CLARINETS DIRECT

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MATCHED PAIR OF BUFFET CRAMPON, EVETTE & SCHAEFFER, E13 CLARINETS, £1745

An interesting and unique pair of UK stamp Buffet Crampon, Evette & Schaeffer, E13 clarinets in Nickel silver plate, which are a commission sale for Clarinets Direct. This pair have a fine provenance, having been selected for a pupil by Graham Evans, 2nd clarinet in the Northern Sinfonia. She used them throughn her time as a music student at University. The pair were made in 1976, and at this time Buffet UK were based at Pages Walk in South London. Then the Evette and Schaeffer clarinet was manufactured alongside the superb R13, which was Buffet's top selling professional model. Interestingly the "Evette & Schaeffer" stamps on the pair are different; The A features the original stamp, whereas the Bb has the re-designed logo just introduced. At that time, the difference between the top student model and the professional R13 was much narrower than it is now: Like the R13, E&S clarinets were hand undercut and made in the same factory as the professional models. This E&S pair are much superior, in every respect; quality of wood, intonation, and tone to contemporary mass produced E13 Buffet clarinets. This was reflected in the asking price, E & S clarinets were only 20% cheaper than R13s of the period.
There is no damage to the wood, which is crack and repair free. The Nickel Silver plating overall is in fine condition with no discernable loss, which contrasts sharply with the quality of current Buffet plating.  Both instruments have had a complete re-pad in Pisoni Premium Deluxe fish skin pads and are sold with a full years' warranty. The Bb has S/N K38650, and actually was supplied with a Buffet R13 barrel. The A S/N K36178, comes with both an E&S barrel and a Buffet R13 barrel.  The two mouthpieces are a used Vandoren 5RV Lyre and a Buffet B "crown" in good condition. The double case is in brown leather, it shows some wear to the interior lining, and scuffs to the exterior but latches and protects the pair well. Current E13s are being treated by Buffet with a chemical compound, which is supposed to inhibit cracking. In fact this seems to be causing some joint problems for Buffet, with many new instrument owners reporting problems with sticking joints to dealers, due to this compound leaching out from the wood end grain. At the period these instruments were made, thankfully the Grenadilla wood was left to age naturally prior to manufacture. If desired the pair can be sold separately. The A in double case with Buffet m'piece and two barrels for £945. The Bb with Vandoren m'piece and Buffet barrel in a single case for £895.