Klarinet Archive - Posting 000096.txt from 2006/03

From: "Clark W Fobes" <claroneman@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] R-13 Eb clarinets
Date: Mon, 06 Mar 2006 06:36:17 -0500

As most of you know, I don't repair clarinets any more, but over the 25
years that I did I worked on many Buffet Ebs. I also play a fair amount of
Eb as a free-lance musician here in SF. I may be one of a very few people
who actually enjoys playing the instrument, but then I have customized my
horn to well beyond what most players are willing or are able to do.

But, I digress! My horn dates back to 1981 and is a very good example of
an R-13 with the standard intonation quirks. (Very sharp left hand in the
clarion, flat extreme altissimo and very sharp altissimo C# and D). BUT, I
have noticed that horns from about 1980- about 1995??? are longer by about
1/4" than current models and precursors. It does not seem to be just the
bell that is longer. I don't understand why Buffet would have made this
change, but newer models seem to require 42-43mm barrels rather than the
standard 41.5 that is offered with the clarinet.

My point is that it may be of benefit to try to find an older Buffet
R-13. I can not tell when the change was made exactly, but my instrument is
211742. I suspect that anything that falls in the range of about 180,000 to
400,000 would put it within the subset of these slightly lower pitched
instruments.

Some players find that RC Eb's tune a bit better for them than the
R-13s, but I think is just a trade off of problems.

The only student instrument I would recommend on Eb is the Yamaha. It
seems to play quite well in tune and has a rather "mellow" sound for an Eb.

Clark

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