 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2019-09-21 13:00
I had an early '90s Buffet E12 come in yesterday for some work and from what I can tell, it's just an E11 but with silver plated keys and the wooden Buffet case supplied with the E13, C12 and R13/RC. It has the same inset plastic tonehole chimneys as the E11. Am I missing something?
No wonder most UK woodwind specialists didn't bother with them and sold the E11 and E13 instead (both of which had nickel plated keys back then) as there's hardly any difference besides the plating and case. Later E11s (as well as B12s and E13s) had silver plated keys as standard anyway.
I had a look through some catalogues from the late '80s and early '90s from two of the UK's prominent woodwind specialists and neither have the E12 listed. I never saw any during my time working in a music shop from the late '80s through to the late '90s as the usual Buffet student level lineup was the B12, E11, E13 and C12 - the latter was also largely overlooked in favour of the E13 or the R13/RC.
The only other clarinet I've seen like the early E12 was a Hans Kreul Boehm system which was again a wooden Schreiber-built E11 but with silver plated keys.
https://www.tafmusic.co.uk/uploads/instruments/clarinet_0190_0006_1.jpg
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2019-09-21 16:20
I repaired a Hans Kruel Boehm a while back. At the time I wasn't aware of the linkage with Schreiber, but it does look very E11'ish, although I was impressed with the build quality and the tone. Certainly better than I expect from the average E11.
A bandmate had an E13 which cracked twice in a year. The local dealer fixed the first crack badly, and when the crack opened a second time they hung on to it for months awaiting a response from Buffet. Eventually he threatened to take the matter to the government body which handles customer problems here in Victoria and they gave him an R13 to shut him up.
Tony F.
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Author: m1964
Date: 2019-09-21 19:11
I had early 2000- wooden E12 that was silver-plated, with logos printed, not egraved, made in Germany.
My friend had wooden nickel-plated E11 of similar age.
We compared them and both my friend and I felt that my E12 sounded a little better.
Both felt the same when beeing played- keys were in the same locations, similar blowing resistance.
Can't say anything about early E12.
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