 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: SecondTry
Date: 2021-06-02 03:44
Rarely does something come along that I can't already find discussed on this comprehensive forum.
But has anyone tried this? Or has it already been posted?
I couldn't find it in a cursory search of the board.
It's a left pinky Eb/Ab level retrofit for Buffet R13s.
https://www.clarinet-repairs.com/alteflatkey.html
Thank you
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2021-06-02 04:58
Second,
There are lots of threads on the BB. Search with "Eb key" with no parenthesis.
HRL
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2021-06-02 15:35
Also search "LH Ab/Eb lever"
I've added them to several clarinets that never originally had them, but it's far more costly to do that compared to clarinets already fitted with them at the factory.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2021-06-02 15:37
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Also search "LH Ab/Eb lever"
I've added them to several clarinets that never originally had them, but it's far more costly to do that compared to clarinets already fitted with them at the factory.
1 - Selmer Signet 100
2 - Yamaha YCL-631
3 - Masspacher (Couesnon) C clarinet (also added the LH3 forked Eb/Bb)
4 - Ridenour C and Yamaha YCL-24
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2021-06-02 15:49)
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Author: jdbassplayer
Date: 2021-06-02 17:20
OP is asking specifically about the add-on lever available from Wesley Rice, not Ab/Eb levers in general.
I had one installed on my R13 before I got a Tosca, and it was a great upgrade. Felt nice and solid and never had any issues with it.
I’m afraid I have to disagree with what Chris said, for Buffet instruments it’s much cheaper to install a lever than to get a clarinet with one installed from the factory. For example I paid $800 for my R13 a few years ago and got the lever for $250. Meanwhile you would be hard pressed to find a Festival for under $1500. To use a more modern example, the cheapest refurbished R13 on eBay right now is around $1500, but the cheapest non refurbished Festival is around $1000 more. In this situation you can save $750+ by installing the lever yourself.
-Jdbassplayer
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Author: SecondTry
Date: 2021-06-02 18:50
Thank you jdbassplayer for better expressing my sentiment than I did could myself.
Chris P: I have seen your wonderful retrofit of this key on the forum and thank you for your contributions here but I wish to purchase a specific solution to this problem from a vendor and seek opinions on the value of said vendor's wares.
:)
Hank: I appreciate your input though it didn't yield that which I seek above.
Some background: I was watching some clarinet Youtube videos yesterday when someone referred to a vendor named Brian Corbin in Hawaii that I hadn't heard of.
I visited his site, where he sells this retrofit in the capacity of a reseller: it's original designer, who I sought out instead, being Wesley Rice.
People have wonderful things to say about Mr. Rice here and his products/repairs, I just couldn't find much info pertinent this this retrofit key.
jdbassplayer: your thumbs up means the world to me...thanks. It's not that I can't live without this key, just that the Cadenza to Messager's Solo de Concurs is about to become a little bit easier in its opening mid note pinky swaps, if you catch my drift. : - )
Thanks all.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2021-06-02 21:08
jdbassplayer: "I’m afraid I have to disagree with what Chris said, for Buffet instruments it’s much cheaper to install a lever than to get a clarinet with one installed from the factory. For example I paid $800 for my R13 a few years ago and got the lever for $250. Meanwhile you would be hard pressed to find a Festival for under $1500. To use a more modern example, the cheapest refurbished R13 on eBay right now is around $1500, but the cheapest non refurbished Festival is around $1000 more. In this situation you can save $750+ by installing the lever yourself."
You can get regular/non-Prestige R13/RC clarinets with the LH Ab/Eb lever already fitted instead of having to shell out however much more for a Prestige model just for that extra key - they've been on the market like that for at least the last three decades.
R13: https://www.buffet-crampon.com/en/instruments/a-clarinets/r13/
RC: https://www.buffet-crampon.com/en/instruments/a-clarinets/rc/
Even the B12 was available with a LH Ab/Eb lever and Prodiges are also available with the LH Ab/Eb lever:
https://www.buffet-crampon.com/en/instruments/bb-clarinets/prodige-2541/
Therefore it IS less costly to get an identical clarinet with the Ab/Eb lever already factory fitted than it is to have someone make and fit one to an existing clarinet without one.
