Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2012-03-10 04:48
I don't like to be a wet blanket but I think I have to give a somewhat different assessment of your clarinet than Steve or Richard. I think it's closer to the truth to say no one can tell you what you have without seeing at least pictures of your clarinet because there is really almost no information available regarding E&S clarinets with no prefix to their serial numbers.
First, regarding Steve's comments, I think it's very unlikely any E&S clarinets were ever made in the Schreiber plant in Germany. Buffet has always maintained that all E&S (and E13) clarinets have been made in France. Even those made in the Malerne factory would have been made in France. Second, the earliest any Buffet clarinets were made in the Schreiber plant is around 1978. By that time, all E&S clarinets had been made in the main Buffet factory in Paris for many years (the serial numbers had passed K40000).
While I can't be certain without seeing pictures, I think it most likely that either your clarinet was made prior to the beginning of the K-series (which would make it no later than the early 1930s) or its prefix was inadvertently omitted when the serial number was stamped. In the latter case, it would either be a clarinet from the Malerne factory (which would probably indicate it was made prior to the 1950s) or an older K-series clarinet from the Buffet factory in Paris. If your clarinet falls into any of these categories, IMO, it is not really equivalent to an E11. It is of a far older design. It may turn out to be a good clarinet, but if I were you I would be alert to any complaints your daughter may have about it seeming hard to blow or stuffy feeling/sounding.
I also doubt that Lee Gibson's comments have any bearing here. Assuming Richard's date for the Gibson article is in the ballpark, by the time he wrote it, he almost certainly would have been comparing a much more modern, redesigned E&S model with the R13.
But this is all speculation. If you can post some pictures of the clarinet, perhaps someone will be able to give you a more accurate assessment of what you have.
Best regards,
jnk
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