What kind of Clarinet

Getting the R13

Dave Dolson said:
Steve: I was referring to your latest discussion - the R-13 for which you described the lever connecting the keywork on the upper and lower joints maybe being out of adjustment.

No slam against the store you mentioned - just that if there was an adjustment problem, they'd most likely make sure it was fixed before selling it to you. I thought it curious that you perceived a problem with that $1695 clarinet (by mentioning this lever), yet didn't say anything about what they'd said about it. I sure HOPED they didn't intend to sell it for that price and leave you with an adjustment problem.

Assuming they'd make sure you were happy before you bought it; if you liked the horn, buy it. And if you don't buy it, why not? DAVE
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Hi Dave,

I just got off the phone with Dillion and they said they will fix the lever. It was just an adjustment. I believe that this is the right choice for me. Do any of you have any comment on the price of the Clarinet?

I think 1695 is a fair price. My wife told me to see if they'll get any off on the price but I don't like bargaining. I feel that getting 50 bucks off leaves them with a bad taste and I feel cheap doing it. But that's just me.

Steve
 
Steve: That is what I wanted to read . . . I suspected they'd do it right. I trust you've played the thing?

As far as the price, I don't know. I'm thinking it may be a bit high, but if you are close enough to the store to take advantage of future service and other business, it may be okay.

I know I've spent what others may have considered to be too much on various horns in my time, but I liked the horn(s) and bought them anyway - not with any investment in mind, but because I wanted to have them. I'm glad now that I didn't quibble or walk away because of the price. I've enjoyed hours of playing these instruments and the prices seem insignificant to me now.

I feel the same way about haggling prices, too. DAVE
 
I've learned there are different types of R13's, some with nickel plated keys and others silver plated, for example. My R13 has nickel plated keys and it renders it a second class citizen, so-to-speak, worth less money than its silver plated cousin. There may be other differences, but that's the one easiest to spot. I found if you enter your R13 serial number on the Selmer clarinet website you get a brief summary of the technical details for your R13.

Like Dave, I hate to haggle when I find a horn I want just for my personal enjoyment and the experience of playing it. If my horn trading, buying and selling over the last few years was a business, I'd have been bankrupt long ago, but I've had a ton of fun doing it and have no regrets - well, not many.
 
robertsax said:
I've learned there are different types of R13's, some with nickel plated keys and others silver plated, ....... I found if you enter your R13 serial number on the Selmer clarinet website you get a brief summary of the technical details for your R13.
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Silver plated R13s general go for $150-$250 more for the same general SN clarinet with nickel plated keys ... that's just the way it is. Kinda like if you had a nickel nickel, and a solid silver nickel .. which is worth more ? (the silver one you can sell for the silver content)

as for checking the R13 on the Selmer website - i think checking it on the Buffet website will give much more accurate information :-D

Retail/store front musci stores will general ask more for their instruments. This versus an online store. The ability you get with them is that they allow you to play test right then and now. Versus an online store which have to ship it to you, etc. or no trial at all.

So you may pay a bit more with a storefront but for many it is worth it to play test and select the instrument that they want.

Clarinet prices vary. An "overhaul" can vary greatly in quality of all aspects of the clarinet, and those prices are put into the base price of the instrument.
 
I got it

Hi All,

Well I got one. It was the one for $1695.00 (a 2004 R13). Unbenost to me my wfie called them, found that it was a consigment, so she asked if the owner would go down the $1300.00 and by golly they said OK. So I have a wonderfull Clarinet that my wife bought for me. I also bought a couple of Étude books (One with a CD) and some reeds, rush, swab and a Clarinet stand.

I will post some pictures of it on one of my sites later on for all to see.

I have to thank all of you for your input. It was a great help in deciding what to get.

More to come,

Steve
 
SteveSklar said:
...as for checking the R13 on the Selmer website - i think checking it on the Buffet website will give much more accurate information :-D...
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Oops! My bad. :oops:
 
Trying to find a trio

Hi All,

When I was in the service I played a trio for Clarinet. It might have been Tchaikovsky but I'm not sure. The trio was most likely for Violin, Flute or Clarinet.

I've been searching for it with no luck. I posted this on another topic but haven't got an answer yet. There is a link to what I remembered (I did it with midi) on the following site.

http://www.recorddemo.com/Trio.mp3

I started with the Harmonies as I remembered then did the rest of the few bars solo.

I really want to find this music.

