Buffet Festival Bb Clarinet

The Buffet Festival is best understood as R13-adjacent.

Developed with three famous French clarinetists, Jacques Lancelot, Guy Deplus, and Michel Arrignon, this is one of those rare cases where "designed by committee" actually worked.

With the R13 as the reference point, Buffet kept the familiar response while changing a few important things: a smoother trip across the break, a mellower center, and a scale that's tighter overall than the R13's.

The most important design change was borrowed from the Buffet RC. The designers moved the register tube 2mm higher. Why? Because the register tube has two competing jobs: first, it vents the clarion register when you cross the break; second, it serves as the tone hole for throat Bb. A position that helps one job can compromise the other, so its location is always an acoustic compromise.

Raising the tube changes that compromise. The bottom of the throat register sits better than it does on many R13s, and the trip into the clarion feels smoother. Higher up the throat, it runs a touch sharp — the raised tube helps one end and costs a little at the other.

That said, every note isn't suddenly perfect. The raised tube addresses several problems, but it does not repeal acoustics. Have a look at the dashboard to see for yourself.

How it plays

The Festival blows about like the R13, but the sound is a little mellower — a darker center than you might expect from a Buffet in this family. A freer clarinet often gets brighter or spreads as you add air; the Festival holds its center and stays mellow. Cool! Articulation is just as quick as the R13 — clarion and upper register speak cleanly. 

Where the Festival separates from the R13 is pitch-under-pressure: (in a good way) it holds the low register steadier when you push the volume, and the overall scale sits tighter. Though it lets you explore different colors, big dynamic swings from pp to ff bring more pitch and tonal movement than the more resistant clarinets. Players who shape pitch and timbre through air and voicing will enjoy that freedom; players who don't may prefer something more predictable.

Resistance: 5/10, Medium

The Festival is a bit more free-blowing in feel than its 5/10 rating suggests next to the R13, but the two sit close. That openness is what gives you the wide color range, and it's the same trait that lets the pitch move when you push if you're not careful.

Want to hear how it handles air and dynamics? In the audio player below, listen to the Weber first (wide dynamics, wide color), then the Berlioz (wide dynamics, narrow color), then the Gershwin (narrow on both). You can hear how the timbre responds to me as a player... warts and all.

The 2024 revision

Buffet quietly revised the Festival in 2024, changing the body dimensions and shortening the bell. Buffet says part of the body revision addressed the right-hand clarion register, which could run sharp on earlier instruments.

What should you compare?

The Buffet R13 still makes sense if you want a firmer center, a brighter voice, and the traditional Buffet response. And one less barrel. And about a grand cheaper.

A Selmer Signature is worth comparing if you want a mellow center with a faster response and different register blending. A Uebel Rêve or Backun Essence will usually feel more even note to note and require less active pitch management. The Royal Global Firebird belongs in the conversation if you want stronger projection and more stability when you push the dynamics.

For what it's worth, the Festival is my favorite Buffet clarinet.