Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2018-02-01 14:08
apaul001 wrote:
> I've recently fallen in love with the
> they-just-don't-make-'em-like-they-used-to mystique of the pre
> R13 Buffet. This happened as a result of a search I initiated
> for a very high quality instrument at a price within my reach.
I think it depends a good deal on why you're looking for an older instrument. People comb EBay for old Centered-Tone Selmers and old B&H 1010s because they're looking for playing qualities that are different from those of newer clarinet designs. The R-13 with its polycylindrical bore was created to solve specific intonation problems. A pre-R-13 had (I'm told - I've never played one) some unique characteristics of tone and response that changed with the R-13 design.
If you're looking for a clarinet that has the characteristics of the older instruments, then searching for one of them makes sense. But if you're looking for a high quality instrument at the lowest price possible, probably not so much. An older instrument can be brought back to very playable condition, but if it's sold at a really low price, it will almost certainly cost more to restore than a newer one.
You can find used R-13s from a later time - '60s or '70s - for very reasonable, but not dirt-cheap, prices that are still very serviceable and are more likely to have been continuously maintained, so may need less initial servicing. You'll be under the cost of a new instrument - even a modern R-13. If you aren't specifically interested in the qualities of pre-polycylindrical Buffets, those may be more practical for you.
Karl
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The Clarinet BBoard
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