 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: dzirkle2
Date: 2007-04-02 17:29
I have had two Buffet R13 Prestige clarinets crack (upper joint) when they were less than a year old. The latest Buffet cracked within 10 months of receiving it. We have taken all the necessary precautions to keep the clarinet in a constant environment.
Has anyone else heard of any problems related production issues or problems with a bad lot or poorly seasoned wood? My daughter loves her Buffet, but we cannot trust the product and thinking about selling the recent (new) replacement and buying another brand. Any opinions on the Yamaha YCL-CSG model? My daughter tried a LaBlanc Symphonie design by Backun, but wasn't really taken with it - just could have been bad one - it was the only one in the store. Thanks!
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2007-04-02 20:12
The CSG clarinets have been getting rave reviews by a lot of people - though if you do go for these, make sure they have been set-up by a tech before being sold as there are some heavy spring tension issues with box fresh ones. Just my opinion on that.
Have you considered Buffet Greenline clarinets? Though these will not split in the manner wooden ones will, they are more brittle than grenadilla - and affected by temperature changes (as are all plastic instruments) more than grenadilla, but not humidity (which affects grenadilla more than plastics).
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Cricket
Date: 2007-04-03 03:34
I recently purchased a used buffet r-13 that was about 10 yrs old, and it cracked. I was worred about it, but my clarinet teacher studied with the clarinet professor at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville(he is also principle player in the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, and occasionally performs in different locations in the US and Internationally), and he said he has never owned a clarinet that didnt crack, and he's owned several. I dont know if this helps, but its good to know that cracking happens, and that the cracks wont ruin the horn. I both of my cracks have been repaired, and my instrument sounds great.
Cricket, high school senior
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Author: grifffinity
Date: 2007-04-03 03:49
A crack may or may not be the end of the world. First, is the clarinet still under warranty from Buffet or the store it was originally purchased from? I know Weiner in NY told me that Buffets sold through them have a 5 year warranty for a cracked joint. You may be able to get the joint replaced.
If not, ask these few questions.
Is the crack running to a or through a post?
Is the crack running through a tone hole?
Is the crack all the way through the bore?
The worst two, IMO are a crack that is complete through the bore and one running through a post. Of course, you'd be suprised what a brilliant repairman can do to fix almost any situation - you just have to be certain to find a great one!
Not all cracks are fatal - ask any professonal oboist who most likely is playing on a cracked horn held together by superglue.
My advice, before you sell - seek out a competent and honest repair person to ask for their opinion. If you wanted to venture to NYC, I'd recommend Jimmy Yan. His repairwork is almost undetectible. I don't have any names to recommend out of PA - perhaps someone else could be of service?
Post Edited (2007-04-03 03:52)
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Author: chinaboy61
Date: 2007-04-03 03:49
Well it does seem that Buffet are the clarinets that always crack...but anyhow, my R-13 cracked when I first got it and thats why I returned it YAY! Chris was right though, try a greenline they don't crack and thats good. If your going into a different brand I would stick with either Leblanc or Buffet. Try a Leblanc Concerto or Opus your daughter might like that.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2007-04-03 05:31
"Well it does seem that Buffet are the clarinets that always crack..."
Are you saying that because most clarinets you know about that cracked are Buffets? If that's the case, then it's probably because a lot more people play Buffet, so you just know a lot more about those, and not because Buffets crack more often.
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Author: OpusII
Date: 2007-04-03 08:28
My OpusII cracked at the age of 1...... so Buffet isn't the only one with this problem.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2007-04-03 14:39
The consensus is that wood can crack.
Bob Draznik
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2007-04-03 16:21
Several of my acquaintances play on crack-repaired Buffets --some with three cracks!
Bob Phillips
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Author: dzirkle2
Date: 2007-04-03 17:38
Yes - it is the nature of the beast, in this case the clarinet, to crack. It is frustrating to pay $4000+ for an instrument and a few months later have it crack!
I do have access to an excellent technician who has repaired a crack in our Selmer Series IX. Thanks for the recommendation in NYC!
