 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2001-05-10 01:30
Just arrived for servicing... a Buffet clarinet, serial number 919J. According to the Sneezy age list it is made in 1896. A distinguishing feature is that there is no tuning provision. The barrel is incorporated into the upper section as an uninterupted piece of timber. Before I get loose on it giving it some reliability for a young student, is it very rare? Is it a museum piece that should be left "original", protected from the wiles of child players, and repairers focused on function? Does it have significant value as such? It is reasonably close to A440 except the bottom few notes which are about 25 cents flat.
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Author: joseph o'kelly
Date: 2001-05-10 02:02
I saw a clarinet like this on Ebay. It was a plastic C clarinet whos brand I can not remember. Is this clarinet an Albert or Bohem system?
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2001-05-10 02:30
The keywork is completely standard boehm. The only minor difference between this and modern clarinets is no regulator screw for the throat G# key, and flat springs for C#/G# & F#/C#.
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Author: Rob
Date: 2001-05-10 03:08
I don't know how rare it is but WW & BW has a similar A clarinet for sale (used, of course) which they describe as having a one-piece top joint, no barrel required. They list the serial number as U792, which places it at 1904, I think. They are not asking very much for it either. I don't know how much of an indication of rarity that may be, but I would imagine an operator of their size wouldn't sell a true rarity for the low, low price they have listed. It's not as if they give things away.
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Author: jim lande
Date: 2001-05-10 04:31
Most interesting. I have a metal buffet that is built the same way. And no adjustment screw for the G# --what a pain. I don't recall about the leaf springs, however. Mine is from the late 1920s and also has an articulated G#/C#. It is an excellent player.
Is the player old enough to take care of the horn? It would be a shame to learn on this fine old instrument, batter it, and then get to high school and have to replace it with an inferior instrument. Much better to learn on something plastic and then use this horn when they can get full advantage of it. My experience is that the older buffets are not as in tune, but have very lovely tone.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2001-05-10 12:37
I made a mistake. This instrument is made in 1896. I am expecting the customer to give the go ahead to make it reliable. This will mean capping the centre tenon to stop severe wobble. I hope that does not detract too much from its collector value at a later date. I'm tempted to install a regulating screw too.
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Author: Dee
Date: 2001-05-10 13:15
Suggest skipping the regulating screw. Clarinets like this were intended to be regulated by the technician making the proper adjustment and using an appropriate thickness of cork under the G# key where it crosses the A key. I have a 1940s Prueffer like this.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2001-05-10 13:30
It looks to me that 3 or 4 of these newer threads are inter-related to our discussions of C clarinet "length" farther down. Happy considerations, Don
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Author: David Spiegelthal
Date: 2001-05-10 16:00
Many (if not all) of the older clarinets I've seen (say, 1930 or earlier) lack the G# adjusting screw. As Dee pointed out, a proper thickness of cork does the trick. The flat springs Gordon mentioned are also very common on the older instruments. Other than those points, I have nothing worthwhile to add to the thread.
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2001-05-10 18:27
Gordon -
Buffets from before 1900 go for $400-500 on eBay, depending on how they look and how much work they need. Buffet experimented a lot during that period. A combined top joint and barrel is unusual, but I don't think it increases the value. In fact, I would pay less for it, since you have to pull out the mouthpiece to adjust the tuning. Also, with a single piece, you can't put on a Moennig or Chadash reverse taper barrel.
I also worry about it being 25 cents flat on the low notes. That's really badly out, particularly if the bottom end of the clarion register is in tune, which makes any adjustment nearly impossible.
The Buffet key design underwent a big change around 1920. I was told many years ago that their key-making equipment was destroyed during the First World War. I posted a detailed description of the changes at http://www.sneezy.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=11130&t=11130 . Dee and others pointed out a couple of additional items. The throat A and Ab keys were not mounted separately, but shared a post at the bottom of the Ab key. The guide for the top two trill keys was not the current cylinder with a slot but a bent strip of flat metal, with the sides in a slightly rounded inverted "V" shape. Finally, the metal extension attached to the post at the top of the right hand ring keys, serving as a stop for the Eb/Bb trill key, is apparently one of Buffet's short-lived experiments. It's present on my 1928 C clarinet, but not on any Bb I've seen.
The design changes were not all made at once. I think the flat spring for the F#/C# key was the first to go, followed by the one for the CE/G# key a few years later. Perhaps Peter Spriggs, who apprenticed with Hans Moennig, has a time line or knows someone who does.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2001-05-11 13:28
In the throat key linkage I prefer a very thin (0.03 mm), soft, extremely tough silencing material. A thicker material, especially cork, keeps crushing with use, upsetting the adjustment. I regard the ideal as being this thin material in conjunction with a regulating screw with a polished, rounded end and a speck of lubricant.
I regard the commonly used nylon tipped screws and also the firm polymer strip on the A key as better than thick cork, etc, but significantly noisy than the silencing material I use.
Without an adjusting screw adjustment can sometimes take just as long as it takes me to install an adjusting screw.
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Author: Dee
Date: 2001-05-12 01:41
See what the owner wants done. He might not want that much change to the instrument.
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