CLARINETS DIRECT

020 8893 3172 or 07787 770071

MATCHED PAIR OF BUFFET R13 CLARINETS, £2395

Clarinets Direct is fortunate to count many of the UK's finest players amongst our clientele. One such is Nicholas Rodwell, who is currently co-Principal clarinet with the Royal Opera House Orchestra at Covent Garden. This matched pair of Buffet R13 clarinets were used initially by Nick in the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and London Symphony Orchestra, and are a commission sale for C D.
The Bb Clarinet has an upper joint with wood with a very open grain. There is either an exceptionally open grain running through the LH pillar of the register key or a surface crack, I am of the opinion it is a surface crack, see photo 11. There is also an old pinned, repaired surface crack running into the second trill key hole. It goes without saying that this instrument has seen extensive use, and in my experience, cracking is quite common when a clarinet is performed on and used for International touring, as much as this instrument was. David Fingerhut does all of Nick Rodwells, repair and overhaul work. This clarinet was formerly repaired by him, and was last fully overhauled by him some 6 months ago in tan leather pads, and according to Nick has not been used since. The Silver plating also shows some surface pitting and spot wear, but overall it is in good condition, around 90%. The matching S/N 207670, dates to 1980.
The A clarinet has seen less use than the Bb, and the wood has no cracks or repairs. The Silver plate shows only slight wear. The pads are all brand new tan leather. This A Clarinet, S/N 207925, also dates to 1980. ` Back then these was the finest professional instruments Buffet made, with unstained, matched wood. This was before the introduction of the ""Prestige" range, which effectively downgraded the standard R13 considerably. These days R13's are made from inferior quality wood which is stained to hide imperfections. Buffet are currently attempting to recreate this Gold standard of manufacture in their current "Vintage R13" range please go to www.buffetcrampon.com for more details. These instruments will not disappoint: To find instruments of this quality and provenance is rare. There are 2 supplied barrels; of 66.3mm for the Bb, and 65.5mm for the A. The case is a modern Buffet leather type, in excellent condition and the m'piece is a stock plastic Buffet 116 of the period provided for play testing.