 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2019-09-18 00:01
Among the musical paraphernalia that I inherited from my grandfather is a Buffet C clarinet. It's surely from the 1st half of the 20th century. It's got an unrepaired crack and at least one repaired crack, plus lesser problems. My repair person, who did not like the old repair job, says all the problems can be fixed and the instrument made to play "as good as it can", but . . . perhaps $1000, maybe less.
Reading threads like the Harold in Italy thread restarts my questioning whether I will ever have direct need of a C clarinet, or whether I should offer mine for sale to anyone who does. It would seem there are more people faced with C clarinet parts then there are people with C clarinets. Against earlier expectations I recently played with an orchestra and may do so again. If I encounter a part written for C clarinet, I'd much prefer to play it on one. Then again, given my age and situation such opportunities would appear to number vanishingly few.
It's silly to just let it sit until some posthumous yard sale. Hmm. Probably I should 1) get a second opinion about overhaul cost, 2) pay to get it overhauled, 3) play it for a while, and, maybe, 4) sell it.
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2019-09-18 00:35
There are 2 schools of thought regarding C clarinet parts. Should the player transpose or should he play it on the C clarinet.
I think it depends on the composer. So I'll leave it at that. I feel some some composers actually wanted to hear the sound of a C clarinet.
As for you, it's your call. Maybe you might want the horn and a time will pop up when all of the players are just jamming and it's just easier to play on a C clarinet. You can find plastic ones on Ebay for $100 or so and that's about all they are worth. $1000 is a lot of money for a repair, but it is a Buffet. I would look around and see if you can get it fixed for less. Maybe at a repair school. There are a few schools like this around and maybe you can get it fixed for much less and at a very professional level. These are sometimes just woodwind schools and other times a 3 year program when the students learn to repair brass and woodwinds. This includes sliver and gold plating, dent removal, fixing cracks, everything. http://www.probirt.com/nm/repair-schools/repair-schools.asp
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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Author: Ken Lagace
Date: 2019-09-18 01:31
Phil, I have a former student who retired just and started to attend a repair school. Get in touch if interested.
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Author: Tom H
Date: 2019-09-18 03:17
Hard question to answer. I am in the exact same position. Bought my Buffet C new in 1976 and used it very rarely orchestrally, but as pointed out, lots of fun when jamming with others reading concert pitch stuff. A new Buffet can be as high as $6K US today. I'd love to get mine fixed up, but can't rationalize the cost vs. how much I'd use it nowadays. Same situation with my Buffet Eb & A. It's a money thing.
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Musicnotes product no. MNO287475
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Author: John Peacock
Date: 2019-09-18 13:44
I would look carefully at the mouthpiece situation. Modern C clarinets are designed to take the standard mouthpiece, so you can swap easily between A/Bb/C. But I believe it's the case that older instruments used a slightly smaller mouthpiece that is specific to the C instrument. If you have one of these, I'd hesitate before spending a lot on restoration. But if it tunes well with your normal mouthpiece, then $1000 doesn't seem unreasonable in the face of what a new Buffet C would cost. Assuming you are confident that your repairer can do a good cosmetic job with the cracks, you would probably get your money back if you later decided to sell it.
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2019-09-18 16:58
Hello John. I didn't know that about smaller mouthpieces. I'll check and see what's in the case. At this point I the instrument may not be playable enough to check intonation very reliably, if at all. I might clean it up a bit, oil the bore a few times and then give it a try with one (or more) of my mouthpieces.
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Author: Ken Lagace
Date: 2019-09-18 19:02
I have an Albert C and the mouthpiece tenon is smaller than the Bb size.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2019-09-18 19:11
Buffet, Leblanc (including Noblet) and Selmer C clarinets and others such as Amati and Patricola are designed to be used with Bb/A mouthpieces.
Older Albert/simple system C clarinets may use a slightly smaller mouthpiece or one with a narrower and shorter tenon.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: MichaelW
Date: 2019-09-21 01:19
My German system C-clarinets (Carl Kruspe 1920ties, Karl Hammerschmidt 1990ties) also use slightly smaller mouthpieces: 70 vs. (Bb) 73 mm long w/o tenon. Tenon- Diameter 20 vs. 22,5 mm, length 16 vs. 18 mm. New German system C- clarinets, at least cheaper models or "Kinderklarinetten" for small hands, use A/Bb mouthpieces.
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