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 Vintage Clarinet?
Author: saxyman06 
Date:   2009-02-12 01:53

Ok, so, i did the serial search on the Buffet site, and came up with these two results:


Brand : Buffet Crampon
Instrument : BC 1102.AG
Serial number : 94667
Year of manufacturing : 11/02/1993

Brand : Buffet Crampon
Instrument : Sib Am�rique
Serial number : 94667
Year of manufacturing : 03/01/1967

Through my reasonable deduction abilities I know that this clarinet is the 1967 one because the person I purchased it from would have been playing it before I was born (which was before 1993, but not 1967) I am just wondering what it means when it says 'Sib Amerique' under instrument. Any help at all will be appreciated, I just want to know my horn's specifics.

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 Re: Vintage Clarinet?
Author: jsc 
Date:   2009-02-12 14:17

"Sib" = "Bb". I'm thinking they are using solfege (Do, Re, Me, etc.). In the fixed solfege system, where middle C on the piano is always "Do", "Sib" is the Bb above middle C and just below the octave C above middle C. Look up "Solfege" on Wikipedia for further information. I guess my undergrad does come in handy. Hope this helps.

Joe

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 Re: Vintage Clarinet?
Author: Jack Kissinger 
Date:   2009-02-12 15:44

Sib Amerique -- Bb clarinet for the American market (A=440).

If your clarinet has no markings other than the Buffet marque on the upper joint (and the serial number), it is an R13 from 1967. If it is the newer instrument it should have "E13" (without the quotes) under the Buffet marque on the upper joint and will be silver plated.

Best regards,
jnk

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 Re: Vintage Clarinet?
Author: Nat Johnson 
Date:   2010-01-02 23:56

This is sort of related to the topic...

Two days ago my father, a retired professional clarinetist/college prof, passed his last clarinet on to me. I searched serial number (103866) to find out something about it. It came up as an E13 manufactured in 1995. I am surprised that he would have an instrument that new as he hasn't been doing any teaching or professional playing since about that year--if fact he probably hasn't even opened the case at all in the last 6-7 years. But I was more surprised to find out that it's an E13 rather than his preferred R13.

Is there a possibility that this information is wrong? Based on this topic's earlier post, it seems that the serial # search is not infallible.

(You may be wondering why I don't ask my father for this info. Given his current health challenges--end-stage Parkinson's--I don't think he would be able to provide a conclusive answer, if he was able to understand the question at all.)

Thanks, all!
Nat

SSG Nathaniel Johnson, D.A.
Western Nebraska Community College
101st Army Band

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 Re: Vintage Clarinet?
Author: Jack Kissinger 
Date:   2010-01-03 03:40

If you play with the Buffet serial number list, you will find that there is a gap in the numbers assigned professional soprano clarinets between 102999 (an R13 made on October 9, 1968) and 104041 (a BC20 -- a different model soprano about which I know very little except that it was relatively short-lived among Buffet's models and was highly regarded by a few owners who have posted about it in the past -- made on October 24, 1968). It seems unlikely to me that Buffet would have produced a little over a thousand professional clarinets during that short a time span but I'm merely speculating on that point. As I mentioned in my previous post on this thread, if the clarinet is an E13, I would expect it to be marked clearly to that effect on the upper joint below the Buffet Marque. If it's not marked "E13" (without the quotes), I think the odds are good that it is actually an R13 from 1968.

Does the left-hand pinky C#/G# key on the upper joint have a needle spring on the post or a flat spring on the key? Also, is the wood under the right-hand pinky cluster cut out?

There is a "Contact Us" button on the serial number page. You might try using that to send your question to Buffet. If you do, be as comprehensive as you can in your description of the instrument.

Best regards,
jnk

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 Re: Vintage Clarinet?
Author: susieray 
Date:   2010-01-03 05:44


You father's clarinet is an R13 from the year 1968.
(If it were an E13 the serial number would begin with the letter "K")

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