Buffet Crampon R13 Clarinet Serial Numbers



I also bought a Buffet, serial number 48830, and this clarinet measured like the present Vintage model Buffet clarinet, is poly-cylindrical, and dates from 1955. So, from this small sampling it appears that 1955 is the magical year for the poly-cylindrical R-13 and that some were available before the 50,000 serial number mentioned by Vytas.

The Buffet R13 clarinet has a 40-year history of quality and craftsmanship. From the wind ensembles to the great symphony orchestras, it is the benchmark in clarinet manufacturing. Crafted in high-quality grenadilla wood to ensure evenness of tone and response. The R13's 3-step polycyndrical bore is noted for its dark, full sound. The two left pinkie keys are pin in hole style, exactly the same as Buffet R-13s. Buffet Crampon Serial Number Lookup; Buffet Crampon has a rich tradition in saxophone production, going back to the very early days of the instrument in the late 19th century. The early Buffet horns were in fact very similar to Adolphe Sax's original design.

Young clarinetists often begin their instrumental music study with a plastic student clarinet, such as the Buffet Crampon Prodige. As a student grows in ability and musical maturity, however, the need for a wood clarinet arises. Advancing to a wood clarinet presents many, many options for the consumer and it can be confusing as to which model is the best choice.

Buffet Cramponhas long been recognized as the world leader in clarinet production. Of the many models offered by Buffet Crampon, the two most prominent choices for an upgrade are the E11 student/intermediate clarinetand the R13 professional clarinet. Of these two models, which is the best choice for the advancing young clarinetist?

The Legendary Choice of Professionals is how many professional players, teachers and students refer to the Buffet Crampon R13clarinet. First introduced to the professional clarinet world in 1955, the R13 features the revolutionary poly-cylindrical bore, designed by acoustician Robert Carrée and most closely associated with the “ring” to the sound many attribute to all modern professional clarinets. The R13 remains the most popular professional clarinet in the world, and for good reason: most orchestral players and university/conservatory professors play on the R13. Buffet Crampon claims approximately 85% of the professional clarinet global market share, largely in part to the R13’s continuing legacy in the clarinet world.

The Buffet R13 Bb Clarinet with Silver Plated Keys is crafted from carefully selected stained grenadilla wood. The R13 Clarinet features undercut toneholes, power-forged keywork preplated in copper and finished in silver plate, 17 keys and 6 rings, hand-burnished polycylindrical bore, silver-plated adjustable thumb rest, double fish skin pads. Learn More

The R13’s body is made of stained African blackwood, also known as Grenadilla or M’Pingo wood, and is available with either nickel- or silver-plated keys. It is outfitted with double fish skin pads, which provide an excellent seal while providing terrific acoustics for any player. The R13 also features an adjustable thumbrest, blue steel springs for excellent feel and key action, an exclusive HB France ligature and mouthpiece cap set, and a deluxe naugahyde-covered hard wood shell case. Every R13 is play-tested and adjusted by technicians at both the Mantes la Ville, France, world headquarters of Buffet Crampon, and at Buffet Crampon USAthe North American distributor for the brand’s professional, intermediate and student clarinets, to insure each instrument is worthy of the R13 designation.

R13 professional clarinets are also available as Green Line instruments. Green Line is a material revolutionized by Buffet Crampon in 1994 as a way of conserving the African blackwood raw materials during production. By collecting the powder from the professional clarinet production line, technicians are then able to combine the powder with an epoxy resin, resulting in a material that captures the acoustic properties of the wood (as it is mostly African blackwood), while remaining incredibly resistant to cracks and climate/temperature variances. R13 Green Line clarinets are especially popular in low-humidity climates, often a problem for wood instruments that are susceptible to cracking.

The R13 Greenline series of clarinets follows the same manufacturing process as the 100% grenadlla R13s. Thanks to the addition of carbon fibers, Green Line clarinets withstand admirably to variations in atmospheric conditions (temperature, humidity). The risk of cracking is therefore eliminated. Learn More

Buffet Crampon’s E11 model has been the preferred “step-up” choice from a student clarinet for many years and is an affordable option when upgrading from a plastic instrument. Like the R13, its body is composed of stained African blackwood and has a bore inspired by the R13’s poly-cylindrical design. The E11’s bore is slightly larger and more free-blowing, allowing the young clarinetist to produce a quality sound with less resistance as their air support develops. The E11 also comes outfitted with a 65mm barrel, which compensates the clarinet’s intonation for the air column produced by younger players. E11 clarinets also have nickel-plated keys, which are easier to maintain and more resistant to tarnish. It comes with a mouthpiece specifically designed for young players, as well as a nickel-plated ligature and mouthpiece cap. A hard wood shell case completes the outfit.

