 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: LT125
Date: 2025-04-09 20:59
Now this is something I truly did not expect.
Quote:
On our 200th anniversary, we’re proud to unveil something truly special: in collaboration with Matthias Schorn, principal clarinettist of the Vienna Philharmonic, we present the ‘Légende’ model — a professional clarinet with a German fingering system and the unmistakable Viennese sound.
Two fingering systems – one musical universe.
After 200 years of expertise in Boehm clarinets, we bring our craftsmanship to the German system for the first time.
Fittingly, we’re launching this model in Austria – the land of Mozart and the iconic Clarinet Concerto KV622.
Available now for testing and purchase exclusively at Johannes Gleichweit’s clarinet shop, Tolstojgasse 5/7, Vienna.
Details
I must say am sceptical though given Buffet's quality control issues lately. I wonder how much of the 8400€ price point is just the brand name.
As a factory-produced model it'll need to be insanely good to justify that price.
The Schreiber Austrian model costs 2400€ and the Uebel 621 Vienna 2800€. Granted they're both without the low E/F correction which the Buffet has. But both makers have amazing quality control records in the last 20 years. Those are not professional level instruments though and the new Buffet seems to be aimed at the highest level players (they mentioned collaborating with VPO's Matthias Schorn in their FB post). Which means they'll be competing with Gerold, Seggelke etc. at half the price.
Not to mention that there are some amazing makers that offer Viennese clarinets for less money. Foag's B38w with low e/f correction costs around 6000€. Meaning 2000€ less than a Buffet for a handmade instrument by a maker with a lot more experience in German system clarinets.
I'll give Buffet one thing: as wrong as it feels to say it, this new clarinet does look pretty. I love the barrel design, haha.
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Author: VicBB
Date: 2025-04-09 22:03
Speaking of this, how would you all describe the Viennese sound? I've some told me that its dark like the German sound, but more spread. I know the late and great Peter Schmidl has that tone.
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Author: LT125
Date: 2025-04-09 23:22
@VicBB as someone that has tried a Schreiber Austrian model, I'd say it has a more directly resonant sound than a normal German clarinet. It also requires more air and the mouthpiece takes some getting used to (longer, wider and even more closed facings than German which are already very closed). The reeds are wider than German (same width as French but way harder). The playing feel is very "hard" (as in dense), I don't know how else to describe it better.
Look for recordings of VPO's clarinettists (there's many of Ernst and Daniel Ottensamer) to get an idea of what it sounds like. To get an idea about how it feels to play one there is no other choice than to pick one up and try it.
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Author: m1964
Date: 2025-04-10 07:05
LT125 wrote:
"I must say am sceptical though given Buffet's quality control issues lately. I wonder how much of the 8400€ price point is just the brand name.
As a factory-produced model it'll need to be insanely good to justify that price."
Use of the precise machinery may be an advantage -their greenline clarinets are very consistent.
They are trying to expand into a new market which can be a good move financially.
We would need to hear from Austrian players who switched to Buffet in order to judge this model.
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Author: LT125
Date: 2025-04-10 09:47
Quote:
We would need to hear from Austrian players who switched to Buffet in order to judge this model.
I don't think there will be many - they've already got proven makers that make instruments on an insanely high level of their own. As for expanding to a new market, they already own the Schreiber company that has that market covered ...
Post Edited (2025-04-10 09:48)
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2025-04-10 21:09
They should've just called it the 'Limité/Limitée' given how limited the market is for Viennese spec clarinets.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: ruben
Date: 2025-04-11 00:41
The only French maker that has ever made a German or Austrian-type clarinet is Leblanc, which never put it on the market. Likewise, no French bassoon maker has made a German bassoon.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2025-04-11 00:49
"Likewise, no French bassoon maker has made a German bassoon."
Yes they have - Cabart made German bassoons.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Bob Barnhart ★2017
Date: 2025-04-11 09:34
Yamaha has (and still does) make Reform Boehm and Oehler system clarinets they are popular in Japan. This helped persuade me to try their “German” Boehm CSGs, which I’m still playing (with Gleichweit mouthpieces). They cost me $5K in 2006, but would be ~$11K today, so this Buffet Viennese model is 2x as expensive, just like other Legende, Tosca and other top-end Buffets and other premier clarinets.
Bob Barnhart
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Author: John Peacock
Date: 2025-04-11 12:40
Attachment: SML_Oehlers.jpg (1893k)
"The only French maker that has ever made a German or Austrian-type clarinet is Leblanc"
I have a pair of Oehler system instruments made by SML (see attached picture). They must date from right around the 1935 formation of the company, as one is stamped just "Strasser Lemaire", while the other also has "Marigaux" in the logo.
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Author: ruben
Date: 2025-04-11 12:55
Chris P and John: I stand corrected! -and can stand being corrected.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: sonicbang
Date: 2025-04-12 17:48
I had a mouthpiece workshop at a national clarinet contest in Hungary earlier this year. I had a lot of spare time on the first day, so I tried over 40 Buffet clarinets there, including every top model except the R13s (shame, they didn't bring any). Not even one came close to my old S1 and full-Boehm RC.
Austrian clarinet makers have a much better quality control than Buffet had in the last decades, while it's true that you can't really buy a decent Viennese clarinet under 15.000 EUR. Maybe you can, but you won't be accepted into any serious orchestra with those. BTW I have a very nice Uebel 621 Austria model, and the quality of the craftsmanship is much better than any of the Buffet's I tried recently. And it's not even a top-of-the-line model.
As for the bore, Viennese bores are usually over 15.00 mm and can go as wide as 15.40 mm. That makes these instruments totally incompatible with French and even German(!) mouthpieces. I wonder if Buffet created a traditional wide-bore model or something closer to the German bore (usually around 14.80-15.00mm).
There are a lot of individual approaches in the Viennese school of playing, but they do share some core qualities. If you listen to Matthias Schorn, Andrea Götsch, and Andreas Ottensamer from the current players, you get the idea. From the previous generations, Ernst Ottensamer, Alfred Prinz, and Leopold Wlach are probably the most iconic players to listen to.
Mark
Post Edited (2025-04-12 18:07)
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