 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: sinkdraiN
Date: 2005-02-28 14:15
How difficult is it to find a "good" modern new R13. Can you pretty much try one or two or are we talking about trying 10 or more?
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2005-02-28 14:37
You should always try as many as you can unless you are getting one already set up by a really good technician. When I got my set back in 1989 I tried over 50 clarinets to pick the 2 I ended up with and those 2 to myself and the other player I was with they were clearly the 2 best (for me at least!).
I had a student get (on approval back in 1998) 2 leblanc opus and 2 concerto models and all 4 were total crap - it does happen! I was pretty taken aback by that as when she told me that all 4 were bad, I didn't initially believe her. Figured that at least 1 would be good, but all 4 were poorly created.
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Author: contragirl
Date: 2005-02-28 15:15
I must have been a freak of nature, cuz when I turned 16, my dad bought me an R13 and I only tried 2 before I decided on one. I have let a few people play mine lately, and they are completely in love with it and try to steal it. I guess I have never really played a bad R13 myself cuz mine is super!
I think it is possible to find a good new or used R13. And with a lil work, like David said, it would be even better.
--CG
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Author: GBK
Date: 2005-02-28 15:23
Over the past few years I have tried out many new R-13's for students. Although a number of them were acceptable, I have yet to find one that I would have personally bought. Then again, perhaps I am just used to the feel and sound of my own R-13's.
However, a professional colleague of mine, who I trust, recently reported to me that the most recent batch of R-13's received at a big name Buffet dealership in the NYC area was quite exceptional, with a good number of "keepers."
I guess you have to be in the right place at the right time ![[wink]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie3.gif) ...GBK
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2005-02-28 19:58
Hmmm...I only tried the one R13 back when I got mine in 1983...It was used, and was the only one I had the chance to try. I am still in love with this clarinet!
My A clarinet I got in 1986, and was one of about 5 or so clarinets I tried then. It's pretty darn good too, but really doesn't compare to my Bb. Don't know if that's the instruments, or my time spent playing them. I rarely use my A anymore, and when I play it I'm less comfortable, but still believe it's a great horn...
Katrina
Edit: For what it's worth, my Bb instrument is older...from 1969. I have not tried any new Buffets since I got my A clarinet in 1986.
Post Edited (2005-03-01 03:22)
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Author: Alseg
Date: 2005-03-01 12:36
Is this an existential or metaphysical question?
Former creator of CUSTOM CLARINET TUNING BARRELS by DR. ALLAN SEGAL
-Where the Sound Matters Most(tm)-
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Author: Pappy
Date: 2005-03-01 13:32
I have had my clarinets for many years and have not gone clarinet hunting for a long time. I have a "day job" so I only have a hand full of students so I haven't had the occasion to try several horns for my students yet. So my naive question is this: when trying out several clarinets side by side, do you simply bring your preferred mouthpiece/reed set up and move them from clarinet to clarinet as you try them side by side? When trying them for a student, is it important to play them with a set up similar to that which the student will use?
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2005-03-01 13:45
Pappy,
You do switch your mouthpiece/reed set up between horns. That as a constant enables you to determine the difference between the instruments. As a teacher, I would use my own setup for the same reason. It'd tell me more about the instruments ultimately, and then I'd have the student try the same horns with their setup.
Katrina
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Author: Fred
Date: 2005-03-01 15:49
I might even go as far as to include my Chadash barrel in the evaluation. I really like what it did for my R13's.
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2005-03-01 18:58
I recently purchased a new R-13 for myself, and am quite pleased with it. It needed one minor adjustment due to a sticky pad--but otherwise it is one of the best I've ever played. So, perhaps GBK's friend is right about the current batch of instruments. I did, however, have to try out 6 (an unusually low number for me) before finding it. After 45 years of buying clarinets from a friend's music store, I've been given a free hand at all the new instruments that come into his store (a big dealer), and it's not unusual to try 20 to 30 before finding a really good one. This time I took the clarinet technician with me into the stock room and he checked them out before I took my "batch" into the sound room for play-testing.
So, don't give up on new Buffet R-13s. I'm a happy camper.
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