 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Clarie
Date: 2011-08-20 16:21
If you were buying a Buffet today, would you buy one manufactured in 1974 or a new one from WWBW?
Would the older Buffet be a better instrument for tone? I have heard the newer Buffets are hard to come by and more expensive.
Also, I have tracked the serial # on the used Buffet at Buffet's website. When I put the serial # in, there are 2 different instruments that come up so I do not know which instrument this used one really is. The serial number is printed on the lower bore of the clarinet and has a gold color to it.
It could be a BC1102-2 manufactured in 2004 or it could be an R13 Amerique manufactured in 1974.
On the upper bore, it looks like it has several cork pads instead of the white pads that I have seen on later models.
Any advice/info you can give on the used instrument is much appreciated also.
I have read other posts on this website where others have actually gone to a shop and tried out new Buffet clarinets. In my state, we simply don't have this Buffet luxury to do that.
Thanks in advance!
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2011-08-20 16:28
Take what sounds best to your (and your bystanders') ears, and what you're most comfortable with.
An older clarinet isn't per se better or worse than a new one, it's just, well, different, as much as two new clarinets can be different.
If you have freedom of choice, play the naïvité card (don't be worried about technical details) and just take what you like most. ("I'll have the pink one with the polka dots.")
In my life, I had only one clarinet that was brand new. The rest are 2nd, 3rd, nth hand, some still look great, some other look like salvaged from the Titanic wreck. I don't really care. I just like them (or I don't and then sell them).
--
Ben
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Author: SteveG_CT
Date: 2011-08-20 16:36
I would seriously consider planning a road trip to a store where you can actually try out a few instruments and pick one you like. Buffet makes very good clarinets but they do have a reputation for having somewhat inconsistent quality. Considering the prices even used R13's sell for I wouldn't want to buy one without playing it first.
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Author: ThatPerfectReed
Date: 2011-08-20 17:33
Clarie:
The late great Harold Wright said it best http://mediaplayer.wgbh.org/?xml=backstage/wright_harold_1993.xml&resize=1 at about 3:19 we he talked about the need to buy beautiful instruments, not necessarily new ones.
..not that I have issue with you buying new. My issue, as SteveG points out, is your lack of access to a selection of horns that you try before puchasing any one.
Some people, who live in areas that are less populated with large Buffet dealers, as you claim to be, use the services of a professional instrument selector: a person who does this selection task for you, but isn't (suppose to be) in the business of selling instruments, but selection expertise. I have my doubts with the process for not only the potential conflicts of interest I just raised, but for the simple fact that what's best for you may not be what's best for the instrument selector. Other people praise them--and I respect that.
And this is not a criticsm of the many reputable internet instrument dealers out there--a list on which, IMHO, WWBW is a member.
So..and to allude to what SteveG already suggested, but embellish upon, I'd sooner buy a used R13 that I got to try, along with numerous other used R13's, paying the travel expenses to put myself in a larger metropolis, with several large woodwind dealers, with the savings of not buying a new one.
Conflict of interest: I have an R13 from the 1960's that I love.
In an offline email, I provided a prior out of (my) town poster with precise details on how to do this in the NYC I near live. Feel free to write me offline should you wish me to share this information with you. Flights from smaller cities (i.e. Little Rock) to larger cities can often cost less than flights to, say Tulsa, OK (nothing whatsoever against Tulsa!) simply because of airline's ability to fill a greater % of seats on larger air crafts.
NYC has many of its music stores consolidated to 1 block in its Theater District.
Best of luck in finding the clarinet you love.
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Author: CocoboloKid
Date: 2011-08-20 21:53
New Buffets are "hard to come by"? Honey, Buffet churns out clarinets by the tens of thousands per year. Every major retailer of clarinets on Earth can ship you out a new Buffet tomorrow. It's like buying a new Honda! Just decide you want one, and order it!
(Now, might you have to "test drive" twenty-five new Buffets to find one you like? Probably...)
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Author: dtiegs
Date: 2011-08-21 00:13
Not to meaning to rain on your parade, but have you considered other brands??? Maybe perhaps... daresay... Yamaha. . . Selmer and Leblanc.
*disclaimer.
...Biased info... I am definitely on the Yamaha Train.
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2011-08-22 01:19
I had a 1972 R13 clarinet. It was excellent. Recently I bought a new R13 and fell in love with it. I tried out a mess of them and they all played well.
I am very happy with this horn. Whenever you are trying out horns, new or used, bring your tuner. The pitch can be all over the place.
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Author: TianL
Date: 2011-08-22 14:06
for your second question about the serial number, if it's BC1102 -- that's an E13, and should have "E13" printed on the upper joint. if it doesn't, then it should be an 1974 R13. the seller should also know though..
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