The E11 Eb Clarinet is an excellent intermediate instrument with many of the features of professional model Buffet clarinets. The E11 clarinets are designed to prepare the advancing student by offering a clarinet with many professional features at a lower cost. The E11 comes standard with a high-quality grenadilla wood body, undercut tone holes, nickel-plated keys and an adjustable thumb rest. Learn More
Buffet Crampon R13 Clarinet Serial Numbers

So, what is the solution to selecting the right clarinet for you? The best way to select your next clarinet is by play-testing each model. Your local Music & Arts store (www.MusicArts.com/Store) should have both models to try, so bring your mouthpiece to see which one is your best choice!

Matt Vance is a Woodwind Product Specialist at Buffet Crampon USA.

Buffet Crampon Clarinets

Buffet Serial Numbers

Serial Numbers breakdown

Around 1950 Buffet adopted a new model identification of
“No1” or “NO1”. This coincided wth the polycylindrical bore
introduction. Even though the R13 was officially introduced in 1955
some versions of it apparently existed beforehand, though 1955 was the
official final production design.

The Current code break is like the following:

BC1131-2-0 broken down as BCaabb(c)-x-y

“aa” may contain 11 (for Bb or Sib in french), 12 for A or
La, 15 for Eb or Mib, 17 for F, plus other code desgnations.

“bb” specifies the model of R13. “31” is the R-13,
02 for the E13, 11 for RC, 12 for the RC (possibly 444hrz, need
clarification), 23 for the Bassett, 83 for the Prestige RC
Bass to low Eb, 93 for the Pretige Bass to Low C, plus other designations.

“c” is optional and used to designate G for Greenline, L
for the optional LH Eb lever.

“x” specifies the keywork plating such as “02” or “2” for
silver plating and 5 or 05 for nickel keywork

“y” is used to specify the pitch. “0” for 440, 2,
for 442, 4 for 444. If this is not designated then it defaults to
440.

1825-1885no records
18851A-408A
1886409A-999A
1886A1 – A886
1887A887-A999
B1 – B999
1B – 417B
1888498B-999B
1C – 999C
C1 – C300
1889C301-C999
D1 – D999
1K5211D-348D
1890349D – 999D
E1 – E999
1E – 316E
1891317E – 999E
F1 -F999
1 F-190F
1892191F – 999F
G1 – G999
1G – 58G
189359G – 999G
H1 – H999
1H -1 84H
1894185H – 999H
I1 – I665
1895I666 – I999
1I – 999I
J1 – J617
1896J618 – J999
1J – 999J
K1 – K514
1897K515 – K999
1 K – 999K
L1 – L561
1898L562 – L999
1L – 999L
M1 – M590
1899M591 – M999
1M – 999M
N1 – N440
1900N441 – N999
1N – 999N
O1 – O521
1901O522 – O999
1O – 999O
P1 – P999
1P – 374P
1902375P – 999P
R1 – R999
1R – 404R
1903405R – 999R
S1 – S999
1S – 999S
T1 – T40
1904T41 – T999
621T – 999T
U1 – U999
1U – 81U
190582U – 999U
V1 – V999
1V – 751V
1906752V – 999V
X1 – X999
1X – 999X
Y1 – Y840
1907Y841 – Y999
1Y – 999Y
Z1 – Z999
1Z – 812Z
1908813Z – 999Z
1A2 – 1A999
2A1-999A1
1B1 – 1B999
B21 – 60B1
19131H501-1H999
2H1 – 999H1
1I2 – 1I999
2I1 – 413I1
1914414I1 – 999I1
41J2 – 1J999
2J1 – 224J1
1915225J1 – 999J1
1K2 – 1K341
19161K342-1K999
2K1 – 460K1
1917461K1-999K1
1K2 -1K521
19181K522-1K999
2L1 – 661L1
1919662L1 -999L1
1M2 – 1M800
19201M801-1M999
2M1 – 999M1
11N2 – 1N515
19211N516 -1N999
2N1 – 999N1
1O2 – 1O193
19221O194 -1O999
2O1 – 692O1
1923693O1 -999O1
1P2 – 1P999
2P1 – 536P1
1924537P1 – 999P1
1R2 -1R999
1R1 – 226R1
1925227R1 – 999R1
1S2 -1S876
19261S877 – 1S999
2S1 – 999S1
1T2 – 1T508
19271T509 – 1T542
19281 – 2500
19292501 – 4999
19305000 – 7499
19317500 – 9999
193210000 – 12500
193312501 – 15000
193415001 -18000
193518001-20000
193620001 – 22000
193722001 – 24000
193824001 – 26000
193926001 – 270001943 – the two LH side spatula keys on separate posts
194527001 – 28000
1945 -1957

