Buffet Crampon R13 Bb Clarinet W/ New Valentino Master's Pads

One of several professional clarinets we are offering for sale.  This is a vintage Buffet Crampon R13 clarinet in Bb.  It is marked “ROYAL” on the upper joint, which after searching all over for information on this crazy rare model I’ve never heard of, I’m told by Buffet that it is a 1969 R13 engraved later by the retailer. You can find just a couple more of these around if you look.  It is in exceptional condition:  wood is a nice billet of aged grenadilla with a tight, straight grain and no chips, cracks or repairs. Crazy nice gold-plated keys with surprisingly little wear as seen in the photos. Whoever did the plating even did the posts, rings, cap and ligature—can’t imagine what that would cost today.  Ligature and some of the rings are very faded, but you can still see traces of gold that likely wore off from the constant rubbing when putting them together. (This site limits photos, but you can see additional photos on Reverb and eBay--but you'll pay more there!) Just through the shop where it was bore oiled and had all new Valentino Master’s Series synthetic pads installed—one of the longest-lasting, quietest pads available.  Plays nicely across all registers with a big, dark sound and a soft feel to the keywork.  Includes a vintage Buffet one-up, three-down hard rubber Riffault mouthpiece in a C-crown facing  Comes a slim Buffet pochette case.  A greatl-looking, great-playing instrument from right at the beginning of Buffet’s Golden Era, and the only one in gold you’ll find on the used market!