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- Buffet/Hite R13 B Flat Clarinet
Buffet/Hite R13 B Flat Clarinet
An extremely rare Buffet R13 clarinet customised by David Hite, which is a commission sale for Clarinets Direct. The customisation was rather in the manner of Moennig, with a custom barrel, which has been replace here with a Chadash, and some adjustment to bore and tone holes. The main difference the player experienced was a general improvement in the throat note tones stability and response. And improvement overall to the 12ths. There has also been a suggestion that the taper of the register key tube was also altered. Understandably makers/customisers are not always completely forthcoming about their work, though there are rare exceptions. This R13 has been much used, most recently by one of the UK's foremost session players and West End musicians, Howard McGill. There is a repaired, carbon fibre banded, crack to the upper joint see photo 5. This repair is so good, that the crack is completely invisible. The pads are all used tan leather in good condition. The clarinet has just been through our workshop for a partial service to prepare for sale, with tenon and touch corks replaced as necessary. The nickel silver plating shows wear, please examine the photos in close up, which can be achieved by selecting individual photos and hovering with the mouse. The case is a brand new example and the serial numbers are 202503, which dates to 1980.