CLARINETS DIRECT

020 8893 3172 or 07787 770071

BUFFET RC A CLARINET, £1195

An extremely fine Buffet RC Bb clarinet, dating to 1982. This instrument has had only one professional owner and is a commission sale for Clarinets Direct. 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. This Bb would pair well with the RC A, No. 56, further down the page.
There is no damage or repairs to the wood, with only minor surface marks. The Nickel silver plate is in excellent condition throughout. 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. There are two supplied barrels of 64mm & 66mm. 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 elderly but fully functional. The mouthpiece is a brand new student model, with Rovner cap and ligature.