Klarinet Archive - Posting 000085.txt from 1993/11

From: Anthony G Taylor <agtaylor@-----.EDU>
Subj: Uncommon instruments
Date: Tue, 16 Nov 1993 12:14:08 -0500

Dan Leeson--

You mention owning basset clarinets and a bass clarinet in A. I imagine
these all to be Buffet instruments, but where did you find them? Who
would you suggest buying such instruments through? If I were to try
various basset clarinets today, for instance, I wouldn't know how to judge
its response and intonation except against regular clarinets. Is there a
specialist who could guide me in my choice, given that I wish to own a
basset clarinet?

I am wondering about the existence of an instrument person analogous to David
Hite (and maybe Charles Bay does similar work) who picks out the best
clarinets that Buffet sends him and then fixes them up, with slight
mechanical or action modifications, cork pads, a Moennig barrel, etc. I
understand that basset clarinets aren't being made in large numbers, so
buying a basset clarinet might be quite a different process from buying a
regular clarinet.