Klarinet Archive - Posting 000508.txt from 2004/09

From: Nancy Buckman <eefer@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] re: Buffet 1965 Clarinet
Date: Tue, 28 Sep 2004 23:01:25 -0400

At 01:52 PM 9/27/2004, you wrote:
>I didn't know about Chuck Levin's in the 1960's. In 1981 I paid $699 for
>an R-13 there. It was then the lowest price I could find. It is in need
>of an overhaul but remains my favorite Bb.

At Hanukkah 1968, I received my first Buffet R-13 from my parents, for
which they paid $350 at Henry Rosso Music Company in Baltimore. I played
it until it died in 2000, when I bought my Patricolas. I took it and my
1978 R-13 Eb, bought off of a high shelf from an obscure music shop in 1980
for $200, with me to Vancouver right after ClarinetFest and left them with
Morrie Backun at his spa. They have since been returned to me. He
stripped them down, reset the posts, replated and refit all of the keywork,
pinned some minor cracks, repadded them with Valentino pads, replaced all
the bumper corks, removed the metal rings and replaced them with wood,
installed Jupiter thumb rests so I can use a strap comfortably and made
barrels and bells for them. He lightened them up considerably with his
magic, otherwise I would never have been able to play them again. They were
wonderful clarinets when they were new and I never thought I would see them
play like they used to again. They have arrived back in my hands and I
must say they are better than anything I could buy anywhere. If you own
played out Buffets, don't get rid of them, get them restored.

While I was there, David Shifrin was selling some of his collection and I
bought one of his A clarinets. Morrie went over that too for me and it
arrived last week. I will be playing these new (old) clarinets in a
production of Tosca in a few weeks. There is no way I thought I would ever
be able to play a grenadilla clarinet again with the problems I have with
my hands.

Morrie and his staff have been working with me for weeks to get these ready
for me to use in this production and I am so appreciative. You couldn't
ask any more from a repair technician anywhere, let alone one that is 3000
miles from my home. I now have two nice sets of clarinets (the Patricolas
are even sequential in serial numbers - not something one sees very often)
that will last me a long time. Long live Backun Musical Services.

Nancy

Nancy Buckman
Principal Clarinet / Orchestra AACC
eefer@-----.net

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