Buffet, Festival, B Flat Clarinet
This Buffet Festival Bb clarinet is in very good condition, and is a commission sale for Clarinets Direct. The Festival is based firmly on the R13 Prestige, with the register key tube slightly higher, and adjustments to the upper and lower bore flares to compensate. This type of alteration had in fact been suggested to Buffet in the late 1960's by Moennig, Morgan, and Gigliotti: The result is improved intonation and evenness to the second register, which has meant the Festival is a firm favourite amongst professional players.
This Bb has matching serial nos. 298724, which dates to 1987. This makes this examples one of the early clarinets. It is received wisdom in the industry that when Buffet launch a new model, their most experienced luthiers are entrusted with the finishing. For this reason, early examples of the production runs are justly highly prized. The Silver plate shows very little wear, only the register key has a small patch of wear. The clarinet has used white leather pads throughout which are sealing well. There are no cracks or repairs to the wood, which is finest hand selected and unstained Grenadilla. All pieces are genuine Buffet stamped Festival. The case is a a brand new modern example with pouch and carry strap [NB, not pictured]. The supplied mouthpiece is an ebonite Buffet C.