 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: chinaboy61
Date: 2007-05-20 03:22
IS it smart to buy a Buffet from 1950? Would the wood not the be old and destroyed? How long can a clarinet that old last?
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Author: pewd
Date: 2007-05-20 03:25
i have a 1950 professional model Buffet. It was in pretty rough shape. I had it restored, it now plays beautifuly.
I wouldn't buy one sight unseen, the condition of instruments that old varies widely.
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: GBK
Date: 2007-05-20 03:38
Be aware that a Buffet from 1950 will probably NOT be an R13, if that matters to you ...GBK
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2007-05-20 09:11
I have several Selmers from the '50s, and they're structurally sound and play beautifully. There are plenty of people on here with older instruments in regular use - some even dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries.
I've worked on Loree oboes from the early 20th century, Louis oboes from the '30s and more besides from the '40s and '50s, and all of these have scrubbed up well.
Don't start to worry about it being all 'blown out', but treat it with care the first few months - as if it's a brand new clarinet in the way you play it in (if it hasn't been played for years).
But one thing you may have trouble doing is replacing it with a similar one, should the worst happen (ie. lost or stolen).
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2007-05-20 09:56
Clarinets can last quite a while, given proper care.
Dave Spiegelthal has posted in the past various clarinets he's had or overhauled which sometimes date back QUITE a ways. He sold me an A clarinet from BEFORE the 1930's. He had to do a lot to get the tuning correct, as I don't think it was a professional model of its time, but the wood and keywork was gorgeous. The wood was beautiful, sound, and unstained and the keywork was fine for me.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: rtmyth
Date: 2007-05-20 14:54
I played an ancient Robert A , circa 1920, for years. It had a bore as smooth as glass.
richard smith
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Author: grifffinity
Date: 2007-05-20 16:17
I have a 1955 Buffet A - it is the best A I have have every played. I acquired the horn in 2004.
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Author: nickma
Date: 2007-05-21 05:34
I have just restored a polycylindrical R13 in Bb from 1956, complete with original keywork. This includes smaller than later C#/G# key with a small leaf spring and one or two other differences.
The sound and playing characteristics are extraordinary, much better than 99% of later instruments of the same model.
Restoration is a lot of work on an old instrument that has laid 'fallow' for years, as many of them have. However, the effort is worth it. Vivid colour compared to monochrome. Excellent scale too, and throat notes that are not at all stuffy.
Nick
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2007-05-22 02:18
I have two old Kohlert (Czechoslovakian) clarinets, one is a full-Boehm and one is a standard Boehm, with serial numbers within 50 of each other (so they were probably made in the same year, if not the same week) -- I believe they date from the 1920s, or 1930s at the latest. Following meticulous overhauls they look like new and I'd rather play them than any modern instrument. Granted I'm not a professional soprano clarinetist, so my standards are probably lower than those of many of the denizens of this Board -- but the point is, there's no reason to believe that old clarinets are necessarily unplayable because of their age. Nearly all of the clarinets and saxes that I play regularly (in public) date from the 1950s or earlier. I don't play them just to be eccentric or because I'm some sort of Luddite -- I just prefer the workmanship and materials of the vintage instruments. As the saying goes, "they just don't make them like that anymore".
Post Edited (2007-05-22 21:15)
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