Buffet R13 Bb/A Clarinet (silver-plated keys)
Buffet R13 Bb/A Clarinet (silver-plated keys)
Robert Carrée designed the R13's polycylindrical bore around 1950; the model name appeared in 1955. The "R" series naming scheme wasn't actually coined by Buffet in France — it came from their U.S. distributor, who also named an R14, R15, and R16. None of those stuck. For whatever reason, Buffet kept "R13," and here we are.
Before polycylindrical bores, clarinets were a tuning nightmare. Carrée's breakthrough — varying the bore diameter along the instrument's length — addressed overtone alignment issues that had plagued clarinets for a century. Nearly every professional clarinet made between 1955 and the 1990s borrowed from this design.
Even today, the R13 remains the single best-selling professional clarinet in history. It's the clarinet everyone knows. It's the benchmark. Buffet made some further refinements in the 1970s, and since then they've pretty much left it alone — preferring to put their R&D into newer models like the Tradition and Légende. The R13 is frozen in time, which is both its appeal and (depending on who you talk to) its limitation.
What are the limitations? Go into the R13 Dashboard below and you'll see. The low register runs flat. The throat tones run really flat. The 12ths stretch. The intonation spread is wider than most modern designs. That said, it's still the benchmark for its sound and response — quintessentially French: articulation is crisp, tone is bright and even across registers. My view: the R13 is a 1970s design playing in a 2020s market. Competitors (and, indeed Buffet themselves) have spent decades refining what Carrée started.
If you're upgrading from a student horn and the R13 is the only professional clarinet you've heard of, you're in the right place — but do yourself a favor and play a few alternatives before you decide. That's what we're here for!
Resistance: 5/10, Medium
The R13 is, unsurprisingly, middle-of-the-road. It is the epitome of "French" clarinets in my opinion, with a tight core, medium resistance, and good response.
In general, added resistance in a clarinet design usually keeps the louder dynamic ranges from spreading; the clarinet "holds its core" and focus, but will provide a smaller dynamic range (on both ends, loud and soft) and smaller color palette. A less resistant clarinet typically provides a much wider tonal palette to choose from, but will require more control from the player to control pitch and sound consistency.
When listening for how a clarinet responds to added air pressure and embouchure control, listen to the Weber example (wide dynamic range and color range), then the Berlioz excerpt (wide dynamic range, but narrow color range), and finally the Gershwin excerpt (narrow dynamic range and narrow color range). You will hear how these clarinets respond — for better or worse! — to my input as a clarinet player.
Important note about this clarinet's warranty.
These clarinets are imported directly from overseas, which is why our price is lower than most US dealers — they're bound by Buffet Crampon USA pricing rules; we're not. Go ahead and check.
The tradeoff is that they don't come with a Buffet Crampon USA warranty. So Earspasm provides one directly, with equivalent coverage and the same two-year term. The practical difference: if you have a covered claim, you contact me instead of Buffet. Honestly, that's probably faster.
NEW!
View & compare detailed tuning, articulation and timbre data for every clarinet we carry.
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64mm & 65mm Barrels
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Ligature & Cap
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Cork Grease and Swab
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Standard Buffet Case
FAQ
Short answer: All earspasm instruments come with a 7-day trial. Please read my trial policy before pulling out that credit card.
Medium answer: You have 7 days from the date of receipt to try the clarinet. If you don't like it, that's fine (my feelings aren't hurt!) — just let me know and I will send you a return label. Box it all up and send it back. We keep 5% to cover credit card transaction fees and a (hopefully!) brief round trip back to Miles or John — my technicians — to do a reset on the horn.
Long answer: Read my trial policy :)
What is an "open-box" clarinet?
Occasionally I get instruments that were used by the manufacturer for display at a trade show or Clarinet Day. They're brand-new clarinets, never owned, and they come with the full manufacturer warranty.
Because they've been unboxed, they can't be sold as "new." That means I get them at a discount-and you do too. I don't accept open-box instruments with any damage or cosmetic issues on the clarinet itself. On rare occasions, there may be a small scuff on the case.
Every open-box clarinet is inspected and play-tested before it goes up for sale.
Each one is set up, just like every instrument I sell. If you have any questions about a specific open-box instrument I have for sale here, just reach out and we can discuss!
EARSPASM MUSIC — LIMITED WARRANTY Buffet R13 Bb Clarinet
Earspasm Music warrants this instrument against defects in materials and workmanship for two years from the date of original purchase. This warranty applies to the original purchaser only and is not transferable. This matches Buffet Crampon USA warranty terms
What we cover
If something goes wrong due to a manufacturing defect or workmanship failure under normal use, we'll fix it. All warranty service is handled directly through Earspasm Music — you deal with Michael, not a call center.
Wood cracks
Grenadilla is a natural material and most clarinet cracks are caused by environmental stress — dryness, temperature shock, inadequate warm-up — rather than manufacturing defects. We can't always tell the difference by looking, and we won't pretend otherwise. What we will do is make an honest, experienced assessment when you bring the instrument in, tell you what we think caused it, and tell you what we can do about it. If there's genuine doubt, we'll err toward you.
Cracks we determine to be manufacturing defects will be repaired under warranty. If the same joint cracks a second time following a prior warranty repair, we will replace that joint, including key transfer.
What we don't cover
- Damage from accidents, drops, misuse, or neglect
- Normal wear: pads, corks, key plating, springs
- Damage caused by repair or adjustment performed by anyone other than Earspasm's technician
- Instruments with altered, removed, or defaced serial numbers
- Any instrument purchased secondhand
How to use this warranty
Contact Michael directly at earspasm.com. You ship to us (your cost); if the repair qualifies under this warranty, we cover return shipping within the US.
Earspasm Music's liability is limited to repair or replacement of the affected component at our discretion. We are not responsible for incidental or consequential damages including lost performance opportunities.
Inspect the package before you sign off at delivery! If there are any issues resulting from shipping, we have taken out an insurance policy to cover damage (and loss). But we need you to document this damage or we can't do anything to help. Please read my trial policy for how to handle this issue, should it arise.
Not if you live in the Continental US! Because I want you to find the right instrument for you, and doing so online is harder than doing so in-person, I will cover the return shipping. Please read my trial policy for trial and return rules.
Yes. You can add your shipping address when checking out to see what the shipping costs will be before taking the plunge. Note that VAT and Customs Duties are not included in this cost.
Contact me to set up an appointment, and let's do it!
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