 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: kurth83
Date: 2025-06-12 03:09
Let's say I want a new R13, sight unseen, over the internet, and I don't have the personal ability to know if I got a good one or not (my teacher probably does however). If I had the ability to A/B test five of them side by side I probably could tell which ones were better, but I've never played an R13 before so I don't know what to expect. I do have a marvelous E12F which is going to be upgraded by this venture.
I've heard stories and had a few of my own with new clarinets needing some work before they would play right (minor adjustment only in my case).
Can I just buy the cheapest one, or should I buy from one of the houses that promises to fix "everything" before they send it out, for a price of course. A 30 day return policy seems a given too.
Taking the buy cheap option I can always send it out it out afterwards for some black magic.
What do you guys recommend, and more so, who do you recommend for such work or sales?
Thanks. :-)
Aging classical trumpet player beginning to learn clarinet as a second.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2025-06-12 03:38
I'd recommend NOT buying a brand new R13 and instead, buy a used and fully reconditioned one from a reputable restorer/seller as there ought to be loads of them out there. Or buying a used one and having it fully rebuilt from the ground up.
That way, all the problems and shortcomings that Buffet glossed over will have been dealt with as brand new clarinets are only passing quality control before leaving the factory and don't get the bench time during finishing that a rebuilt one will have, plus the quality of the pads and silencing materials used on rebuilt ones will be infinitely better than what Buffet use on their clarinets (provided the repairer doesn't use natural cork everywhere as we're in the 21st Century and not still stuck in the 19th Century).
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2025-06-12 03:59
i live in jax fla where the distributor for buffet is. i never knew this but they let you visit the facility and try out r13,s
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Author: RBlack
Date: 2025-06-12 05:40
I agree with Chris.
If you were to buy new online though, I’d suggest buying from someone like Rice Clarinet Works, or Brian Corbin, where they do a setup on them first. In that sense they’re not exactly “new” as they come from Buffet, but will be better. And you’ll be able to evaluate the instrument itself rather than questioning if it is a setup issue.
All R13s are definitely not equal, and buying a random one and then having it set up by your tech of choice can do a lot, but also only so much.
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Author: Doug Leach
Date: 2025-06-12 06:25
A further advantage to buying from Rice Clarinet Works, and maybe others as well, is that Wes Rice goes down to Jacksonville and play tests a bunch of new Buffets and picks out the best ones, which he then takes back to his shop and does a setup on.
Doug.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2025-06-12 16:21
Just another thing with new Buffets - if you buy one you've chosen by whittling them down from a whole selection and that's the one that plays and sounds the best for you and it cracks, DON'T have the top joint replaced as that's effectively getting a completely different clarinet as it's no longer the one you chose for its specific characteristics and may not play the same once the top joint has been transplanted. So get it repaired instead of replaced and that way, you'll at least preserve the very thing you originally went for.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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