 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: vollkommen
Date: 2006-08-15 17:26
I searched for this topic and found some postings from several years ago, but no one really provided much information on this clarinet, the Buffet DG. From what I've learned so far, the DG stands for Daniel Gautier, who supposedly worked with Buffet in developing the clarinet. The bore is smaller than the traditional R13, and the keywork on the clarinet feels slightly different than that on an R13 (w/Aux Eb). When I bought mine a few years ago, I chose it over the Festivals I tried because it had more resonance and better tone in the chalumeau register and the throat tones were better.
Does anybody know any more about this instrument? I've never been able to find any references to it that weren't obscure or just statements that the author didn't know much about it. I've never seen or heard one in person other than the one I ended up buying. I've heard that they weren't very popular in the United States, which might explain it. Any information would be greatly appreciated.
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Author: EuGeneSee
Date: 2006-08-15 18:18
I don't have the item number or the eBay name of the seller, but one of those Gautiers was sold on eBay about 2 or 3 weeks ago . . . the seller gave a brief history of the Gauthier clarinet in his/her description. That person might have had a book or something that gave the story of the instrument. Maybe someone here printed out that listing (I was going to but forgot) or remembers who the seller was.
The seller did note that sometimes David Gautier spelled his name Gauthier and so labeled at least some of his clarinets.
Post Edited (2006-08-15 20:40)
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Author: Danny Boy
Date: 2006-08-15 19:41
This is probably not much help, but I only know one professional player who has used DGs, and that was Angela Malsbury before she switched to Toscas.
I borrowed her A clarinet for an exam when my R13 went in for a sudden crack repair, and have to say that I tried to buy it from her. If you purchase any of her recordings (or those of the London Mozart Players) from the last ten years or so, there's a good chance it'll be her and she'll be on her DGs.
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Author: vollkommen
Date: 2006-08-15 20:41
I don't know if the Festival and the DG are the same instrument. Perhaps they were at one time. When I tried a few Festivals and the DG I ended up buying, I could tell (by looking) that the bore of the DG was smaller. But they played almost exactly the same way, except for the lowest notes (G down) and the throat tones. Maybe the differences I noticed were just the normal variations from instrument to instrument. Anyway, thanks for the info.
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Author: Vytas
Date: 2006-08-15 22:23
> *** "I could tell (by looking) that the bore of the DG was smaller". *** <
You have pretty good eye if you could tell the difference of 0.02 mm. I doubt if my old digital caliper has better measuring accuracy.
Vytas Krass
Professional clarinet technician
Custom clarinet mouthpiece maker
Former professional clarinet player
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Author: vollkommen
Date: 2006-08-16 02:09
If you know that the difference is so little, would you mind giving me the dimensions of the DG? I have some already but I don't know if they're right.
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Author: Peter Spriggs
Date: 2006-08-16 02:34
Actually the Festival pre-dates the DG and they both existed at the same time while the DG was in manufacture. The DG came into existence in 1993 and had the model numbers 1141AG for Bb and 1241AG for A. The DG A had a longer Bell than the Festival clarinets and was 108.5 mm. The Festival and the DG clearly were not the same.
Peter
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Author: Vytas
Date: 2006-08-16 02:35
DG - 14.62 mm
Festival - 14.64 mm
Vytas Krass
Professional clarinet technician
Custom clarinet mouthpiece maker
Former professional clarinet player
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Author: vollkommen
Date: 2006-08-16 02:46
Thanks. Maybe there's something wrong with my clarinet, since I remember actually noticing a difference between it and the festival when I bought it. I hope not. Either way, thank you for the info.
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Author: Vytas
Date: 2006-08-16 04:00
vollkommen,
The difference of 0.02 mm in the bore doesn't make these clarinets "the same". Just like Peter said: "The Festival and the DG clearly were not the same".
Vytas Krass
Professional clarinet technician
Custom clarinet mouthpiece maker
Former professional clarinet player
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Author: kev182
Date: 2006-08-16 08:19
DG, wow never heard of it O_O interesting! Does anyone know the difference between the R13 and teh Festival? I was told the festival was the R13 prestige just marketed outside the US
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Author: Peter Spriggs
Date: 2006-08-16 11:49
Kevin
The Festival is not a Prestige although both are in the R13 family. The major diference is that the Festival has the vent tube placed 4 mm higher up the joint.
Peter Spriggs
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Author: kev182
Date: 2006-08-16 16:05
4mm higher, so that would make upper registers sharper eh?
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Author: vollkommen
Date: 2006-08-16 16:49
When I said I noticed a difference, I meant that I remember noticing it just by looking at it. I know that they aren't the same, otherwise there wouldn't be a point in having two names for the same instrument. Although I seem to remember someone earlier saying that they were the same instrument.
Also, I realized why I thought the bore looked smaller on the DG. The DG that I bought has different metal tenon rings than the Festival does and they make the bore look smaller (kind of like an optical illusion). While I know that the DG bore is smaller, such a small difference isn't something that one would probably notice just by looking at it.
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Author: donald
Date: 2006-08-16 17:10
placing the register tube higher means you need to have a smaller tube diameter in order to tune throat b flat. This has the effect of flattening the pitch of the upper register left hand notes, and making the upper reg notes in the right hand slightly more resistant. It also compromises the tone of throat B flat, but many consider this a small price to play for the improved intonation in the upper register.
donald
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Author: vollkommen
Date: 2006-08-17 02:18
Everything that you said about the horn is true. It's much easier to play in tune on the DG than on some other horns I've tried. Playing the throat Bb with a resonance fingering is actually quite nice (for the note).
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Author: graham
Date: 2006-08-17 08:33
In addition to Angela Malsbury, Colin Lawson played (plays?) on DGs.
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