Klarinet Archive - Posting 000580.txt from 2003/08

From: Joe Redmon <red1451@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Rossi and Patricola vs Buffet
Date: Sat, 23 Aug 2003 11:31:58 -0400

My 2 bits...

I have always gone back to Buffet. I've tried and
owned almost every available clarinet - with the
exception of the reform boehm. A good R-13 is as good
as anything made, IMHO. For me, there is an equal
balance between flexibility, stability, tone, and can
be used for any style. The R-13 is considered "the"
horn in most circles for a reason. Not all tradition
is bad! I also have a rosewood Rossi french bore.
It's a wonderful instrument and sounds terrific. It is
very flexible and is even in the registers. I'm not
sure if it being rosewood has anything to do with it's
flexibility, but could be. The drawback is that it's
sound is quite unique compared to the R-13. This
becomes an issue with most clarinetists in ensemble
play. If all I did was solo work, i'd probably use a
Rossi exclusively. The only fault I see with it is
that the keys feel big to me. I have average hands.
Maybe I am just used to the R-13 layout.

I also own a Selmer Signature. Great horn with a
slightly different tonal shape than the R-13 or Rossi.
It is extremely stable in all registers. Not much
flexibility though. The Signature is an excellent
orchestral horn because of that. That is.. if you use
a flexible mouthpiece reed combo. Otherwise, it may
be a little to uni-dimensional. I've tried
Patricola's before on many different occasions. They
seem like an ok horn. All were stuffy to me hough,
including the rosewood model. Maybe this is because
the "Italian school" generally uses a really flexible
and open mouthpiece. Speculation on my part. The
Patricola is a well built horn though.

Hope any of this helped. I would choose an instrument
that works best for you and fits your current and
future playing needs. I would personally opt for the
R-13 because of value, dependability, availability,
overlall use, etc. It's funny, I see ads in the
retail catalogs that are offering "blowout" deals on
the Leblanc Opus and other brands. You never see
Buffet doing that. The resale is excellent as well.
The way I look at it, if a company starts selling you
their supposed top of the line horns for half price
because they came out with a new and improved model,
it makes me wonder if it was worth the money anyway.

Good luck!

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