h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

glad you put that "most"in when descriping the metal marching band clarinet,or i may of had to defend my little horn.she is very pretty when shined up,almost plays itself and has a full rich tone.depending on the attack used can sound mellow like a wood clarinet or gutteral like a sax.you got me wondering how old it might be.its a national made in the usa serial no.4339j.intonation is smooth going through the registers and its just the top few notes i find i have to adjust pressure to stay in key.at the same time the notes are easy and predictable to bend.thanks for getting me to pull it out of its case.got to go find the silver polish now...i have seen some poorly made exsamples of metal clarinets....the bore on mine is about 14mm

There were so many of these metal clarinets produced in the period 1900 - 1950 that it is unlikely that you will be able to trace yours. The place to do it is Mark Charette's clarinet site:

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If your metal clarinet plays well, then be happy with it!