 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Therese
Date: 1999-04-22 17:13
I recently discovered a Buffet Bass Clarinet in the "vaults" of my high school band room. After convincing my band teacher that no one would be able to play on it, he allowed me to take it for free. So I am now stuck with a bass clarinet I know nothing about. The key system is unfamiliar to me. the octave key as well as the left hand c#/g# pad are different. There is also a left hand Eb key. The keys are worn, but I am assuming that they were silver at one point. The serial number is 19971. The sound is very rich but it is very hard to get a quick response in the upper octave. Any one that can help me to identify what kind of instrument I have in possesion please respond!!! Thanks! therese
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Author: Henk Raven
Date: 1999-04-22 19:55
This instrument is made in 1979. Does it have a tunable neck? As you describe it, the instrument lowest note is Eb, so it is not a low C bass clarinet which also has two ore three righthand thumb keys. I don't understand what you mean by different keys. Different to what?
It lookes to me that it is a very valuable instrument specially when it has the double register key and tunable neck. Bass clarinets are very critical towards good closing pads so a little check at a music store would be advisable.
On my Buffet the high register is very easy and it should be easy on yours.
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Author: Don Poulsen
Date: 1999-04-22 22:09
You got a twenty-year-old bass clarinet for free??? Is it wood? I had been playing a 40+ year-old LeBlanc until recently and I saw a couple on E-Bay just like mine that were going for $700-$1000. Some professionals play instruments that are much older than twenty years. Unless the instrument has been really abused, you should be able to get it repaired and have yourself a pretty good instrument.
The different register key is, as Henk pointed out, probably a double-vent key, which is good. Different notes use a different register-key opening. If there was room on them, soprano clarinets would probably have them as well.
Any problems you may have in the upper register may be due to leaking pads or your needing to adjust yourself to the instrument. The embouchure for a bass clarinet is looser than that for a soprano.
I don't understand what you mean by a different c#/g# pad. And are you sure that the additional e-flat key isn't on the right hand? Other than the additional key, the bass clarinet is fingered similarly to the soprano.
If you can afford to get the instrument overhauled, do so and enjoy your new instrument. I think you pulled a fast one on your band teacher.
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Author: snowjacks
Date: 1999-04-22 22:33
Congratulations. You have a very nice and valuable instrument. Serial number 19971 was produced in 1955; I own serial number 198XX produced in 1954. The keys you describe are normal for Buffet. All of the Buffet alto and bass clarinets have a left hand E-flat key, and the left hand C-sharp key is altered accordingly to make space for the E-flat. It takes a little reconditioning, since you'll hit E-flat when you're going for C-sharp, but you will get used to it with practice.
Your upper register problem is probably due to the register key mechanism requiring adjustment. If the B-flat hole isn't closing completely or if the register hole isn't opening wide enough, the horn will sound muted and dull in the upper register. I had the identical problem with mine. A professional repairman can fix this in a few minutes.
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Author: Henk Raven
Date: 1999-04-24 06:38
Sorry about giving the wrong manufacturing date for the Buffet Bass clarinet. I got my info from this site: www.musictrader.com/buffet.html
and put a zero behind the number by mistake.
If I ommit the zero this list would give 1936 as munufacturing date, but this might be a list for soprano clarinets only.
Snowjacks luckally put this mistake wright.
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Author: snowjacks
Date: 1999-04-24 08:41
That's a great list of serial numbers on musictrader.com! I bookmarked that page now so that I can date several instruments that I've been wondering about.
The Buffet harmony clarinets (bass, alto, contrabass, and contraalto) actually use a different serial number sequence. It can be found right here on sneezy, under "equipment" and "how old is my...". Page down all the way through the Buffet serial number list to get to a separate list for Buffet Harmony Clarinets. What I find amazing is how few Buffet harmony clarinets were made in certain years as compared to the soprano clarinets.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 1999-04-25 18:31
Along with the above posts, I agree you have a potentially fine inst. It occurred to me that the C#/G# question might be the "articulated" key structure which is very useful when playing in multi-sharp keys, making a clarion F# to G# [etc] trill possible , prob similar to my Selmer 33 bass of the same vintage. This, the left-little-finger Ab/Eb and the low Eb and possibly a "fork fingering" for Eb/Bb comprise what is known as Full Boehm keying which is found only on top-of-line cl's. Don
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