CLARINETS DIRECT

020 85811113 or 07787 770071

BUFFET RC Bb CLARINET, £1195

An extremely fine Buffet RC Bb clarinet, dating to 1976. When this instrument was manufactured it was only the second year of RC manufacture and it was the finest clarinet Buffet made, the latest models being finished by the most experienced workers. When the American investor Martin Tolchin bought Buffet Crampon he felt that though the R13 sold well in the USA, different models would be more successful in Europe. The S1, Continentale and BC20, which became the RC, were all attempts to make clarinets with less "brightness" than the R13. The RC did sell very well: It had a more relaxed warm tone than the R13, due in part to a slightly larger bore, which attracted many UK players.
There is no damage or repairs to the wood, with only minor surface marks. The Nickel silver plate is in excellent condition throughout, with only minor wear to the rings. This instrument has just had a full re-pad in double bladder fish skin pads in our workshop, with all touch corks replaced, and tenon corks as necessary. It is sold with our full 1 year warranty. This instrument plays with a dark, focused sound and excellent evenness and intonation. It was manufactured as Buffet's top professional instrument with unstained Grenadilla wood, and, at the time, sold for more than the R13. Today one would have to spend over £5000 on RC Prestige instruments, and choose from a large number of examples, to get anything of like quality. The case is a modern BAM with carry straps in excellent condition. The mouthpiece is a used Selmer HS.