Klarinet Archive - Posting 000513.txt from 1998/08

From: Mitch Bassman <mbassman@-----.com>
Subj: Re: Re: [kl] A nasty question about Buffet
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1998 09:48:52 -0400

At 01:35 PM 8/17/98 EDT, CEField@-----.com wrote:
>Perhaps if enough people share their experiences here, we can come up with
>some sort of empirical conclusion about the likelihood of cracking based on
>year of manufacture.

Cindy, I hope you're keeping track of all the responses. I own and play
three Buffet clarinets:

1. Buffet R-13 B-flat bought new in the summer of 1967.

Never had any cracks. During the cold fall or winter of that first year, I
did have some swelling in the top of the upper joint. (I recall having an
8:00 AM lesson and probably assembling and playing the very cold instrument
without first warming it up slowly.) The barrel was stuck to the top tenon,
and I had to take it to a repairman to remove the barrel from the tenon and
then remove a (very) small amount of wood from the inside of the barrel so
it wouldn't happen again. I oiled the bore of that clarinet a couple of
times a year for the first two years.

2. Buffet R-13 A bought new in the summer of 1969.

Never had any cracks. I've never used bore oil on this one.

3. Buffet E-flat bought used in January 1997, made in 1927 (obviously
pre-R-13)

This is a sweet little clarinet that was bought new and played for most of
its existence by a member of The US Navy Band (Washington, DC) until he
retired. I bought it a year and a half ago from the person who bought it
half a year earlier it from the widow of the original owner. It shows clear
evidence of two nicely-done and very old repairs:
(1) a crack in the top of the (one-piece) main body near the tenon that
receives the barrel
(2) a chip in the bottom tenon (the one that receives the bell)
Perhaps its rough life as a military instrument contributed to those
"injuries."

Mitch Bassman
Burke, Virginia, USA

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