Author: donald
Date: 2019-04-22 14:55
GBK - that may be so in many cases but not all. My 1963 R13 was passed on to me by a retired pro player who studied with Stubbins, and played the same B flat clarinet for his entire career. It was selected in 1963 when he was studying in Michigan.
This instrument has an amazing sound, really the only downside to it is that the left hand e-b and f-c 12ths are much wider than my other (more modern) clarinets, and that the keys are ridiculously worn- more so than any clarinet I've seen (even instruments from the 1880s). The sound is incredible - especially the "short tube" notes.
However, the wood is not at all dense, or "super shiny/smooth" on the bore surface. It's quite grainy and much lighter than my Festival B flat.
Some years ago I met with a well respected US college teacher who claimed that "the best barrels had a grainy bore" and that she looked for this when selecting barrels.
Like Mr Blumberg I find myself prefering the Prestige and Festival clarinets made from the denser wood when I try out clarinets, but it is obviously not always that simple, and can't necessarily explain the excellent instruments Buffet made in earlier years.
dn
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