 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Iceland clarinet
Date: 2008-03-01 16:12
I love my Festival. It has some intonation problems in the upper section but nothing I can't deal with. I think it's because that the register vent is 2mm higher on it than on the R-13. You get 660mm and 650mm barrels with it and after warming up with the 660mm barrel I'm almost dead on at 442 pitch which is the pitch that is used here in Iceland. So last summer when I went to UK for a summerclass I had to use the 660mm barrel pull it out by 2-3mm and then pull out the middel section and also the bell to make the lowest notes more closer in tune.
On the R13 clarinet we need to use 650mm barrel to tune to 442 pitch So if I would have to pick up a cold clarinet when switching between A and Bb clarinets in orchestra I would need a 640mm barrel also for the R13 Bb.
But then again I'm using a 440 pitch mouthpieces and have done so for many years with no trouble at all.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2008-03-01 16:36
Any clarinet is good if you like the tone, the intonation is good for you, and feels good. Major players perform on all makes and models so there's no such thing as a "Bad" model, only bad players. I suggest you compare it to other models and choose the one best for you. By the way, it is not uncommon today to have the register key moved up higher on other models so it is like the Festival when tuning other models of clarinets. I had that done on my old R 13 A clarinet to make the throat tone Bb better in tune. It depends on the clarinet and player of course. On some it can help to remove the undertone on the high B or C if nothing else works, maybe. ESP
www.peabody.jhu.edu/457
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
Post Edited (2008-03-01 21:21)
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Author: donald
Date: 2008-03-01 19:25
I've owned a Festival A that i didn't like particuarly... sold it to my friend and now when i play it i really appreciate many of its qualities! This particular instrument had/has a very dark timbre, and (after an overhaul) played very well for solo/chamber music.
Sadly it was quite hard to "play out" in the larger concert venues, and the last time i used it was for a performance of the New World Symphony where i found myself struggling... the next week i used another A clarinet (RC) and found it much easier to project my sound without feeling like i was "forcing" it (this concert was broadcast live on the National Concert FM, and i heard a replay some months later and was very pleased with my tone, and that i'd made the swap)
Another friend owns a Festival A (hand picked from Muncy I think) and i couldn't believe how lovely it was- really very nice, and while the intonation is not perfect, it's still better than your average R13.... So, as with any model, there are lots of different instruments that may be similar, and some that will stand out as being excellent while others may disapoint in one quality or another.
dn
Post Edited (2008-03-06 09:39)
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Author: Iceland clarinet
Date: 2008-03-01 20:32
Donald I have a Buffet R-13 Prestige A clarinet which I've always thought to be a stuffy and resistance and a bit hard to project well on it. Well that was before I got my Chadash barrel. Now it projects as well as my Festival Bb clarinet. If your A Festival clarinet was like 10 years old then changing a barrel might have helped but if it wasn't that old then I don't understand it because I've tried Selmer St.Louis,Leblanc OpusII and Buffet RC,R13,Tosca and Festival and my feeling was that the Festival was most powerful and the closest one was the Selmer St.Louis. The Opus didn't project very well but the other Buffet clarinets projected well but not as good as the Festival and I did try 2 Festivals.
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Author: donald
Date: 2008-03-01 21:48
sigh
the Festival A i mentioned had been customised by Guy Chadash with a new reg tube and tone hole insert for G#/C#... two barrels were reamed by GC specifically to work with this instrument...
At any rate, the point of my post was that two of the SAME model may have DIFFERENT qualities. That being said the two pro players i know who play Festival have "less ringing" sound than the R13 players they sit next to, significantly so. For whatever reason.
dn
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Author: Iceland clarinet
Date: 2008-03-01 22:29
You might be right. I know a professional player who played the R-13 Prestige and now plays the Festival and I think he has less ringing sound on the Festival. But for me the depth of sound you get with the Festival and the and wide spectrum of tone colors outperform at least the R-13 Bb clarinets I've tried(Prestige and none Prestige). But then again I would not swap my R-13 Prestige A clarinet with Chadash barrel for a new Festival A clarinet.
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Author: Joe B
Date: 2008-03-01 23:35
My wife and I both play on Festival clarinets. We both love them. I also have an R13. The tone on the Festival is not quite as brite as the R13, which suits me just fine. I feel they outperform the R13's. But that's just one persons opinion. They have taken a bad wrap by some individuals as far as tuning. My wife's Festival is right on the money. I have to pull out the middle section slightly, but I have to do the same on my R13. The folks at Buffet say there is more undercutting on the tone holes compared to a Prestige, which they seem to indicate makes it more flexible. Overall, they are wonderful clarinets. You might want to do a search and read some other threads on the Festival.
Joe
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2008-03-02 16:21
Donald's experience seems to support the need to audition Festivals in the same way one approaches the purchase of R13s and any other clarinet --product variation!
Bob Phillips
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Author: Iceland clarinet
Date: 2008-03-02 17:07
I don't agree that Festival is darker sounding than the R-13. In my opinion it's a little bit like the difference between the sound of Vandoren V-12 and Gonzalez FOF reeds. The Festival is overall more powerfull and has deeper low notes and is more flexible. The R-13 is more resistance and darker specially in the upper register but not as deep and flexible as the Festival. That's maybe the reason I don't like my R-13 Prestige A clarinet too much with the stock barrel but love it with a Chadash barrel
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Author: Joe B
Date: 2008-03-02 23:02
I agree about the Festival being more powerful and deeper, richer low notes. It is also more free blowing than my R13. I strongly agree with auditioning Festivals or any other clarinet before you buy. The bottom line is that the Festival is a worthy contender and worth consideration when looking for a new clarinet. I would put it up against any clarinet on the market. I noticed that Walter Grabner, a sponsor on this board, is now carrying Festival clarinets. You might ask for his thoughts. He must think very highly of them to be carrying them.
