Saxonette
A saxonette is a soprano clarinet in C, A, or B♭ that has both a curved barrel and an upturned bell, both usually made of metal. It has the approximate overall shape of a saxophone, but unlike that instrument it has a cylindrical bore and overblows by a twelfth. The instrument is also known as the 'Claribel' and 'Clariphon'.
Saxonettes were first produced by the Buescher Band Instrument Company between 1918 and 1921 under the name "Clariphon". They are almost always simple (Albert) system, and most are in C. It is known that they were made in B♭, C and A, and Boehm system examples exist as well. The J.W Pepper company produced similar instruments at this time branded "Claribel".
A "Sax-Clarinet" appeared in the Couesnon catalogue of 1934. Couesnon instruments are amongst the most common instruments around today.
In 1923 the Gretsch Musical Instrument Company advertised a new invention called the Saxonette, which was identical to Buescher's Clariphon. There are some similarities with Buescher branded and Gretsch branded instruments, so the Gretsch may have been a stencil of the Buescher. Instruments have also emerged branded 'Supertone', a trade name of Sears, Roebuck & Company, which may also be stencils of Buescher or Couesnon. A Plateau-keyed Bb instrument branded 'Abbott' was also produced.
Saxonette (disambiguation)
Saxonette may stand for:
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