 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Clarineteer
Date: 2014-10-15 15:17
I have a Buffet Bb clarinet that has the serial number 460XX produced in 1954 less that a year before the R13 that has the key structure and trill guard found on the so called Pre R13 but has the upper joint bridge key with the wings. Years ago I spoke with Mr. Kloc and he said that Buffet and Mr. Carree were experimenting with different things to make the final decisions on the design of the R13. If the tone holes are undercut would that indicate that this particular instrument was an early R13? Exactly what do you look for to determine if the tone holes are undercut?
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Author: kdk
Date: 2014-10-15 16:49
Clarineteer wrote:
> Exactly what do you look for to determine if the tone holes are
> undercut?
Look down the bore. If the openings into the bore are larger than the tone holes on the outside of the clarinet, the holes have been undercut.
As to using undercutting to identify an early R13, I don't know what it would mean. Repairmen were applying the technique by hand to clarinets, R13s, pre-R13s and other brands, to correct intonation and response unevenness, so any undercutting you see might have been original or not. I doubt if you can reliably distinguish an R-13 from an earlier Buffet-Crampon on the basis of undercutting.
Karl
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2014-10-15 17:06
There were quite a few prototypes and transitional clarinets made in the years preceding the introduction of the R13 at the end of 1954 or the beginning of 1955. The highest pre-R13 serial number I've seen is 48707 (1954), and the lowest R13 is 48829. Most of the prototypes had no serial number.
Tone-hole undercutting is easy to see. Look up the upper joint bore from the bottom. Undercut holes will be noticeably larger at the bottom (bore) than at the top. You can also shine a flashlight into a tone hole from the outside to find the conical enlargement.
The polycylindrical bore can't be seen looking down the upper joint. The difference is on the order of a few thousandths of an inch, and the sections were blended into one another. You'll need a micrometer to measure the differences.
And of course everything depends on how the instrument tunes and plays, not whether the tone holes are undercut.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Clarineteer
Date: 2014-10-15 17:27
Thanks for the input. I have played over 100 R13"s and it tunes and feels like an R13.
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