prominence under the leadership of its cofounders, LuFFFDon Leblanc (1900-2000) and Vito Pascucci (1922-2003). The Kenosha-headquartered corporation employs a family of some 300 workers at three sites in Wisconsin (two in Kenosha, one in Elkhorn) and about 40 workers in La Couture-Boussey, France.
The story of Leblanc's inception and ultimate growth is one of the most captivating and well known in the music industry; the stuff of which, as the saying goes, legends are made.
French roots. Leblanc in America traces its origins to the founding of Ets. D. Noblet of France in 1750, when the great flourishing of instrumental music at the court of Louis XV created a demand for musical instruments of all kinds. More than any other instrument manufacturer, Noblet refined and developed early woodwind manufacturing techniques, securing for the French nation its preeminent reputation for producing the best wind instruments in the world. Based in La Couture-Boussey for two and a half centuries, it is among the oldest continuously operating companies in France.
In 1904, having no heirs, the Noblet family passed its holdings to Georges Leblanc, descendant of a long line of distinguished French instrument makers. By the time he acquired Noblet, Georges Leblanc had gained a reputation as one of the finest woodwind makers in France. The workshop at the Leblanc headquarters in Paris became a meeting place of the great woodwind artists of the era. Working side by side with Georges was his wife, Clemence, who actually managed the factory while Georges fought during World War I.
From the beginning, the Leblancs were constantly guided by scientific principles and inspired by their inborn musical genius. As a result of this relentless dedication toward progress, Georges Leblanc and his son, Leon, set up their Paris workshop as the first full-time acoustical research laboratory for wind instruments. They recruited the talents of Charles Houvenaghel, regarded at the time as the greatest acoustician since Adolphe Sax.
The subsequent growth and success of G. Leblanc Cie. as a manufacturing entity was largely due to the work of Leon Leblanc, who in addition to his reputation as an instrument maker and businessman, was also a gifted clarinetist, holder of the first prize of the Paris Conservatoire, the first and only instrument maker to have held such an honor.
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He had before him a brilliant career as a concert clarinetist, but chose instead to remain true to his heritage, feeling that he could make a greater contribution to music by combining the talents and sensitivities he developed as a musician with his skills as an instrument maker.
Together, Georges, Leon and Houvenaghel pushed the theoretical limits of instrument design to produce the first truly playable complete clarinet choir, ranging from sopranino to octo-contrabass, encompassing a range that surpasses that of the orchestral string sections. Perhaps even more significant, the Leblanc firm was the first instrument maker in history to manufacture clarinets with interchangeable keys, resulting in instruments that were easier to play in tune by artists as well as beginners.
As Leon Leblanc once noted, 'Musicians of today should not be handicapped by the deficiencies of those before me. Acoustical, mechanical and musical improvements will be made. To this end, I have dedicated my life.' Monsieur Leblanc served as chairman of the American company and president honoraire of the French firm until his death in 2000 at the age of 99.
The history of Leblanc in Kenosha, Wisconsin, dates to the last months of World War II and a chance meeting between Leon Leblanc and Vito Pascucci.
The American connection. Born in Kenosha, Vito Pascucci showed a marked interest in music and played cornet in the Kenosha High School band. He became fascinated with the construction and design of musical instruments and learned their repair as a summer apprentice at the Frank Holton Company (the Elkhorn, Wisconsin, brass-instrument manufacturer that Leblanc would later acquire), and then, while still in high school, augmented his family's income by operating an instrument-repair shop at his brother's music store.
In 1943, Pascucci was called into the armed forces. His instrument-repair skills were rewarded when he was assigned as a trumpeter and repairman to Army Field Bands, then to the Army Air Corps Band, led by Glenn Miller. He began with the Miller band in New Haven, Connecticut, then traveled with them to Europe. Stationed in England, Pascucci and Miller formed plans to set up a chain of music stores after the war.
Miller's untimely death put an end to those plans, but when the band was sent to newly liberated France, Vito paid a visit to G. Leblanc Cie., and his guide that day was Leon Leblanc. After service discharge in 1946, Pascucci returned to Kenosha, where Mr. Leblanc asked him to establish a foothold for the French company in America.
A shop for the purpose of disassembling, climatizing and reassembling wood instruments was set up as part of the new firm. After shipment to America by sea (and later by air), the wood was allowed to stabilize under the new atmospheric conditions, and the instruments were restored to original factory specifications, reassembled, adjusted and thoroughly tested.
Thus the instrument retailer was assured that wood clarinets would be delivered in perfect playing condition. Discriminating clarinetists were assured that every instrument would be musically as well as mechanically correct. And band directors were assured that the instruments their students played would possess a harmonious timbre, have correct intonation and be free of mechanical deficiencies.
Soon, in the 1950s, due to an ever-growing school market, demand for Leblanc instruments in the United States was far greater than the French concern could meet, so Leblanc began producing plastic-bodied clarinets in Kenosha.
The Vito line of musical instruments was thus born, thrusting Leblanc to the forefront of the student clarinet market. In 1951, construction of Leblanc's Kenosha factory was completed, a plant that to this day provides a model for the industry in its modern equipment, efficient operation and attractive appearance. Ever-increasing production called for the factory's subsequent expansion in 1953, 1960 and 1966. In 1999, Leblanc added 37,000 square feet of modern manufacturing and warehousing space to its Kenosha headquarters, bringing even greater flow and efficiency to its work flow.
Through the years, Leblanc's staff developed innovative methods that brought the production of plastic-bodied instruments to then unknown levels of accuracy and consistency. Rough-cut body blanks of a specially formulated plastic called Resotone were crafted into clarinets with the same care that wood instruments were afforded, rather than merely injection-molding the finished clarinet joints as some other manufacturers were doing at the time.
Unique precision boring machines simultaneously bored out the plastic body blanks, drilled tone holes and the holes for keyposts. Developed internally, these drilling machines enhanced consistency and efficiency manyfold. If all their operations were to be performed separately, it would have been impossible to achieve Leblanc's legendary consistency and precision in construction. These machines revolutionized the way plastic clarinets were made, and today, have been replaced by even more sophisticated CNC drilling machines.
In 2004, a new line of student woodwinds was introduced bearing the Leblanc USA brand, a marketing shift that now allows clarinetists to play 'Leblanc for life.'
Decades of growth. In 1964, Leblanc acquired the Frank Holton Company, located in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, one of America's most prestigious brass-instrument manufacturers. With this acquisition, Leblanc not only gained the revered Holton name, but procured the priceless experience of the craftsmen who had worked there many years prior.
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Holton's famed Collegiate line made Leblanc a major presence in the school brasswind market, and this student-priced line then and still does set the school standard. With the acquisition, Leblanc also gained a friend in Philip Farkas, one of the world's leading hornists and teachers. The line of instruments to which the late Mr. Farkas still lends his name comprises the world's bestselling student and professional French horns.
In 1968, Leblanc acquired the Woodwind Company, a respected manufacturer of clarinet and saxophone mouthpieces. Under the guidance of G. Leblanc Corporation, the Woodwind Company brand is widely recognized for the excellence of its manufacture and performance.
