 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Sara
Date: 1999-06-04 03:37
I'm looking for a pro clarinet and someone recomended the Buffet Festival clarinet. I tried looking it up in the WW and BW catologue but I can't find it. I want a Prestige but I don't want to invest that much cash if I don't know I'll stick with the clarinet. Is the Festival like the Prestige? Or is their another clarinet anybody knows of w/ the extra E flat/ A flat key. I really don't want to spend more than 1000? (Of Course used!)Thanks in advance for any assistance you can give me!
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Author: Albert
Date: 1999-06-04 07:19
Gee Sara! I want one too, ya know! That's kinda hard to find. But, I saw one on ebay (it's mine!)
-Albert
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 1999-06-04 12:00
Festivals new run for slighly over $2000.00 and are relatively new (compared to the R-13); chances of finding a used one are small, and under $1000.00 ... probably not.
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Author: Bart Puijpe
Date: 1999-06-04 18:49
Personally, I don't know anyone with a Festival, I so I don't know how the instrument sounds. There is some info on:
http://www.boosey.com/mi/bc1139.html
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 1999-06-04 20:13
Bart Puijpe wrote:
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Personally, I don't know anyone with a Festival, I so I don't know how the instrument sounds.
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I do - and it sounds just wonderful. The player used it during college auditions and was accepted into virtually all the schools he auditioned for, and won national honor with the horns.
Some of you know of the player :^)
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Author: paul
Date: 1999-06-04 22:22
Well Mark C, the player wasn't me ...
Even for an adult novice who has a long way to go, the Festival is a fantastic premium pro-grade horn. I've had mine since late 1996. No, you ain't gonna get my horn for a paltry $1000, either! I've had local pros offer me the full retail price of my Festival. Thanks, but no thanks.
I had a past master grade professional classical clarinetist (25 years with a major city symphony, almost 70 years of experience, and trained by Daniel Bonade) play my Festival every now and then. He absolutely loved it. Now, in his hands (or a recent champion's hands [hint, hint Mark C]), the horn has no bounds. It's everything you would want from an R-13 and a bit more.
Personally speaking and taking it from my adult novice level, I have been able to match the tone quality and intonation of a first chair college senior clarinetist with her professionally hand picked early 1960s R-13 and me with my "off-the-shelf" 1996 Festival. It wouldn't dare to compare technique, because it wouldn't even be a contest.
However, from what I can tell with folks who can make their fingers fly, the Festival is every bit the match for its competitors in the pro and premium pro grades of clarinets.
As for the "auxiliary" Ab/Eb key, I practice with it enough to make it a practical tool. It isn't an "auxiliary" key for me anymore. However, there are times when even this key won't help you as much as you would think. It can get you in trouble if you don't practice using it. The trick is to know when and how to use it, and conversely, when and how it can get in the way. The only way to find out is to practice until you feel your fingers are going to fall off - and then some. I use the Baermann III book now on a daily basis to learn how to run my fingers through the drills. Believe me, this book is a great start on finding out just where that "extra" key is a friend and where it's an enemy.
If you find someone offering to sell a Festival for about half of its going price, you either have a very naive seller, or there is a wolf in the woods waiting to bite you.
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Author: Darrel
Date: 1999-06-05 05:11
I agree with what everyone else has said so far. The Festival is a great clarinet, but, you will have to pay for it. I have a set of Festival clarinet purchased in this past year, and I love them. I would not trade them for the world. I find them to be great clarinets.
On the other hand, though, I also can not see spending the money for the Prestige set. I feel that unless you are in that top 1% of professional players that need everything perfect, you can't justify purchasing that Prestige set. I feel that the Festival clarinet is everything that the Prestige is with the cost being the only difference. For the most part, they play pretty evenly and have that characteristic "Buffet" sound.
Good luck on the search.
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Author: Tim T
Date: 1999-06-07 12:45
For 750-900 can get the Buffet international. Solid horn nice features, I bought one new after looking for six months in your price range, and it was a major step in the right direction.
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Author: paul
Date: 1999-06-07 14:47
The International is, as I understand it, a very good intermediate grade clarinet.
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Author: Sara
Date: 1999-06-07 19:18
Thanks but I kinda want an R13 thanks anyways! I already have an E11 intermediate clarinet
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Author: Gary Van Cott
Date: 1999-06-09 23:11
Selling the Festival by mail order violates the agreements that dealers have with Boosey & Hawkes. If you visit the big mail order places in person I think that you will find that they have them. You could call to find out.
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Author: Sara
Date: 1999-06-10 00:56
Hey, thanks I called a small local dealer and they have the Festival, I didn't realize that ww and wb couldn't mail order it! Thanks again!
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