Rare Buffet Crampon R16 Bb Clarinet

We are pleased to offer for sale this hard-to-find Buffet Crampon R16 in Bb.  This is the most decked-out version of all the R13’s offered by Buffet at the time, and includes the extra lower trill key, the articulated C#/G# key, the forked Eb mechanism, and the alternate left-hand Eb/Ab lever.  It is a full-Boehm horn less the low Eb.  It is in good condition with one crack in the bell (which is repaired so nicely you probably wouldn’t have noticed it if we hadn’t disclosed it) and lots of acid wear to the keywork as seen in the photos.  The clarinet had obviously had a recent repad, and we further just put it through the shop where it was disassembled, cleaned, bore oiled, lubricated, reassembled, and adjusted.  It plays very well across all registers—a bright, punchy horn that would be well suited to jazz and solo work.  S/n F843XX, roughly 1966, right at the beginning of Buffet’s Golden Era.  Included is a vintage Brilhart 5* Ebolin mouthpiece in good condition but needing a new cork, Rovner ligature and cap, and a swab.  If you are local, it also includes bore oil, key oil, and a tube of cork grease, but these can’t be shipped due to postal regulations.  All in a nice Buffet case with gold hardware, in very good condition, but missing the Buffet badge.  An excellent, rare clarinet, ready to play, and a lot more fun than a boring, old R13!  Even in this condition and with an "F" serial, this horn sold in August of 2021 for $1,299.