 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: moderhett
Date: 2004-06-18 07:17
Hi, I just got a Buffet Festival a few weeks ago, and I've been noticing a few problems that I'm wondering if I can do anything about:
- My 3rd line clarion B has this really raw, harsh sounding quality to it before the actual note comes out. It's especially bad if I'm coming from the upper clarion notes. It always feels like I need to be super careful with it or else the note will break, and it doesn't sound very nice.
- I've been having problems with my C#/G# key in that my finger keeps on bumping into it, especially when I'm reaching for the left hand pinky F#/C#. I didn't have any problems like this on my Noblet... are my fingers just too fat for Buffets, or can something be done about this to make it more ergonomic?
- My knuckle Eb/Bb and the C#/G# keys feel like they go down too far, and it really trips me up when I'm playing quickly. They have very thin cork underneath the keys, and the pads open really high. Do these notes really need that much venting? Or is it alright if I have a thicker cork put in to make them respond more quickly?
- The altissimo is a little bit more difficult to play than I'm used to. Half-holing the E/B tone hole helps a lot, but it's a little clumsy...
- And I hear this is a pretty standard problem, but my low chalameau F is pretty flat. Is there anything I can do about this other than lip it up?
I haven't brought my clarinet in for its first tune up yet, and I was planning on bringing these issues up when I got there, but i was just wondering if any of these things are fixable before I asked my tech.
Thanks
EDIT: I forgot to mention that I use a Selmer C85 mouthpiece, if that makes any difference.
Post Edited (2004-06-18 07:20)
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Author: bkmorton
Date: 2004-06-18 10:36
I have a festival and I do notice the Bb key being a bit raw. I have been using a humoured Bb (adding my right hand ring finger/left hand middle and ring finger and my C/F pinky) to help make the sound travel down the clarinet.
This and the F being out of tune could change if you got a different Barrell. I play with a Chaddash and it works much better. I am not sure if this would work with your high notes.
The keys are something that just takes a bit of time to get use to.
I have a problem with my 1/1 Bb/Eb
I would bring it to the tech either way
IMHO No horn is perfect right out of the box without some work by a technician or about 6 months of playing.
Overall, I absolutely love my Festival but all horns have specific problems. I think the Bb key is the one that has been a problem on this horn for a while. (I do not have that big of a problem but a few friends have the horn and have that more. They got new barrells)
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Author: LeOpus1190s
Date: 2004-06-19 19:22
I found this festival A clarinet a few years back that I thought was great except I couldn't get past the raw Bb. It was so stuffy and sharp that I brought the horn back.
Brannens told me there is nothing that can be done about that, that it is just a fault in the horn.
Buffet really REALLY needs to get its act together. It is just plain stupid some of the problems they are having with their horns, particularly their A clarinets. I have been hunting for over a year and have had NO luck.
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Author: mw
Date: 2004-06-19 20:55
LeOpus 1190s said:
"Buffet really REALLY needs to get its act together. It is just plain stupid some of the problems they are having with their horns, particularly their A clarinets. I have been hunting for over a year and have had NO luck."
--------------------------
Huh? At the Thread "Buffet Prices?" you said at the very end :
"just wanted to say that I bought an awesome R-13 A clarinet with silver keys. Yay for good service at the woodwind and brasswind."
Which sounded like you had found the perfect Buffet A Clarinet?
Who's on first?
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Author: Clarinetist
Date: 2004-06-19 21:12
Le0pus119s wrote:
>Buffet really REALLY needs to get its act together. It is just plain stupid some of the problems they are having with their horns, particularly their A clarinets. I have been hunting for over a year and have had NO luck.
It is more difficult to get a good A than a good Bb. But still, I have noticed that Buffet is gone down with their horns. Maybe, they have been too long in the top. It is the nature´s law that if you don´t work enough, there are others which collect the fruits. Maybe we should start to look what other "top" brands are doing such as selmer and leblanc. I´m buying a new clarinet pretty soon, and will definitely look on those, especially.
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Author: clarinetpro
Date: 2004-06-20 06:20
The answer....... try out several clarinets before buying them. Plain and simple... they all play different. Also, they play different for each player as well..... jaw, mouthpiece/reed, etc. All come into play. But, I have noticed in recent years that Buffet clarinets are tough to pull out "ppp" in upper register around the A and Bb.
