Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2001-09-13 04:40
Douglas, there are no E- prefix E&S's and the B's almost certainly predate the K's. However, the "E" and "B" series that Mark refers to are the E11, E12, E13 and B12.
Otherwise, however, Mark, I have to agree with Douglas on this one. Since neither the E11 nor the B12 has a prefix to its number, I can't tell whether the "student" lookup for numbers without a prefix returns dates for E11's, B12's or both. But, based on the (limited) crosschecking I have been able to do, the "student" list has been accurate for E11's.
The lookup will also return dates for numbers entered with a K prefix or a D prefix. Again based on the (limited) crosschecking, I have been able to do, the K-prefix numbers have been right on target for Evette & Schaeffer instruments. BTW, these numbers continue beyond the date when the E&S became the E13. Since I've never seen an E13 or its serial number, I've assumed that Buffet continued to use the K with these models but that may not be correct. (Does anybody out there have a recent E13? Is its serial number prefixed with a K?) The D-prefix numbers have been right on target for French (wood) Evettes and stop at 1977 which is around the time Buffet moved its Evette production to Germany and probably adopted a new numbering system.
The one problem I've noted is that the lookup does not return dates for K serial numbers below 4745 though there are K-series E&S's with lower numbers. The list also does not return dates for earlier E&S's and Evettes with prefixes other than K or D.
I don't know who put together the serial number list for them but it's probably not the person one talks to at Boosey and I've never observed any obvious errors. My guess is that it was done by a systems person based on information from the factory. Two observations I would make are: (1) by their own admission, the folks at Boosey don't always know much about the older Buffets and (2) the records at the Buffet factory (at least since WW II) are *extremely* detailed. (I have a 1981 R13 with a B prefix to its serial number. The folks at Boosey were stymied so they contacted the factory. The factory reported that the B was added because they had inadvertently assigned the same number to two clarinets. They told me the day the instrument was made, what features it had (no special add-ons) and the type of plating on the keys. I was impressed.)
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The Clarinet BBoard
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