Conn,' but who also referred to the new instrument as 'my recently patented Wonder clarinet.' The 'great surprise' alluded to by The American Musician notice, was the fact that Conn's clarinet was made of two thin tubes of metal (hence the name, double-wall clarinet), the inner tube being the size of a regular clarinet bore and the outer tube being the same size as the circumference of a typical wooden clarinet.

5) included an article introducing the new Wonder clarinet, written by none other than Will Gronert, who identified himself at the article's end simply as the 'salesman of the Wonder Clarinet for C. Gronert, along with August Buescher, who, by 1890, was the manager of the factory's clarinet, flute, saxophone, drum, valve, and mouthpiece departments.Īdvertisement from C. The patent itself was invented and developed with the expertise of the plant's general manager, Trumpet Notes Band director, and clarinetist, William J.

Although testing had been underway for some time, the commercial introduction of Conn's new Wonder clarinet did not occur until the fall of 1889, after Conn had constructed a new factory building at his Jackson Street location and had received the patent for his double-wall, metal clarinet ( U.S. Conn expects to have ready for the fall trade a new patent clarionet, constructed on scientific principles, and it will be a great surprise to the profession.' Regretably, the announcement was premature. 255), published weekly in New York City, announced that 'Mr. countersinking the holes in wind-instruments nearly to the level of the inside bore of the instrument, and thus, in connection with a slight protrusion of the pad on the fingers or keys, creating a smooth inside passage or bore, thereby utilizing all the wind injected into the instrument and enabling the performer to produce a more voluminous and freer tone with less wind and effort than is required by the use of an instrument constructed in the ordinary manner.Įxpectantly, the 9 June 1888 issue of The American Musician ('Among the Trade,' p.

According to the patent text, Conn's invention consisted of 378,771 (applied for on 6 August 1887) for countersinking holes in wind instruments such as flutes, oboes, clarinets, and bassoons.

At long last, on 28 February 1888, Conn was awarded U.S. Research and development for the production of clarinets had been well underway before a devastating factory fire on January 29, 1883. Conn factory in Elkhart, Indiana, in the late 1880s. Conn's Double-Wall Wonder Clarinets By Margaret Downie Banksīand musicians eagerly awaited what was hoped to be the imminent production of woodwind instruments at the C.

Conn eb clarinet