This last crack was severe - it was cracked through to the bore and into the cork as well as through a tone hole.
We have thought about the Greenline, but have not tried them out!
Thanks to who responded - this BBoard is a wonderful source of information and I have used it several times. Good luck!
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Author: GBK
Date: 2007-04-03 18:23
All my life I've been playing Buffet,
They've been used in every which way.
In cold rooms and hot,
In a bar - on a yacht.
Not a crack to report to this day
I feel that I should be more clear.
Let's not instill panic and fear.
If a horn's going to crack,
Don't have a panic attack.
Fix it and resume your career.
...GBK
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Author: EuGeneSee
Date: 2007-04-03 18:33
GBK:
You're a poet and don't know it,
But your scottie reins show it,
They're MacLeish's!
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Author: GBK
Date: 2007-04-03 18:55
Did MacLeish play an R13?
I thought he was a Yamaha artist...GBK
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2007-04-03 19:43
GBK's prime Buffets do not crack....
Yet such good fortune some people lack.
I don't mean to pick nits
but the number of splits
in Buffets is too many to track!
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Author: EuGeneSee
Date: 2007-04-03 19:47
Glenn, I can't swear to it, but it seems he tootled on a J.B. (Jorge Bundee) Eu
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Author: J. J.
Date: 2007-04-03 19:51
The Yamaha CSGs are great instruments, but don't think for a second you'll be getting a better chance of not cracking. I've heard of quite a few of them cracking in recent years, proportionally just as much if not more than Buffets.
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2007-04-04 20:08
Has anyone tried their own oil treatment on new clarinets? I'm talking about complete immersion of the top joint for several days and repeating this process on a regular basis.
Freelance woodwind performer
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Author: donald
Date: 2007-04-04 20:14
my former teacher was very keen on his Yamaha CSG... and then it cracked quite badly and he was unable to find another CSG clarinet that he liked as much....
so
it's not just Buffets that crack
donald
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Author: kev182
Date: 2007-04-04 20:29
All wooden clarinets have the potential to crack, my RC cracked this year which took 5 pins to close. I have been seeing and hearing a lot of clarinets cracking this year. Someone had told me this is the worst year they have ever seen.
Wanting to buy a new clarinet anyway, I considered Greenline. I ordered 3 GL R13s and 2 Greenline Toscas and tried them with my teacher today.
Amazing results, one of the R13s was fantastic! one very good and one great. One of the Toscas was just mind blowing, after my teacher had tried he was tempted to keep it for himself. Out of all the Tosca Bbs (wood) he has tried 20+ this was the only one he really fell in love.
For those of you who say Greenline doesn't sound as good, this is not true at all. Michael Arignon also plays GL Toscas...
Just a thought about another option to traditional wood.
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Author: sherman
Date: 2007-04-06 07:43
Hard rubber is a much better substance with which to construct a clarinet. It does not crack, and it is much more dimentionally stable than is wood, and will therefore be much less a problem of temperature changes.
If one had a nickel for every student that came for a lesson with a wooden barrel absolutely fused to the instrument because they bind after a couple of band rehearsals, one would be a wealthy person.
Some students have been advised to always keep the barrel pulled out in order to avoid this fusion. Honest.
Hard rubber, like wood grows on trees, but the difference in addition to those above , is the abundance of the available material.
It also sounds better, blends with other instruments better, especially string instruments. This has been my professional experience on a daily basis.
Finally, it is less than half the price of any Greenline clarinet, and suffers much less in terms of intonation.
Sherman Friedland
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2007-04-07 01:52
Amen, Sherman! I wish manufacturers still made their top-line instruments in hard-rubber versions, as many did up until the early 1950s or so. Although my ears are 'potato-lined' and therefore my aural judgment is suspect at best, it's been my experience that some of the best-playing and best-sounding clarinets were made of hard rubber. The only real downside of the material, IMHO, is its tendency to oxidize to that ugly olive green/brown shade with time. Wood is prettier -- but hard rubber generally plays better. At least the clarinet world has mostly conceded that it's a superior material for mouthpieces!
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