 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Poetry
Date: 2015-10-23 01:54
Hello all.
I'm looking at a new clarinet to take up playing again. I haven't played in around 4 years and I'm not very good, but now I've found a new teacher.
I found a used Buffet Crampon RC, but the seller almost hasn't played it and hasn't repaired it or anything in the last 10 years. Would it be nuts to buy an instrument like that or can it be good?
Of course I'm going to try it out, but as I'm not very experienced I won't be able to judge by that only.. I think.
Hope you can help me.
Kind regards from Denmark
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2015-10-23 02:23
Hi Poetry,
Welcome back to clarinet. Nice instrument if all is well and the price is right. Why not have your new teacher try it?
HRL
PS I have golf clubs better than I will ever be. Apply the same logic to your clarinet query.
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Author: KenJarczyk
Date: 2015-10-23 02:47
Poetry -
Buffet RC clarinets have a great reputation. Probably a great horn. I do agree with Hank, in the above post, have your new teacher give is a go.
And -- Welcome Back to Clarinet!
Ken Jarczyk
Woodwinds Specialist
Eb, C, Bb, A & Bass Clarinets
Soprano, Alto, Tenor & Baritone Saxophones
Flute, Alto Flute, Piccolo
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2015-10-23 03:05
The RC is an excellent instrument, and if the price is right this could be a good buy. Even if it needs some work, at the end of it you'll have a very good horn.
Tony F.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-10-23 07:04
It would be like buying a car only owned by a little old lady from Pasadena. As long as it has no cracks, and plays well, just break it in as you would a new horn and give it a bore oil treatment to prevent future cracking.
................Paul Aviles
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-10-23 19:23
I would like to offer a reason for the Buffet rationale (and I am not always a fan if you look at the history of what I have said around the Board).
The R13 (and those Buffets of that ilk) has a reputation for being a good horn because it is. Played properly, the R13 has a ringing characteristic (especially in the center of its range) that is almost unmatched.
But here is where Buffet has the edge. If you DON'T know what you want (or cannot distinguish clearly between the R13 and other top clarinets) then you SHOULD stick with Buffet simply because it is the prevailing brand in most orchestras. If you CAN hear differences, and you CAN justify another choice (to yourself and to others THROUGH YOUR PLAYING), then you wouldn't be asking which clarinet to buy.
.................Paul Aviles
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2015-10-23 20:20
SilverSorcerer,
I am puzzled by many of your comments above. In an earlier post on this BB from 6-30-2012
http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=373581&t=373581
you said: "I just decided to learn clarinet..." and "I am just a beginner..." but now you have in this post (and in others) commented in declarative terms about what instrument professionals play and why, what reeds to use, and made long, impassioned treatises on vintage clarinets that you happen to own. In many instances, you lose track of the questions and go off on a tangent about other issues.
Please tell me what your music and clarinet credentials and experiences are since I find your assertions quite shallow and very lacking in credibility. If you would rather send me an email about my queries, my address is with my profile.
HRL
Post Edited (2015-10-24 02:59)
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2015-10-23 23:16
Silversorcerer wrote:
> I think it is a more effective in adding meat to a discussion
> to actually add some information that is useful than to attack
> the credentials of someone who is actually adding some
> information that is useful.
>
But of course it would be nice to know if this is just a summation from various sources or first-hand in-depth knowledge from someone who actually has been playing for, oh, greater than 10 years. It is a distinction with a difference. It helps when figuring out what information is actually useful.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-10-24 00:33
Playing clarinet for ten years or more qualifies you for some of the best mental health care currently available.
...............Paul Aviles
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Author: donald
Date: 2015-10-24 01:31
In Denmark I understand Buffet clarinets are quite predominantly used for Professional Symphonic performance, and for various reasons (climate/myth/whatever) most serious players change instruments very frequently- making the 2nd hand market attractive if you don't believe in "blow out" and aren't worried about playing a cracked clarinet. It is also very easy to travel to other countries to buy instruments, and not problematic to cross the border without paying customs (even if they are applicable within the EU)
(this is not first hand info- passed on by a pro player working in Denmark for the last 5 years)
It's sometimes hard to tell if this BB is intentionally comic, or if the powers of irony are indeed at work. I just blew coffee out my nose reading this.
For the original poster- get your teacher to try it out, it might be the only clarinet you ever need to buy. Or it might be a dog. Either way this is the best way to find out, and I wish you luck with picking up the clarinet again!
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Author: donald
Date: 2015-10-24 12:30
Very good research skills, A+
Post Edited (2015-10-24 15:07)
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Author: Buster
Date: 2015-10-25 02:00
Wow we have an expert here... 2nd chair in marching band??? I bow to thee good sir... and appreciate your remedial "research" skills on Google...
But to be more on the nose... have you ever played your "professional" clarinets in what a mediocre reader might name a "professional" ensenmble?
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-10-25 03:26
I don't think we want this Board to look like most of the rest of the INTERWEB.
Let's try to be analytically critical of things and processes, not people. After all, you can get the under belly of society at any given moment on Fox News if that's what you want.
................Paul Aviles
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