 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: garyl
Date: 2008-05-13 03:46
i recently acquired a clear buffet (b12?) clarinet. it is clear (plastic? lucite?) throughout and has (copper?) plated keys and rings and such. i've looked around, googled, etc. and have found no information--i have seen many buffet crystal mouthpieces, but no complete horns in the material. my question...does anybody know the deal on this? i.e. was it made for a trade show or something? it's quite an attention-getter, i just don't know what to tell people when they see it! thanks!
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Author: GBK
Date: 2008-05-13 04:24
Attachment: CIMG1031.JPG (127k)
The clear plastic (lucite?) Buffet B-12's were a one shot production run by Buffet and by most accounts fewer than 1000 were made.
They often command premium prices by collectors, far above their original $200-$250 selling price.
Although they have a unique look (one is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art) and are relatively rare, they are still just a student line B-12 instrument.
I have never owned one, but did play one owned by a friend. Her father had owned a music store (and sold Buffet clarinets) and I suspect that these dealers had the inside track in acquiring these clarinets.
Actually it did play a bit better than today's Buffet B-12's, they are not worth the excessive prices which these clarinets often go for.
Attached is a photo from the woodwind.org archives of the clear B12.
...GBK
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2008-05-13 11:55
What's cool with them is to show a student just how quickly condensation occurs when blowing into it.
Almost instantly down through the barrel.
Giora Feidman recorded one of his albums with one (shows him holding it on the cover)
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2008-05-13 13:12
Does anyone know from which clear [transparent] plastic they were made ?? Lucite [et al poly acrylics] are prob. best known, but I'd think they might be a polycarbonate, like unbreakable eye-glass lenses ?? Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2008-05-13 14:47
Don -
As I recall, the standard plastic that all the clarinet makers use is naturally clear. To get it black, they mix in powdered charcoal or something similar.
Giora Feidman uses a crystal mouthpiece, and for his recording on the clear Buffet, he also used a Legere reed and a clear Luyben ligature, for a 100% clear setup. The search function will pull up a photo.
I'd love to have one, but the auction price usually approaches $1,000.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2008-05-13 17:54
Giora Feidman's In Jerusalem album is the one with the clear B-12. By the way, I own that CD and it is amazing. He's also seen on his website with the clear B-12.
And I agree with GBK that these were a bit better than today's B-12s. It would, however, be fun to own one. Disgusting as it may be to see the spit drip all over the inside. Ugh.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2008-05-13 18:19
TKS, Ken, had I searched here [as I often suggest !!] I would have found a post by you in 2004 saying that it is an ABS resin, ?like the Artley's plastic which is pigmented black. Just didn't know that an ABS might be that transparent !! Curiousity satisfied, TKS, Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: garyl
Date: 2008-05-15 00:59
i'm not sure what protocol is here, so i don't want to clog the board with something that is neither question nor answer--but more than that, i can't neglect the thanks that i owe to you guys for your generosity of interest, time, and information.
Thank you all--you're awesome!
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2008-05-15 02:35
Probably acrylic (of which one trade name is Lucite). Doc Omar, can you confirm or refute? Quite a few sax and clarinet mouthpieces were/are made from clear acrylic as well.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-05-15 10:13
There was one (clear perspex B12) pictured on here a while back that was stamped as an E11!
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2008-05-15 11:50
I'd like to see a manufacturer produce clear plastic clarinets for beginners. The yuck-factor of disgusting accumulations inside could help train kids to swab out every time they play. They might never have to see the crust and slime again, once they step up to conventional, black clarinets, but they'd always know what's growing in there if they don't swab.
Then again, I can think of certain boys in my grade school band who probably would have loved clear plastic and competed to see who could nourish the most revolting fungus among us. Meanwhile, the uncoolness of clear plastic and the impossibility of avoiding the distracting mess of condensation during the rehearsal ("Look, Emily's drooling!") might encourage less aggressive kids to quit....
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: stevesklar
Date: 2008-05-16 20:30
there also was a clear E-11
Anyone know when they made these B12s & E11s?
http://www.clarinetperfection.com/clsnBuffet.htm#Identification
(then scroll down a bit)
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Author: GBK
Date: 2008-05-16 20:35
stevesklar wrote:
> there also was a clear E-11
But, as we all know, the regular E11 is just a wooden silverplated version of the plastic B12.
