Clarinet - Vintage Bundy Mazzeo

The listing

Vintage Bundy Mazzeo Clarinet - SN 583306 - Body and keys all seem to be in very good condition - Comes with original green Bundy case and mouthpiece - $100 - This is great collector piece ***The Mazzeo is more ideal for a collector than an aspiring band student *** The following is some information received from a former band director which may be helpful to you about the Mazzeo. " It’s the same fingerings as normal clarinets but with a few different mechanisms. I studied under Cloyd Williams, who was the principal clarinetist of the Minnesota Orchestra, and he owned several Selmer Mazzeo clarinets. Mazzeo clarinets have the exact fingerings as other clarinets (those we use in the US). Their difference is, however, that the F hole underneath the thumb is solid instead of having a hole like normal clarinets. The advantage is that it helps prevent the squeaking that can occur with normal clarinets when someone doesn’t completely cover the F hole. It also has a mechanism so that when you play the B-flat above middle C, the mechanism actually operates keys that use the best tone for B flat, meaning that it doesn’t use the register key to produce a B flat. Therefore, the hole that the register key uses can be made an optimal size for the upper register, which means that it will play more in tune than normal clarinet, and as previously stated, means that the B-flat tone sounds better. Curly Mazzeo was the principal clarinetist for the Boston Symphony many years ago, and he persuaded Selmer to make these clarinets. They did not become popular, so that’s why later, they only made student Mazzeo models (Bundy clarinets with the Mazzeo keys)."