Buffet, S1 B Flat Clarinet
A very fine condition Buffet S1 Bb clarinet in Silver plate. When the American investor Martin Tolchin bought Buffet Crampon in the mid 1970's he felt that though the R13 sold well in the USA different models would be more successful in Europe. The S1, Continentale and BC20, were all attempts to make darker, more focused sounding clarinets. In the case of the S1 this is partly achieved by much less undercutting.
This S1 Bb has matching serial nos. F208436, which dates to 1980, and this period is commonly regarded as an excellent period of Buffet manufacture. The instrument has Silver plate is fine condition, with only slight wear to the ring fingers and rear thumb bush. The clarinet has just been down to our workshop and the key regulation is tight, there is no joint wobble. The wood is in excellent condition, there are no cracks or repairs. It has had a complete re-pad in finest Pisoni fish skin pads, and is sold with our full 1 year warranty. The S1 clarinet plays with a robust, focused sound and excellent evenness and intonation. In the past players such as John McCaw and Mitchell Lurie played S1's. The case is an "as new" Yamaha Custom with cover and carry strap, NB not pictured, and the mouthpiece is an ebonite "C" Buffet in good condition.