Buffet, S1 B Flat Clarinet
A fine condition Buffet S1 Bb clarinet in Nickel 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 Bb clarinet seems to be suffering an identity crisis as it is stamped BC20 and underneath S1! In fact the bore measurements and tone hole design mean that this clarinet should actually be stamped S1. It has matching serial nos. F110845, which dates to late 1969, and this period is commonly referred to as the "Golden Era" of Buffet manufacture. The instrument has Nickel 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 of a very compact design, and it shows interior and exrerior wear, but is fully functional. The mouthpiece is an ebonite Vandoren 5RV in good condition.