about 3000 per year

about 3000 per year (SNs are approx)
1946 – 28001 – 30500
1947 – 30501 – 33000
1948 – 33001 – 35500
1949 – 35501 – 38000
1950 – 38001 – 40500
1951 – 40501 – 43000
1952 – 43001 – 45500
1953 – 45501 – 48000
1954 – 48001 – 50500
1955 – 50501 – 53000
1956 – 53001 – 55500
1957 – 55501 – 58834

1955 – official production of the R-13

195858835 – 59143
195959144 – 62457
196062458 – 65956
196165957 – 68717
196269718 – 75319
196375320 – 78093
Apparently the most wanted Buffets are from the range
83k to 200k (1965 to 1979)
1964 to 196678094 – 93203
To the right I calculate out and average production per year.
1964 = 78094 – 83130
1965 = 83131 – 88167
1966 = 88168 – 93203
196793204 – 99331
196899332 -105617
1969105618-114416
1970111417-117747
1971117748-126209
1972126210-133903
1973133904-143517
1974143518-153323
1975153324-163567
1976163568-173826
1977173827-183901
1978183902-191872
1979191873-201531
1980201532-210652
1981210653-221260
1982221261-234695
1983234696-250371
1984250372-266396
1985266397-277482
1986277483-292267
1987292268-302623
1988302624-312699
1989312700-324769
1990324770-
Below are approximations taken from the Buffet-Crampon
website which allows serial number searches
325,000 Dec 15, 1989
350,000 Oct 17, 1991
400,000 May 15, 1995
450,000 Sept 16, 1998
500,000 June 24, 2002
550,000 Nov 7, 2005 (or maybe July 11)
600,000 noting returned
It seems as though they have a very long lay over for
christmas and new years holidays. 12/15 – 1/15 where no serial
numbers exist.
2003 – 512000512000 is Dec 12, 2003

512500 is Jan 27, 2003 …
yes a later serial number of 500 yields nearly 12 months earlier

512500 –
2005538900
4/18/2005545021

Between 1968 and 1974 Buffet also made the Super Dynaction Bb clarinet.
Few of these are known in existance though they seem to have a low demand
due to their jazz heritage.

Evette Master models with the cutout under the RH crow feet are the
identified R-13 rejects.

Buffet Crampon Clarinet Value

Approximately 1990 Buffet changed their lineup.

Pre-1990

Pro to Beginner: R13 (Pro) – C12 (Intermediate) – E45
(Intermediate) – E11 (Beginner) – B12 (Beginner)

Post 1990

Buffet Crampon R13 Clarinet Serial Numbers Diagram

Pro to Begginer: R13 (Pro) – E13 (Intermediate) & C12 (conservatory
intermediate) – E12 (Intermediate) –
E11 (Beg) – B12 (Beg)

Buffet Crampon R13 Clarinet Serial Numbers 1

C-13 (aka International)
is the equivalent to an E-11 but it was manufactured as a “private brand”
for another US company

Buffet E-13 Clarinets

Serial
number
Year of
make
Notes, pics
10109-16377

1961-1966

16378-23007

1966-1969

23008-296231969-1973
29624-321671973-1975
32168-428031975-1977
42804-490921977-1979
49093-565361979-1981
56537-626841981-1983
62685-701911983-1987

Buffet Harmony Clarinets

Serial
number
Year of
make
Notes, pics
19506-195781950
19579-196381951
19639-196801952
19681-197811953
19782-199651954
19966-200911955
20092-201541956
20155-202371958
20238-204011959
20402-205021960
20503-205111961
20512-206921962
20693-207751963
20776-208641964
20855-209111965
20912-210541966
21055-212091967
21210-213581968
21359-214321969
21433-215001970
21501-215871971
21558-216271972
21628-217021973
21703-217961974
21797-219531975
21954-219991976
22000-221141977
22115-222331978
22234-223501979
22351-224251980
22462-225351981
22536-226921982
22693-228591983
22860-230591984
23060-232741985
23275-234621986
23463-236191987
23620-238751988
23876-241901989
24191-245061990
24509-252211991
25222-260771992
26078-267341993