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Different types of early R13s?

Author: John Peacock
Date: 2010-11-25 16:11

I know that Robert Carree's polycylindrical design started to be marketed by Buffet in the mid 1950s. If you go to the Buffet website, the earliest instrument that they list is serial number 58835, from 1958. But over the following decade, the instruments seem to come with (at least) 3 distinct names:

No. 1 440 GL
No. 1 440 France
No. 1 440 Amerique

The first bits are simple: No. 1 440 means the standard keywork pitched in A=440. But what do the last names designate? From a limited amount of typing numbers by trial and error, the "GL" designation seems to run from the first properly recorded instrument (58835 in 1958) to 62087 at the end of 1959. Then it becomes "France" in 62088. The earliest "Amerique" I've found is 62972 at the end of 1960. But thereafter the "France" and "Amerique" designations seem to swap around for the rest of the decade.

So what did "GL" mean, and did its disappearance from 62088 signify a redesign? And was there actually a difference in design between the "France" and "Amerique" models? One hears that the development of the S1 and RC models was an attempt to cater for differing tastes in the US and Europe, but was Buffet doing this already in 1960? Maybe someone out there is lucky enough to have several Buffets from 1958-1962 and can comment on any differences.

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