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Buffet Prestige alto

Author: Ebclarinet1
Date: 2008-08-14 14:05

Recently I received the new Buffet Prestige Alto and I can report that it is one heck of a horn.

If you play the Buffet Prestige bass, you will notice some of the same modifications on this horn as occurs on the bass. Most notably there is a large vent on the bell for the low Eb. This modification makes the low Eb a much less stuffy note than on other altos I've played. Overall the mechanism is very smooth and very ergonomic in design. The peg is very secure and gives the horn a wonderful feeling of support. Even though I'm tall (6'3") I had no problem sitting with the horn on the floor and me in a chair.

One remarkable thing is the volume and quality of the sound and the intonation. All have been problems in the past. Not so with this horn. There are two neck joints that come with the horn and I found the longer one closer to A440 than the shorter one but it's good to have a little sharper one in case your oboist is tuning sharp that day. Anyway, checking with a tuner, I found no bad notes in terms of pitch. The worst offender was a C5 (as written, not as sounds) fingered with the side keys rather than standard. The altissimo notes were outstanding, easily ascending to C7. In fact those notes were easier than on my R13! Also a bit better in tune!

There are several things that seem to be unique to this horn. Compared to my LeBlanc (Paris) alto the length of grenadilla from the neck to the first keys is a good bit more and the whole joint is longer. The first finger right hand has a hole in it to improve the venting of the B/ F# which are notoriously wheezy notes on alto. This takes a bit of getting accustomed to for those who are less than precise in playing the lower clarinets although it seems to be an easy accommodation. It will let you know when you're not covering the tone hole properly!

OK, one shock for me was the behavior of mouthpieces on this horn. On the LeBlanc alto and basset horn the Hite mouthpieces have been my pick. Not so on this Buffet. The Grabner and Pilliinger mouthpieces played best and a Pomarico mouthpiece that wouldn't play a note on the LeBlanc positively SUNG on the Buffet. Have never seen such a mouthpiece difference before on any of my clarinets.

Wish I had this alto all my life. Would've made playing a lot more fun!

Eefer guy

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