 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Richard
Date: 2012-02-13 09:52
So my son wants to upgrade his clarient from his beginner clarient. His teacher recommended a Buffet R13 but internet research seems to indicate that it has nylon pins that break all the time. Wondering if there was a more reliable clarinet out there or other suggestions. Looking to spend 2-4K.
Thanks, RS
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2012-02-13 11:49
Hello RS,
The nylon pins are a nuisance that are easily remedied, and not a reason in and of themselves to shy away from an R13.
Regardless of opinion of make/model the most consistent advice you receive is "try before you buy". If you're son is not yet discriminating enough to make those decisions you should include your private teacher.
I've helped a lot of students purchase instruments in the past, and the R13 can be a great horn. I'm more and more impressed with the Yamaha CSG however.
Your son's teacher may have very strong opinions about entertaining he purchase of a non-Buffet instrument.
Good luck!
James
Gnothi Seauton
Post Edited (2012-02-13 12:26)
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Author: rmk54
Date: 2012-02-13 12:05
My R-13's are about 10 years old and the pins have remained intact for me. I am a professional so these instruments have been used a lot.
My advice: Step away from the internet and listen to his teacher.
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Author: SteveG_CT
Date: 2012-02-13 13:22
rmk54 wrote:
> My advice: Step away from the internet and listen to his
> teacher.
This is really the best advice you will get. It looks like you are near NYC so you should be able to find stores with clarinets in stock very easily. Talk to you son's teacher about going with your son to audition new clarinets.
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Author: Gregory Williams
Date: 2012-02-13 13:52
Hi Richard,
If you should decide to go the Buffet R13 route, you could consider going to Hoboken, NJ to try instruments that Mark Sloss has. You could ask your son's teacher to meet you there. They have been picked out in Jacksonville, FL by Mark Nuccio, of the NY Philharmonic from new shipments of Buffet clarinets. Jacksonville, FL is the distribution point for Buffet Clarinet (and other instruments) from France. Mark Nuccio usually travels to Florida several times a year to try instruments and sends some of the best ones (in his well educated opinion) to Mark Sloss in NJ.
Here is their facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/PWICNJ
Disclaimer: I am a Buffet Artist, but am not affiliated in any way with Mark Sloss or PWICNJ. I have purchased an instrument from Mark Sloss in the past.
Best Wishes,
Greg Williams
Minnesota Orchestra
And don't worry too much about the nylon pins. They can be replaced with metal ones if you really feel it is necessary. I've never broken one in my 20 years of playing.
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Author: Ursa
Date: 2012-02-14 07:08
You could always buy an R13 and have the nylon pins replaced as part of the instrument's setup before you take delivery of it. This would add minimal cost to the instrument, and give you the peace of mind you're looking for. Problem solved!
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2012-02-14 07:41
Re the nylon pins, yes, it's definitely something to criticize, but many models from many companies have things to criticize. Thing is...
> ...internet research seems to indicate that it has nylon pins that break all the time. <<
That's definitely not true. First it's a matter of statistics. There are probably a few hudreds of these heavily used in my area, since it's by far the most popular professional model (including other Buffet models with same nylon pins). In the last few years I think I replaced two or maybe three pins (and remember that each clarinet has two of them and some have three).
If you are very worried, you can have them imediately replaced. You can ask whoever you buy from if they can do it for a low cost or maybe they'll even give a full dicount of the cost for this. Maybe they can't but can give a discount if this is done by someone else. It's all worth asking.
I'm not trying to encourage or discourage you from buying an R13, it's just that the nylon pins are IMO not a reason not to buy it.
I can also recommend Mark Sloss for a great service.
Re the advice to step away from the internet and just listen to the teacher, those days are long gone. Just don't take for granted everything you read i.e. when you read about pins breaking, ask someone, or preferably several experienced people about it and how true it is e.g. repairers who work on many of those clarinets, other (hopefully impartial) teachers with many students with these models, etc.
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