Let the jaw drop slightly..... (relax). And.... take it to a tech for adjustments... especially regarding pitch.
Don
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Author: Bradley
Date: 2004-06-22 13:49
While Buffet is "slacking off" as it seems in recent times, they are still the industry standard- and while I am happy with my choice on getting a Leblanc Bb (and am now looking for the "perfect" A) I still sometimes hope that playing a Leblanc won't hold me back. Several times I have run into people that simply don't respect any non-Buffet and hopefully none of the people that determine my fate as a professional [when I become one] will be that biased.
Bradley
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Author: BobD
Date: 2004-06-22 15:12
"I've been having problems with my C#/G# key in that my finger keeps on bumping into it, especially when I'm reaching for the left hand pinky F#/C#. " A common problem with some horns for men with stonemason's hands.....or arthritis problems. I'm not familiar with the arrangement on your horn....best advice get it back to where you bought it asap.
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2004-06-22 15:24
Eight ways to keep Leblanc instruments from holding you back.
7. Avoid raising the issue of Leblanc instruments' holding you back during a discussion about problems with Buffets.
6. Play exclusively in clarinet trios with Larry Combs and Eddie Daniels.
5. Stop regilding your logos in neon when they wear off.
4. NEVER thrust your clarinet barrel, logo forward, in the face of a member of the Buffet mafia.
3. Buy a case cover. (Especially if you have one of those fabric jobs from the 70's.)
2. Lose the T-shirt with six-inch letters reading "LEBLANC CLINICIAN WANNABE."
1. Switch to Buffet. (You KNOW you really want to!) ![[toast]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smiley15.gif)
To coin an original cliche for this board, it's how you play not what you play that counts. Most players won't even notice what you are playing unless you call their attention to it. In my experience, only nosy gear-junkies and admirers go out of their way to find out what your set-up is.
moderhett,
You can test the gap on the Eb/Bb and C#/G# keys with folded paper.
Best regards,
jnk
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2004-06-22 16:50
I have been a critic of the Buffet A for many years alas to no avail.....!!!
David Dow
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Author: OpusII
Date: 2004-06-23 06:31
Bradley,
Quote:
I still sometimes hope that playing a Leblanc won't hold me back. Several times I have run into people that simply don't respect any non-Buffet and hopefully none of the people that determine my fate as a professional [when I become one] will be that biased.
If you're a good clarinetist people will notice that, if you play a other brand......??? I really don't think that people sit at home listening to a recording...would it be a Buffet?
Just play what you like and don't think about the Buffet Mafia, it's silly to think that one brand is the best. We all no that we're al very different, different taste, different embouchure and even different finger lengths! So how can one brand be the best for everybody... it can't.
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Author: Bradley
Date: 2004-06-24 19:14
What I was trying to say was that Buffet is still the standard. If they are slacking off or w/e then you just have to work harder to find a good one. If you think their quality control has dropped its standards, then fine but there's nothing anyone can really do about it. Buffet has been at the top for so long that they're probably not going to make as much effort to win over customers because they don't need to at this point. Even with the extra work, you'll still be just as happy when you find "the one" and maybe even more so because of how much harder it was.
Bradley
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Author: msloss
Date: 2004-06-24 20:17
Just out of curiosity, who are the alleged members of the Buffet Mafia other than Tony Soprano Clarinet? Never in my experience as a player, a student, and a teacher have I come across any kind of punitive behavior related to the marque on the instrument.
Every great player I have worked with or studied with has had the same attitude -- "Hey, whatever works, play it". I was playing Selmer 10S horns when Stanley Drucker picked out my first set of R13s. Whatever -- they worked, so I switched. Not long after, I took lessons from Anthony Gigliotti and he was playing 10Gs (no surprise there). I didn't switch back, but I sure realized that achievement on the instrument had very little to do with the clarinet. Two of the giants played allegedly different clarinets.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2004-06-24 20:35
You can only identify a Buffet Mafia member by the secret handshake....followed by the gruppetto to the kneecaps
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Author: Henry
Date: 2004-06-24 20:41
LOL, Bob! I must say that my interactions with other clarinetists has been quite limited but I'll be suspicious of any handshake from now on! But then, if it is secret, how would I know?
And, by the way, what's a gruppetto? Shouldn't that read "buffetto"?
Henry
Post Edited (2004-06-24 20:44)
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