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RE: A good buy?

Author: Daniel Bouwmeester
Date: 2000-10-31 21:53

Getting a baby is a difficult thing to do....

it's all a question of taste.... Some guy could fall in love with a clarinet, as another could throw away the same instrument....

I don't know how you're with about money, but my opinion is that, once you have a good baby, you keep it for long.... whatever you do to get it.... if you really wanna get to professional level, you need a baby that suits you.

Anyway..... Buffets are probably the most popular instruments worldwide .....

The professional models include :

normal models :

R13
R13 Greenline
RC
RC Greenline

Prestige models :

Festival
RC prestige
Vintage
Elite

www.boosey.com

All models are of similar quality of construction... the basic difference between the normal and prestige models is the wood..

The normal models have stained wood and the prestige models have unstained and better quality wood.....

What I have noticed while trying buffet clarinets at the factory in Mantes La Ville (near Paris), was that prestige models had a very good "good instrument" average..... and the normal models had a lower average..... But.... sometimes you could fall on the rare one that would beat the prestige models....

That's my baby story :

Played 4 years on an old Boosey&Hawkes Regent.... Then got myself a buffet E13.... which I played 5 years.... and with which I have been very happy.

Last year for my 18th birthday, I decided to get myself a pair of factory buffets.

That's how I got my babies...

I went to the local shop... tried everything they had... Selmer, Leblanc, Buffet..... I liked the Buffet RC model....

But wasn't satisfied with it....

I went to the buffet Factory near Paris.... (4 hours in the train from Geneva)... spent 3 days with Carlos...... trying all their Models.... from R13 to Elite.....

I liked the RC model and the Elite....

Hum.. Elite was a bit too expensive... 3000 $ + 3000 $ = 6000 $ (yep... no....)

So.. I decided... RC.... I tried at least 50 instruments..... all of them were RCs.. I compared prestige and standard models.. and decided prestige was better...... till.... I saw Monica and Erica (these are my instruments)..... These babies were hidden in some corner of the factory..... They are normal RC's but when I tried them, they were just the best I had tried.. most cool sound... most cool everything..... I fell in love with them...... I decided I wanted to get them.... I spent another day... making mechanicall adjustments with Carlos (the engineer at buffet).... and Hupetsikee back home.. with my new toys... they costed me..... 2500 $ each... but it was worth it..... I know I will still have these two babies when I'm 80 years old...

Anyway..... don't buy any instrument before having tried it..... go to a dealer which has a big choise of instruments..... compare models.... and get the one you find the coolest..... Even if you have to pay the price.....

If you're not ready yet to have YOUR baby.... get a model that you like which has a good price.... and get your final baby when you can afford it......

I don't believe it's necessary to get through the long selection procedure if you're not gonna go for a professional carreer...

Don't rush.. take your time to choose the right instrument.... it took me more than a year to find Monica and Erica...

Money is not important you can allwayz find some..... a good instrument is much more difficult to find.....

But... :

It's not the instrument that makes the music, it's the musician..... Give a plastic @!#$ to Sabine Meyer and it will sound beautifull.... Remember that !

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