I've seen the Rice Clarinet Works LH Ab/Eb lever listed on MusicMedic's site and Facebook page which only lists them for Buffet Bbs (although they are made for A and Eb clarinets too), but they can be adapted to fit other makes and would have to be cut'n'shut for use on C clarinets.
https://www.musicmedic.com/clarinet-bolt-on-alternate-e-flat-key-45233.html
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2021-06-04 20:16)
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Author: John Peacock
Date: 2021-06-03 00:10
What about the opposite - removal of the extra key? If I owned a Prestige, I would definitely ditch the key, on grounds of both weight and aesthetics. But then you would be left with an ugly stump where the key pivots, plus the unwanted strap on the Eb cup. The stump could be removed and filled, I suppose, but fixing the cup would involve unsoldering the strap and then you'd need to replate - so probably cheaper to buy a new standard Eb key+cup. I wonder if Buffet would do one to special order and save you the bother?
Of course, things are worse with the early Prestiges. There, the extra Eb key sat between the C# and B keys. This is much better aesthetically than Buffet's current solution - but if you don't want the key and remove it, then you create ugly space between the two remaining keys. I presume the keys could be modified to remove the gap, but it feels like it would be a complicated job. Chris P: did you ever undertake a conversion like that?
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2021-06-03 00:41
Attachment: masspacher.jpg (151k)
Attachment: lemaireclarinet1.jpg (157k)
Attachment: eatoninternational.jpg (90k)
I've done the opposite in adding the older Buffet-style LH Ab/Eb lever to my C clarinet (see 1st attachment) where it fits in between the E/B and F#/C# levers which involved moving the F#/C# lever out to create the gap for the Ab/Eb lever as well as adding an arch to it and a longer linkage piece to connect it to the RH F#/C# key.
As well as adding an extra pillar for the Ab/Eb lever and the connecting tab soldered to the Ab/Eb pad cup and reshaping the F#/C# lever touchpiece by adding an ear to it to close up the gap between it and the E/B lever touchpiece.
To reverse it on an existing Buffet, its probably easier to replace the F#/C# key and lever with standard ones, remove the LH Ab/Eb lever pillars and fill in the holes. The LH E/B lever can be left as is, or the extra cut-out can be filled in and then the key replated, or the entire LH E/B lever replaced with a standard one.
It's not vitally important to remove the tab on the Ab/Eb pad cup, but that can be done or replace the key with one without the tab if it's seen as not being aesthetically pleasing. Then all the keys and pillars that were removed could always be put by and fitted to another clarinet whose owner wants a LH Ab/Eb lever.
An alternative (see 2nd and 3rd attachments) is to fit the LH Ab/Eb lever touchpiece under the LH F/C lever (where the LH low D touch is on basset horns and low C basses) and that's mounted between the existing pillars and can be reverted back to normal with hardly any alterations done to the existing lower joint or keywork.
This is how it's linked: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y3JY-GSOXw
And all RH keys are now duplicated: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkGfM2PBhgg
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2021-06-03 01:15)
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Author: sdr
Date: 2021-06-04 18:52
I have the Wes Rice add-on Eb key on my Buffet R13 Vintage and it's excellent.
-sdr
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2021-06-04 20:28
Attachment: r13eb.jpg (60k)
Attachment: series9eb.jpg (263k)
They won't fit on many older clarinets where the LH levers are on telescoping key barrels like trill keys and mounted between one set of pillars. Provided both the LH levers have their own separate pillars and key barrels, then they should fit either without or with some adjustment.
My old Buffet Eb clarinet was like that (see 1st attachment) and that would require an oversized key barrel to be fitted to make it work, but would also mean having to make a deeper recess in the pillar which could make the pillar too thin. It would've been nice to add the LH Ab/Eb lever to my old Buffet Eb, but I sold it in favour of a Selmer full Boehm Eb clarinet which has all the extras (see 2nd attachment), although I had to shorten the LH Ab/Eb lever as it was covering the F#/C# lever.
The clearance in the pillar is important as some have the pillars and the wood milled out to leave the pillars flat where the key barrels go, but some that have been fraised by hand will have high sides to the hollowed out area which will need to be removed so the underside of the key won't catch on them, or the underside of the key either side of the key barrel can be filed to gain full movement without any binding.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2021-06-04 20:29)
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