Joe
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Author: Gandalfe
Date: 2008-03-02 23:09
The Festival is a lovely instrument as is the various Leblanc Opus, Symphony, and such that my wife and I own. But no one in our audiences can tell the difference of a player switching between them. I fear there is no magic bean when it comes to music.
If you are moving from an R-13 to a Festival so that you might sound better, you could be disappointed. If you are upgrading from a student or intermediate instrument I suspect you will be very impressed. Hopefully you get to try it before you buy.
Jim and Suzy
Pacifica Big Band
Seattle, Washington
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Author: Iceland clarinet
Date: 2008-03-03 01:32
Just to point out then I went to a Scandinavian concert windband class in 2004 and it was basicly like this: The Icelandic clarinetist were all eccept one using a R-13 or E-13 clarinets. Then the clarinetist from Norway and Sweden were using RC clarinets and they had never heard about the R-13 clarinet or other Buffet models. Then the Danish clarinetist were using Festival and they told me that everybody were using them in Denmark but one girl had heard about R-13 but never tried it. For Iceland I would say that from all the advanced students about 80% are using R-13 or E-13 clarinets. It's just that the musicstore here in Reykjavik stocks mostly B-12,E-13 and most of the time has 1-2 R-13 in stock. Then professionals are using different models. I don't know what people here are thinking but as goes for me I try to look at everything that is available and not just what is the mainstream.
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2008-03-04 16:52
I've owned a couple of Festivals over the last 10 years and enjoyed them, but always ended up selling them because I could never achieve the volume I wanted with them. The key balance and action was always good (especially after an artist set-up). They're nice instruments, but I ended up going back to the standard R-13 with silver keys because that's what plays best with others and makes one of my directors happy. So, if the director isn't happy, she looks for someone to replace me. :(
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-03-04 17:28
Two words:
Andrew Marriner.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Iceland clarinet
Date: 2008-03-05 08:29
Brenda so you would say that you get more volume with your Lebland Opus II clarinet ? It's just oposite to what I achive.
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Author: Joarkh
Date: 2008-03-05 08:49
I`ve heard that the Festival has a more flexible tone than other Buffet models
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2008-03-05 11:52
FWIW,
I've heard from many sources that Bb festivals does not have the projection that an R13 has. This is not my experience, because I've never auditioned Bb festivals.
I do enjoy my A festival. The A's are not supposed to have the same issue in general.
I will say that knowing what I know now...I look forward to reauditioning instruments in a few years.
James
Gnothi Seauton
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Author: Iceland clarinet
Date: 2008-03-05 15:36
I addmit that the two Festivals I tried were pretty much different. Other had more covered sound but the one I picked has MUCH more projection than any R-13 I've tried.
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Author: J. J.
Date: 2008-03-05 20:11
None of these differences are true. The differences between Festivals and R13s are absolutely no more than the difference between two clarinets of the same model.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2008-03-05 20:42
J. J. wrote:
> None of these differences are true. The differences between
> Festivals and R13s are absolutely no more than the difference
> between two clarinets of the same model.
Please show me 2 R13s straight from the factory with a variation of 2mm in the placement of the register tube ...
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2008-03-05 22:03
The bore configuration towards the bell is also different...
James
Gnothi Seauton
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Author: J. J.
Date: 2008-03-05 22:42
I'm referring to playing characteristics only. The difference in register tube placement is the most notable physical difference in the instruments, but does not affect the overall tone of the instrument or issues such as projection and flexibility. The bore is almost exactly the same as the R13.
Post Edited (2008-03-05 22:43)
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Author: sbrodt54
Date: 2008-03-05 23:18
There are a number of differences between the models that Buffet makes and the slightest changes in the bore (even if it's accidental) will change the tone and response. I have played and rebuilt a huge number of Buffets of all types in the past 40 years and there's a substantial difference in the models.
One of the newer models is the R13 which is completely different from the R-13s from 1970, let alone the new Tosca. I have read that some opinion on other threads that Buffet only makes one bore, one clarinet and just stamps a different name on the outside along with a different price, not true.
It's possible that you don't have access to tools to show you the different bores they use or the bore from a 1969 clarinet vs. a 2007 R13 but please try to find someone that will work with you and show you the physical difference. Then take the time to play at least one of each model, they are very different.
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Author: J. J.
Date: 2008-03-06 03:16
I never claimed that there are not significant differences between model from different years, nor that there are not some differences between different Buffet models. For the most part, the Tosca model is the only significantly different bore of the clarinets currently in production. What I am saying is that the differences in the other models are mitigated in regards to the characteristics described above. I have played multiple instruments of all models of Buffet clarinets.
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Author: J. J.
Date: 2008-03-06 06:09
If that is the case, then it somewhat proves my point about the subjective nature of these reviews. The Tosca is so far removed from the rest in physical characteristics. I would never say it's more similar to a Festival than an R13 is to a Festival, and yet you do. These come down to very specific situations in trying instruments than can't be taken seriously in a broader context.
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Author: Iceland clarinet
Date: 2008-03-06 22:21
J.J. I said they sound similar not that the felt physicaly alike. They do indeed feel very different physicaly and for example playing good legato down to the B and C# on the staff is much easier. But they sound quiet different but not as much as Festival and R-13
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Author: J. J.
Date: 2008-03-06 22:47
In regards to the comparison of sound you made, after mentioning the physical differences I was referring to sound only. My point is that you may think the Festivals and Toscas you played sounded more similar, but others, myself included, find the Festival more akin to the R13.
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