Klarinet Archive - Posting 000113.txt from 2005/09
From: "David McClune" <dmcclune@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] Buffet Music Store Recommendation
Date: Mon, 12 Sep 2005 19:17:24 -0400
Tom (and other KLARINET readers...)
I have done business with Mark's Music since 1973 when I was taken
there to buy a new Borbeck mouthpiece (then new rage at that time) and
to buy Morre reeds. There I sat, a naive college freshman, trying out
new mouthpieces with new Morre reeds. Carl (the dad) was a hoot to do
business with. He new everyone and they just randomly floated through
his store. Late in his life he and his son, Carl III, moved to a new
building in a safer town, a few miles away.
Carl III has a couple players who fly to Buffet in CA to hand pick out
their stock. He has a traditional small town music store...and happens
to have an extensive stock of Buffet's.
Dave
Dr. David McClune
Professor of Woodwinds
Director of Bands
Union University-1862
1050 Union University Drive
Jackson, TN 38305
Office-731-661-5294
dmcclune@-----.edu
www.mcclunemouthpiece.com
>>> Tom.Henson@-----.com 09/12/05 5:07 PM >>>
In my search to find an A clarinet, I came across a store that I had
dealt with a couple of years ago when I purchased a barrel and some
reeds from them.
After following up on many leads to purchase a good used A clarinet
from
an individual and not be happy with what I found, I finally started
calling music stores hoping I could find something. While purchasing a
used instrument from a music store is usually more expensive, they
generally are in better condition and come with some kind of warranty.
However, even this search came up empty handed, and my best source for
vintage Buffet clarinets (Wichita Band Instrument) only had a 1953
model
pre-R13, although it was in great condition.
I then decided to call the store that I had bought a Chadash barrel
and
some Morre reeds from a couple of years ago on the hope that they may
have a used A clarinet. It turns out that they did not, but in talking
with the owner of the store, Carl Marks III, he told me that they had
a
new R13 A clarinet that had recently come in and was being held for a
clarinetist from the Pittsburg Symphony. Turns out that Carl Marks'
father was very well known in the clarinet world back in the 50's,
60's,
and into the late 70's. He had opened up his store in 1947 after
studying with Daniel Bonade. He was very close friends with both
Bonade
and Robert Marcellus as well as most of the great clarinetist from
that
period of time. He built a reputation on selling only the best
Buffet's
that were hand picked just for his clientele. He sold Buffet's to
Harold
Wright as well as many others and also studied repair with Hans
Moennig.
His son, who now runs the store, told me that they still enjoy a very
good relationship with Buffet. As a matter of fact, the bulk of their
business is selling only Buffet clarinets. They are what I would
consider a specialty house for this, which in this day and age is
quite
rare. They were mailing hand selected Buffet's around the world before
anyone knew what mail order was, and so I was pleasantly surprised to
hear that they are still in business and quite healthy at that. The
owner told me that he still does a lot of business with professional
clarinets from all over the world and I guess I was surprised that I
had
never really known this. Most people think of WWBW when wanting to get
a
new clarinet at a good price.
Anyway, he told me that John Weigand had come into the store and was
looking for an A clarinet to recommend to a friend in the Pittsburg
Symphony. He had picked out a standard nickel plated R13 A clarinet
and
told the owner it was the best stock R13 A he had played in ages. The
owner said that John had told him that the gentleman from Pittsburg
would give him a call to finalize the sale, but for some reason he did
not call. So the owner called up John Weigand and got the name of the
person for whom the clarinet had been picked out for. He called them
and
found out it was for this person's best student, but that they were
not
able to purchase it at this time, so go ahead and sell it if you can.
So
I took a chance and bought it sight unseen with the understanding that
I
could send it back if I was not happy with it.
I got the clarinet on Thursday and had a chance to play it over the
weekend and evaluate it. I was so impressed with it that sending it
back
is out of the question. I even took apart the upper joint just so I
could see how well it was made and see what kind of quality control
Buffet had on their stock R13's, which many people consider just a
high
end student clarinet these days being that they are so common. What I
found impressed me. I was told that Francois had hand selected this
particular clarinet from their inventory at their US warehouse before
shipping to them. I don't know if he did any tweaking on it or not,
but
the overall quality was excellent. The plating on the keys was
flawless,
not a single mark or scratch. The skin pads were as good as any I have
see on new R13's even from 30 years ago. The key height and spring
tension was perfect as far as I could see. Even the stock barrel was
as
good or better than any barrel I have ever played on. The quality of
the
workmanship also looked very good. I could not see any obvious
manufacturing flaws or shortcuts. Even the screws were all stainless
steel, not the cheaper, softer metal.
I don't know if I just got lucky or Buffet really is trying to improve
it's quality. Buying from this music store made a believer out of me.
I
called up the owner of the store today just to thank him and tell him
how happy I was with the clarinet. He was so excited because he had
gotten in a hand selected shipment of R13 Bb clarinets and said that
John Weigand had just finished playing 6 of them and said 4 of them
were
excellent and 2 he wanted to take home himself. I don't know if this
is
just that I finally found the right store or what, but if anyone is
wanting to purchase a new Buffet clarinet, any model, please take a
look
at Marks Music. The are located in Hermitage, Pennsylvania, but they
might as well have an outlet in Paris next to the factory as far as I
am
concerned. Carl Marks III is very nice person and knows his stuff
since
he really only deals in Buffet clarinets and that is indeed his
specialty.
Don't let their very spartan looking website fool you. They like to
deal
with you in person, so you will have to call them if you want to talk
to
them or get pricing. They still do a lot of mail order, but they don't
sell directly off their website. However, a single phone call for me
was
well worth the time.
http://www.marksmusic.com
Tom Henson
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