Thanks,

Steve
 
Found it

Hi All,

Well I found it. Someone from another board found it for me. It is.

The "Beethoven Trio in C for 2 Oboes and English Horn, Op.87. I actually found a midi for it but I'm looking for the sheet music now. I should be able to find it.

Thanks,
Steve
 
All this talk about R-13's caused me to dig mine out of the horn-closet. I've been spending some time with mine, experimenting with different barrels and mouthpiece/ligature combos. I'm really enjoying it.

Like I posted before, this is an R-13 with nickel keywork. I bought it used many years ago (a package deal that included a very nice Selmer MKVI alto saxophone; both horns for $1K - late 1970's/early '80's).

The R-13 really plays nice. I have a collection of various length barrels and mouthpieces, so I started the process. What I ended up with was the stock R-13 Buffet barrel of about 64mm with a Claude Lakey mouthpiece (Claude told me he made these to play at A=443) with a soft Fibracell reed and a Rovner EVO-5 ligature.

I also did some side-by-sides with my RC Prestige clarinet using the stock Prestige barrel and another older Lakey mouthpiece/fibracell/Rovner combo. The Prestige and R-13 are pretty much alike. The Prestige's tone may be a just a bit warmer; the feel and response of the R-13 is equal.

I had been using a very short custom barrel on my Prestige (made by a local clarinet specialist using a Sierra blank - it measures 56mm) with a Vandoren 66/fibracell set-up. That set-up allowed me to tune sharp (you may be saying OF COURSE) in some playing environments.

But now that I've been playing the longer barrels with the shorter Lakey mouthpieces, I'm finding the intonation even better than it was before. Not that it was OUT before, only that the horns' intonation improved and doesn't make me work quite as hard.

The final test of any horn (and set-up) is how it plays on the job. I'll test it this Sunday at my gig. DAVE
 
There's no better test than playing a horn during a gig. There's also no greater trepidation that playing a new (to you) horn during a gig unless you switch horns often.
 
Took both of my Buffet clarinets (R-13 from 1962 and an RC Prestige) to the gig yesterday and tried both with my new set-ups (stock barrels, Lakey mouthpieces, soft Fibracell reeds, and Rovner ligatures).

I played both to pitch (yeah, a good thing) but the Prestige was clearly superior in ensemble and solo work. The Prestige had a certain vibrance to it - I could almost feel the resonance in my finger tips. Not that the R-13 was poor, just that Prestige was SO much warmer and alive.

I also discovered that I didn't have quite the control with the Lakeys as I do with the Vandoren 66 I've been using for many years. However, the Lakeys gave me more edge and I suspect that as I play them more, I'll have better control, up to the level of the Vandoren. The Vandoren is just too long for me to come to pitch with those standard-length barrels. DAVE
 
Long time no post

Hi All,

It's been a long time since I posted here. Life has been hectic health wise but I've still been practicing a lot and am starting to get my chops up. As I said I got a 2004 R13 and I am enjoying it a lot. I took pictures of it and will post some shortly.

I still feel as though I want to get a Patricola and I am selling off a bunch of stuff to get the money up. I almost have the full amount so when I do I will get one sent over to try. I've had conversations with Angelo Patricola and have even had a friend offer to pick one up in Italy for me. He goes there a lot and is going to retire there. But it is better to get one in the USA so I can try it out and send it back if I don't like it.

One good thing is that my wife Kaye has started playing the Trumpet again. I'm so pleased and happy for her. She went up to Dillon Music (they are near me) and had her Strad cleaned up. We are starting to play a lot of duets to get our chops up and it's working.

Kaye bought me (from Dillon) an O'Brien Crystal mouthpiece. It is an O'Brien Fossenkemper. That was made for Marius Fossenkemper who was the principal clarinetist of the Detroit Symphony in the 1930s. It is signed with his name as well as O'Brien's name and plays similar to the O'Brien OB. They also have an OB that I'm thinking of getting just because it is the one I grew up with. I will get an image of the Fossenkemper when I get the image of the Clarinet up as well.

When Kaye and I started playing Duets we were using her Arban's book. There are a few duets there but I was bored real quickly. I wrote a Duet that was very nice and we've been playing and updating that one too. I'm thinking of writing a bunch of Duets for us. It's actually more fun than writing my songs and jingles.

Anyway, enough babbling for now. More to come in the near future. Thanks again for all the input I've received over the past few months.

Steve
 
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