 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: basser
Date: 2017-07-11 21:51
I've been looking for a bass clarinet to buy and always keep my eyes open for interesting Bb's and other unusual clarinets. Seems like there's a trend on this site, as well as the auctions sites, to purge Buffets. Is it my imagination? Is Buffet falling out of favor?
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2017-07-11 22:00
There are other options.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Wes
Date: 2017-07-11 22:47
For many of us who look on at this site, our Buffet clarinets are serving us very well and we don't feel a need to look further. Also, in a large urban area such as Los Angeles, it is very difficult to find a music store with a stock of fine optional instruments such as Selmer, Backun, etc.
For a bass clarinet, it is even more difficult to find any local stock and one would have to order online or from a catalog. I actually bought a new Buffet 1193 bass from Howarth's in London without trying it at a very attractive price a few years ago. It was perfectly adjusted and is such a joy to play!
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Author: jthole
Date: 2017-07-11 22:56
There are many Buffets bought worldwide, so there are also many sold ... for all sorts of reasons. I think 80% of the clarinets on the local online marketplace here are Buffet Crampon instruments.
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Author: ClarinetRobt
Date: 2017-07-12 18:02
Picking on Buffet has become sport. There are consumers, like myself, that are fed-up with the brand. I love my Prestige Buffet - it's a great horn - but after helping friends, students, peers find a good R13 in the past few years, the process of 'finding' an instrument is disheartening.
Yamaha is (not arguable IMO) making a better 'mouse trap'...consistent, less expensive, better fit and finish instruments. So is Ridenour.
The endless (needless) pursuit from consumers of the latest, greatest thing has put Buffet at a (deserved) competitive disadvantage. I don't begrudge them to sell product...that's what they do. They should definitely use every marketing trick in the book to sell horns. Yet consumers are done with inferior, unreliable products. (I could be talking about cars right now.)
I could see clarinetist selling their Buffets for the coolest (better?) horn on the market. What did Ridneour call it..."boutique-ism". Throwing money at the latest, greatest gadget to improve one's playing, when what we all should just be practicing. I know I could sell my Buffet and all but buy a set of CSVRs. It's a tempting notion.
These various threads has me thinking. 40 years ago, the pros only had a few choices on truly professional instrument, mouthpieces (usually handmade or tweaked), reeds, and especially ligatures (didn't Drucker use a stock lig?). They all sounded terrific. Now we have better technology, better instruments, more consistent reeds. Yet at the end of the day, in general, we don't sound any better than a Wright, Marcellus, Meyer, or Frost. I have a very good Buffet, but my Ridenour Libertas has better intonation. Manufacturers put special a vent key to improve the tuning on a low F. Yet Ridenour simply improved the design of the horn and solved with tuning problem with no gimmicks.
Perhaps, we just need to start practicing more put the credit card up. [Insert Long Tone Exercise]
~Robt L Schwebel
Mthpc: Behn Vintage
Lig: Ishimori, Behn Delrin
Reed: Legere French Cut 3.75/4, Behn Brio 4
Horns: Uebel Superior (Bb,A), Ridenour Lyrique, Buffet R13 (Eb)
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Author: WhitePlainsDave
Date: 2017-07-12 18:43
(Satire)
Robert...your post....would you.................marry me? ![[wink]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie3.gif)
(Translation: it's nice to hear ones own feelings concurred and expressed by others)
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Author: TomS
Date: 2017-07-12 19:35
I think other makers are finally getting a toe hold ... it was starting to happen when you could buy an Opus or Concerto ... now the Yamaha CSVR and SEVR and the Backun clarinets are gaining momentum.
Buffet's reaction should be to improve the quality and consistency of their instruments ... implement some sort of real, un-hyped (and also well advertised) quality control and new production methods ... an R13/Festival/Tosca renewal (R13R/Festival-R/Tosca-R) And let the quality speak for itself, as well. Over time, it will keep Buffet's market share stable, albeit smaller.
Meanwhile, Tom Ridenour's clarinets have seen steady incremental mechanical improvement over the years ... when you are not at the disadvantage of finding good wood, that helps as well ... and his stuff holds up nicely over time.
Tom
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Author: ClarinetRobt
Date: 2017-07-12 20:02
Interesting anecdote from this past Sunday in a summer, community band I play in (relevant because better horn isn't always better?):
The clarinet section had a chalumeau unison soli section is some Barber show-tune transcription (always fun to play and the crowd loves it.) The intonation was awful, specifically on ![[F3]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/f3.gif) that was repeated countless times in the melody.
The conductor finally brokedown and had each of us tune the low F. Every instrument (various makes) was 20+ cents flat. My bullet proof Ridenour was spot on. Ironically, there was little I could do. I tried lipping down, but I was odd man out and caused most of the problems. (Yes I was 'in tune', but it was of little comfort if I was still the outlier. The problem was mine to fix, since everyone was doing the best they could.) Though I got Kudos for being in tune, at the end of the day, I left the melody out - I played "I need an emergency swab of my horn." The section was better without me.
~Robt L Schwebel
Mthpc: Behn Vintage
Lig: Ishimori, Behn Delrin
Reed: Legere French Cut 3.75/4, Behn Brio 4
Horns: Uebel Superior (Bb,A), Ridenour Lyrique, Buffet R13 (Eb)
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Author: TomS
Date: 2017-07-13 06:17
Well ... the Selmer Signature suffers from the same great intonation as the Libertas ... low F is in tune ... and no extra vent. I do think that the acoustical solution for the low pitch does slightly compromise sonority ... but apparently only a couple of designers know the design secret ... I ain't selling my Lyrique Libertas, unless I replace it with a new one, someday. The Libertas can keep up with any other clarinet in power and projection ... very efficient instrument.
Tom
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