 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2013-05-03 18:37
I'm currently servicing one at the moment and would like to know more about them.
All I know is from what I've seen in pricelists - DG stands for Daniel Gautier and the ring keys are concave which makes for a more Selmer-like feel. Just speculating, but is (or was) the DG designed to win over Selmer players to Buffet? The toneholes also appear to be much larger than an R13. I haven't measured the bore, but would like to know the official bore size before measuring it.
While it was marketed as one of their Prestige level clarinets (if my memory serves me well) and has the metal tenon rings like Prestiges, this one doesn't have a LH Ab/Eb lever fitted which I thought was standard equipment on Festival and R13/RC Prestiges, but not the DG going by this one.
This one also has a large circular recess cut into the joint above the thumb ring for the speaker key touchpiece to sink into and two more curcular recesses for the RH ring stopper corks (or felts) to sit in, presumably to give increased venting for the lower register C and E. These appear to have been done in factory, but were they done on all? This one had the recesses filled in with felt to achieve the standard joint thickness (I'm considering filling them in permanently).
I also noticed the barrel has a groove cut around the bore about halfway down its length like a miniature version of the bell groove seen on more recent RCs and Yamaha clarinets. Is this an original feature or could it have been altered? The barrel isn't marked on the back at all.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2013-05-04 10:00)
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Author: NBeaty
Date: 2013-05-04 01:52
The DG was marketed to Europe, although some made it to the states (L&P have had some that I've tried). I personally really like them, much more than Tosca, Festival, and RC.
I don't remember seeing anything like "DG" marked on the barrel, so it's probably safe to assume it is the original barrel. I never looked closely enough at the barrel to see a "voicing groove".
I'm curious is you have any bore measurements to share, although the information provided already is very interesting, especially the reshaping of the ring keys!
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Author: kenb
Date: 2013-05-04 08:45
I tried a DG years ago and discovered the barrel groove you mention - I thought it was an error in the machining!
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2013-05-04 09:24
I make the bore to be around 14.6mm at the middle tenon - this one has had a new tenon ring fitted so it may be constricted. The top tenon bore measures around 14.9mm.
Have to be honest I was initially alarmed at the voicing groove in the barrel bore when I looked in there! I do prefer the concave tops to the ring keys which feel much better than the usual Buffet rings which have a sharp inner edge - think of dished pearls on saxes and that's what they feel similar to. Very comfortable and a shame they didn't run with this design considering ring keys often wear out from the inside edge first on regular Buffets.
The only write-up I've seen about the DG was by Val Cheesman in John Myatt's catalogue - I'll dig it out and put it up on here when I find it.
Here we go - this is from 1993:
"The Buffet DG Prestige Clarinet
The Buffet DG clarinet is another Prestige model instrument to accompany the R13, RC & Festival Prestige models already available. Developed by Daniel Gautier, a top Parisian clarinettist, this handsome instrument has the same unstained African Blackwood and jewellers finish keywork as the other Prestige models but without the left hand Eb key. The tenons have metal rings and the ring keys are a new design, feeling flatter and resembling the Selmer design. The bore size is 14.6mm, about average for Buffet clarinets with large top flare similar to the RC but more so and a lower flare which is more than the R13. The speaker tube is high, similar to the RC & Festival and the overall design is more akin to the RC than the R13 but with a brighter & more expansive sound. The "A" clarinet is expected to be in production later this year."
Going through the catalogues, the DG appears to have been discontinued around late 1998/early 1999.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2013-05-04 10:11)
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2013-05-04 15:24
Chris, how is the left hand clarion's intonation. There are Buffets around that had the upper reamer run too far into the bore, causing those to get sharper and sharper as you approach "thumb C."
Interesting that the "large top flare" was part of the brief for the DG.
Bob Phillips
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2013-05-04 17:27
It's all in pieces at the moment and I've yet to bush the throat A tonehole which has a crack running through it, but I'll give it a toot once it's all done.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2013-05-07 10:18
I've just put it all back together and given it a play test along with a tuner and it plays very much in tune with itself from low E up to top C and then up to altissimo F, so I can't find fault with it there. I've bushed the throat A tonehole so had to check it against the other As and all of them are in the middle of the tuner, so that's good.
As for how it plays, to me it plays and sounds like any other Buffet with that small, pinched, fruity sound. It's nice, but that's about it. Can't say it has won me over or that it'll ever be on my list of must-haves as far as clarinets go, along with other Buffet soprano clarinets.
Conclusion: I don't particularly like Buffets and I'm not even wearing an asbestos suit.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2013-05-07 10:33)
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Author: Alphie
Date: 2013-05-07 20:12
I played DG in the 90th. The Bb had a nice type of resistance when blowing and I liked the sound. The A was a big disappointment. It was very stuffy and hard to blow. I heard a rumour that the DG-A was not properly measured for an A due to a great demand for it so basically it was a streched Bb. I can believe that!
Alphie
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