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Re: Buffet E12 Evette

Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2018-01-04 03:09

The clarinet you have found on eBay is not equivalent to the current Buffet E12F. Assuming I am looking at the same clarinet you are, it was made in Paris sometime between 1960 and (circa) 1978. While there was a Evette designated as an E12, during that period, the clarinet on eBay isn't one.

In this case, I think Chris P. has oversimplified the early history of the (wood) Evette. Buffet actually marketed this model as early as the 1930's (maybe earlier). Until 1960, the label read "Evette Sponsored by Buffet." This has led to speculation that the another manufacturer, perhaps R.M. Malerne, "stencilled" these instruments for Buffet, though AFAIK, Buffet has never acknowledged this.

From 1960 through the late 1970s, the Evette label dropped the "Sponsored by..." designation. In addition to the change in label, these instruments can be identified by a "D" prefix to the serial number. They were still made in France and still in a separate factory and may have been stencils but Buffet promotional literature claims they were made either by Buffet employees or, at least under Buffet supervision. (I forget which.) During this period, they were designated in Carl Fischer (Buffet's U.S. importer) catalogs as the E10 model. (There was also a plastic Evette designated as the B10.) At some time during this period, perhaps towards the end, Buffet did adopt the E12 designation for Evette Master Models. However, these instruments are easy to identify by the words "Master Model" stamped below the Evette logo on these instruments. From what I can tell, master model Evettes were simply production Evettes that play-tested particularly well during their final inspection. I have one from the 1970s and it is a very decent student instrument. I also have a "regular" French Evette from the 1970s that my daughter used and it is also a very decent student instrument. (For awhile, Buffet made a similar distinction between "regular" and "Master Model" E13 Evette and Schaeffer clarinets. And to further confuse the issue, an old serial number lookup on the Buffet website actually designated the Evette and Schaeffer model as "E12.")

In the late 1970s, Buffet shifted production of their Evette student clarinets to the Schreiber factory and I think there are some Evettes made there from the late seventies until Buffet changed the instrument's designation to the E11 in the mid-eighties. These Evettes are identified as Made in W. Germany and have a 6-digit serial number with no prefix. They also show some presumably cost-saving design changes that IMO make them less desirable than French-made Evettes with the D- serial numbers.

The nomenclature Buffet has used over the years to designate this model is ambiguous and many eBay sellers mislabel these instruments in their ads (often honestly out of ignorance but sometimes dishonestly). As I mentioned above, I believe the clarinet you are looking at is indeed misidentified. It has the D-series Evette label and the seller notes that it has a D- series serial number (without actually giving the serial number, or at least its first 3-digits which would be useful in determining the instrument's age). That's why I conclude that it is a French-made model but not an "E12." If it were, it would have Master Model in the logo. Also, while it was made in "a" Paris factory, it was not made in "the" Paris factory where R13s were made. I also doubt the claim about the bore. While I may be wrong about this, I believe the D-series Evettes had cylindrical bores, not the polycylindrical bore of the R13. It is a student model and an old one, at that. Whether it would be a step-up for your daughter depends on what she is playing now.

Best regards,
jnk

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