 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: HummingBirdDesigns
Date: 2013-05-26 17:57
Does anyone know anything about the Evette & Schaeffer Modele Buffet Crampon Bb Clarinet # K31800? I couldn't find any reference to this model on-line anywhere.
I've had it for years since high school. We bought it used but never had any paperwork or information about it. It is in fair condition with some damage to the first joint near the register key.
Is this a professional grade instrument? Would it be suitable for a young beginner?
Thank you.
Post Edited (2013-05-26 22:53)
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Author: GaryH
Date: 2013-05-26 23:21
It is a model E-13. It was sold as a step-up instrument. Do a search and you will find all sorts of information on this clarinet.
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Author: curlyev
Date: 2013-05-26 23:51
Not a bad horn, intermediate level as stated above ^. I think a beginner could use it too, depends on the student I guess. I wish I could have started on one!
Clarinet: Wooden Bundy 1950s
Mthpc: WW Co. B6 refaced by Kurtzweil
Lig: Various Rovners
Barrel/Bell: Backun
Reeds: Legere 3.75
OKC Symphonic Band (just started this summer)
*playing 22 years (with a 5 year hiatus) and counting*
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Author: HummingBirdDesigns
Date: 2013-05-27 00:15
Thank you. No where on the instrument or case does it indicate it is an E-13. How were you able to determine that?
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Author: HummingBirdDesigns
Date: 2013-05-27 00:17
That is wonderful! Thank your for all the information. I have had this clarinet for many years (although I don't play anymore) and have always cherished it. It is nice to finally have a little more of its history. I was thinking of giving it to a young family member who is just starting out but may wait until he is a little more experienced.
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Author: raysnuffer
Date: 2013-05-27 03:15
Found this info on a clarinet blog site. I have a Evette Schaeffer Master model K5968 which plays and sounds wonderful....
Good description of my Evette Schaeffer
Offered is a vintage Evette Schaeffer Bb clarinet made by Buffet Crampon, Paris, France c.1954. Serial number K123. The K Series began around 1953 during the Golden Age of Buffet musical instruments when Paul Evette and Ernst Schaeffer owned the company. According to the Buffet website, the Evette Schaeffer clarinet is almost identical to to the famed professional R- 13. The only discernible differences are in the right hand pinky keys. There is also rumor that slightly flawed wood was saved for making the Evette Schaeffer model. Still identical to the R-13 in it's polycylindrical bore and undercut tone holes on the bottom joint. A far superior model to the modern E-13 which retails for over $1800.
So you have a good one !!!!
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2013-05-27 06:04
E-13 was the model identification given the Evette & Shaeffer model by Carl Fischer when that company was Buffet's U.S. importer. You can find this in designation in their old catalogs. In the 1980s, when Boosey & Hawkes owned Buffet, they re-branded the student (Evette) and student/intermediate (Evette & Schaeffer) lines. At that time the E&S model was renamed the E13.
The "good description" of the E&S clarinet is full of errors and half-truths. There are K-series E&S clarinets dating back at least to the 1930s. Vytas Krass owned and sold a 3-digit K-series E&S that had a higher serial number than K123 and the instrument's keywork clearly dates it to the 1930s. And, given that (as Mark Charette has noted in another thread) Paul Evette and Ernest Schaeffer purchased the Buffet company in 1885, with Maurice Evette succeeding Paul in 1918, it is very unlikely that Paul and Ernest owned the company in 1953, though their heirs might have.
While the E&S (and subsequent E13) have both been made in the same factory as the R13 and the two models share many design features, I have never seen any official Buffet claim that the E&S is "nearly identical" to the R13. According to older catalogs (from the 1960s, e.g.) Buffet noted that the R13 received more hand finishing than the E&S. IMO, the "rumor" that Buffet used slightly flawed wood in the E&S would be better termed "urban legend" if anyone has ever actually said this other than the person who originally wrote the above description. I have owned several E&S clarinets from a range of years and, based on those instruments and others I have seen, this "rumor" simply isn't true. Buffet eventually incorporated the R13's polycylindrical bore/undercut tonehole design in the E13 but probably not until at least a few years after the introduction of the R13. I don't know this for a fact but my best guess would be early 1960s. Finally, the claim that the K-series E&S is "far superior" to the modern E13 is a matter of opinion and certainly debatable, particularly for E&S clarinets that predate the incorporation of the polycylindrical bore.
Buffet currently characterizes the E13 as a student model but, in Buffet's product line, it appears to be placed immediately below Buffet's entry level professional models (R13 and RC). Your clarinet was made in or around 1975 in Buffet's main factory by the same craftsmen who were making the company's professional clarinets. In its time, it compared quite favorably to other major manufacturers' high-end intermediate models. IMO, it is potentially a very nice instrument.
Best regards,
jnk
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Author: Steven Ocone
Date: 2013-05-27 13:15
In 1998 a company employee told me that E-13 clarinets were R-13 clarinets with some flaw. I didn't ask for how long this was the case.
Steve Ocone
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Author: HummingBirdDesigns
Date: 2013-05-27 23:10
I am thrilled to learn so much about my clarinet (which sadly has been sitting in my closet for more years than I care to admit).
As I mentioned in my initial post, when I purchased it used, there was some damage to the first joint which was repaired rather sloppily. It looks like small metal bolts were inserted (and now to the right of those near the register key is a hairline crack about 2.5 inches long).
Is it worth refurbishing? What would that entail and about how much should I invest in doing that?
What is the best way to clean the inside of the case as it could use a good scribbing!
I would love to keep this instrument for many more years and pass it down to younger family members if they show an interest in playing.
Thanks again!
DSW (HummingbirdDesigns)
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