Buffet Crampon BC113120 R13 Series Professional Bb Clarinet

Buffet R13 Bb soprano clarinet in a Wolfpak compact case with front accessory pouch and backpack straps. No mouthpiece is included. The clarinet has nickel plated keys. This clarinet was made in 1971 and in the sweet spot of The Golden Age of Buffet clarinets: (some say 1970 - 1979 were the best years). The clarinet has been play tested and all notes can be played.

Please note that this clarinet has some imperfections as follows:

1)There is a very small rectangular dent with a sheen to it that may be either an imperfection of the dyeing process or part of the wood grain. Or it may indicate a pin to indicate a crack repair. I suspect it is an imperfection versus a pin because my own R13 that has a similar rectangular sheen spot that I know is not a pin and also, pinned crack repairs usually have more that one pin in place that you can see. Also, pinned markings are usually round. This mark doesn't look round to me.

2)The lower joint has a small ding below the crow's foot (stack of 4 right hand pinky keys). This is just a cosmetic imperfection and has no bearing on the clarinet's playability.

3)The metal ring at the bottom of the bell has a crack. This is very common. My own R13 also has a crack in the bell. It has no bearing on the clarinet's playability.

4)There is touch wear on the upper joint left hand G#/Ab key. There is also touch wear on the crow's foot keys (right pinky keys) at the lower joint. See the pictures.

5)The last imperfection is the left hand lower joint spatula keys. Unfortunately, the previous owner damaged the keys (I suspect they tried to adjust the keys using pliers with serrated jaws) And in doing so, they damaged the keys with scratch markings and plating removal from the keys. The keys work fine but the finish and feel due to the damage is very undesirable from a player's perspective. It felt jagged and sharp. I made it as less of an issue as possible and practical without spending a lot of money on replating and refinishing. That would be too expensive to repair. I filled in the damaged areas with cyanoacrylate adhesive (ie superglue) to act as a filler and then sanded it down to match the adjacent plating. The result is a smoother feel and I am happy with the results. I could have buffed and sanded it down more but I didn't want to risk removing more than I wanted to. See pictures to get an idea.

Finally, the clarinet was serviced on 4.27.2026 for replacing (1) tenon cork, replacing (9) key corks, replacing (2) pads. Also, some leaking pads were adjusted and reseated. Key mechanisms were oiled.

Serial number on the clarinet is in the 118XXX series. Both serial numbers on lower and upper joints match. 1971 is the year of manufacture based on the serial number.

No leaky pads. I don't see any cracks. Clarinet has been play tested. All notes can be played and heard clearly.