Thus, if the clear clarinet says either B12 or E11, with the copper coated keywork, it really is the same (student) quality instrument.
...GBK
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-05-16 22:07
The transparent B12s (and the ones stamped E11 which may have been a production line error) went on sale somewhere around 1989 - 1990 in the UK.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: John Morton
Date: 2008-05-17 00:21
Some thoughts about clear plastic:
I have made machined parts out of various plastics, and was often asked for transparent material for visibility in tanks and such. Acrylic (Lucite and Plexiglas are trade names) is the only one which is clear and colorless to my eyes. "Clear" polycarbonate (Lexan is a trade name) has a somewhat blue tint, transparent PVC is a darker blue. The differences are most apparent when you look an edge, e.g. the ends of the barrel. I don't remember seeing any other candidates that were practical materials for this purpose.
The most important reason for using acrylic in this application is that it is the only one of the above which can be polished to a transparent finish. Polycarbonate is superior for impact resistance, PVC for resistance to harsh chemicals.
John
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Author: mrn
Date: 2008-05-17 02:04
I tried out one of those clear Buffets at the TMEA convention in San Antonio in 1991.
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Author: rsholmes
Date: 2008-05-17 11:43
"The most important reason for using acrylic in this application is that it is the only one of the above which can be polished to a transparent finish."
I thought polycarbonate was used for eyeglass lenses?
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Author: Chloe
Date: 2008-05-20 12:20
I imagine some of these instruments ended up with scratched bores from cheap swabs. Or, perhaps, would become yellowed or cloudy from oxidizing over the years?
Chloe
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Author: ylock
Date: 2010-01-15 06:14
I know this was brought up years ago, but any idea where/ how I can get a hold of a clear Buffet B12 ?
Btw, Giora Feidman plays an E11, not B12. He told me a few months ago He got two of them at first, and gave one away... anyhow, I'm looking for one of them for myself !!
Thanks,
Yehiel
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Author: allencole
Date: 2010-01-15 08:08
Just thought I'd mention...you can see Giora Feidman playing his clear clarinet in the german movie "Beyond Silence."
Allen Cole
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Author: BobD
Date: 2010-01-15 09:59
"i just don't know what to tell people when they see it! "
That you paid way too much for it.
Yes, it probably is made from an Acrylic such as Plexiglas or Perspex. Yes, eyeglass lenses are made from Polycarbonate such as Lexan. Both of these thermoplastic plastics are used as glass substitutes.
CAUTION: do not expose your clear clarinet to gasoline or other "aromatic" solvents. Also do not expose to alcohols, "vinegar" or lysol. The same caution applies to the clear plastic mouthpieces on the market.
Bob Draznik
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2010-01-15 20:23
Since Buffet made so few of the clear instruments, they are hard to find and go for a substantial premium over an identical black instrument. The come up only a few times a year on eBay and usually sell for over $1,000.
Play it in good health.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2010-01-15 21:41
"And I agree with GBK that these were a bit better than today's B-12s. It would, however, be fun to own one. Disgusting as it may be to see the spit drip all over the inside. Ugh."
The only place you'll normally get saliva in a clarinet is the mouthpiece or possibly the barrel. The liquid that forms in the bore is just water condensate. You probably couldn't produce enough saliva to coat the inside of a clarinet. Certainly you can grow mushrooms in the bore if you don't keep it clean, but you can say the same for water coolers and coffee machines.
Tony F.
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Author: skywalker08
Date: 2011-02-07 21:41
hey i been looking for a b12 clarinet like yours. any toughs of maybe selling your clarinet?
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Author: davetrow
Date: 2011-02-07 21:52
Imagine getting Legionnaire's Disease from a clarinet!
Dave Trowbridge
Boulder Creek, CA
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2011-02-09 15:56
Maybe one of you owners could take a $6,000,000 tax credit for charitable contributions and send you transparent horn back to Buffet so that they can figure out why the throat A, the side Bb/Eb and the G#/C# keys flood with water.
Bob Phillips
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2011-02-09 16:15
Better still, send it back to Schreiber as they're the ones that made them.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Buster
Date: 2012-08-29 05:37
I accidentally wet my reed in gasoline and ruined the clarinet.
C'est la vie......
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