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Re: alto clarinet

Author: r small
Date: 2020-03-03 18:57

Last week I received a Buffet Prestige alto on trial. I had high hopes for this instrument and really wanted to like it. But as it turned out it was a major disappointment. I knew before I ordered it that it was a single vent design. That should have been a deal breaker right there but I had read several reviews that claimed the Prestige didn't need a double vent mechanism, that it had a fine and responsive clarion register with just the single vent. This turned out to be inaccurate. Though I wouldn't say the clarion register was bad it was not what I would call free-blowing and responsive. All of the double vent bass clarinets I have played had a better clarion than the Prestige alto. I would characterize it as resistant. In any event it was not enjoyable to play and was pretty disappointing.

Also the ergonomics of the horn were not good. The slightly curved neck put the mouthpiece at an uncomfortable angle for me (I would have liked a more pronounced curve so that the mouthpiece set in the mouth as on an alto sax), and required an uncomfortable reach for the right hand to play the lower joint keys. So the hands, particularly the right hand did not fall naturally and comfortably on the keys. The hand would actually start to hurt after about ten minutes of playing. A neck with more curve probably would solve this issue by bringing the lower joint up a little, but where do you get an after market alto clarinet neck?

In any event, needless to say, I sent the horn back to the dealer. Buffet sells these horns at about $13,000 which I estimate is about twice what they're worth. The Buffet Prestige alto might make a serviceable intermediate horn but I would not consider it a top flight professional horn. Add a double vent for acoustics and a more curved neck for ergonomics and we'll talk.

Post Edited (2020-03-03 19:06)

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alto clarinet new

Gene

2020-02-27 07:13