Description

Refurbished Vito Reso-Tone closed-hole (‘plateau’) clarinet in Bb. The serial number is 20721.

Closed-hole clarinets differ from most clarinets in that the 6 front finger holes, as well as the thumb hole on the back, are covered by keys instead of being open. This means that the player does not need to seal each hole with their fingertips, which theoretically makes the instrument easier to play and less prone to squeaks that can arise from holes not being fully covered. They are therefore particularly useful for people with very small fingers, or with medical complaints such as arthritis that make it difficult to reliably cover the holes. Furthermore, closed-hole clarinets are relatively rare and so would also be of interest to woodwind enthusiasts and collectors.

This Vito Reso-Tone clarinet will originally have been manufactured as a student model instrument. The plastic body and nickel-plated keywork are in excellent overall condition, with the exception of a few minor scuffs and areas of light wear. The pads are a mixture of white skin and cork.

Due to long-term wear-and-tear, some of the rod screws have become stripped of their thread to varying degrees. This makes no difference when playing the instrument, however it is worth noting that there is one rod on the upper joint that no longer screws all the way in, and now sticks out slightly rather than being flush with its pillar (see photos for detail).

The mouthpiece appears to be the original (marked ‘Vito’), although the clarinet will of course play better with the addition of a more advanced/high-quality mouthpiece.

The bell is not original, and is a wooden replacement made by Buffet Crampon (with silver-plated tenon ring). It nevertheless fits the instrument perfectly and doesn’t seem to make a difference to the sound or playing characteristics.

I have thoroughly refurbished this instrument as follows:
 

• Fully dismantled.
• Cleaned key tubes, rods and body of clarinet, as well as the case and mouthpiece.
• Polished keys, posts and tenon rings.
• Re-corked tenons.
• Replaced key corks as necessary.
• Replaced damaged pads, and fully adjusted/re-seated all pads to provide the optimum seal.
• Oiled keys.
• Fully adjusted and set up.