The R13 at its most refined. Hand-selected grenadilla heartwood, metal tenon caps, and left-hand Eb lever. Fully optimized over 9 hours with custom leather pads by Rodriguez Musical Services.
$9,612.00
The Buffet Crampon R13 Prestige uses the same polycylindrical bore as the standard R13. The acoustics are identical by design. What changes is the material selection and the standard features. The Prestige body is made from hand-selected heartwood, the densest and most resonant portion of the grenadilla tree, left in its natural unstained color. The result is more projection, more resonance, and a slightly bigger overall sound compared to the standard R13.
The natural color of the unstained heartwood also means each instrument has a unique grain pattern. Visually, the Prestige is immediately distinguishable from the stained standard R13.
The Prestige adds metal-capped tenons, which reduce crack risk at the joints and resonance between registers. It also includes a left-hand Eb/Ab auxiliary lever which allows faster navigation through passages that require quick transitions to and from Eb/Ab, a feature that becomes increasingly valuable in advanced orchestral and solo repertoire.
The keywork, springs, and bore geometry are otherwise identical to the standard R13, so players moving from a standard R13 to the Prestige will find the feel immediately familiar.
Every R13 Prestige that Rodriguez Musical Services sells has been hand-selected by our performing clarinetists. We play-test numerous factory instruments to identify the clarinets with a rich, resonant tone, a sweet core (one that ‘sings’), evenness of scale and resistance, a sound that exhibits a large spectrum of colors, and the most consistent intonation.
Each selected R13 Prestige then goes through the RMS 9-Hour Optimization. The instrument is completely disassembled, and every pad, bumper, and cork is removed until only grenadilla wood and metal remain. Custom leather pads replace the factory originals. Springs are adjusted, key heights are calibrated, and the entire mechanism is regulated so that the action feels effortless and the response is even across every register and dynamic level.
The result is what we call “performance ready”: smooth key action, rich and resonant tone, and consistent response from the bottom of the chalumeau through the top of the altissimo.
The R13 Prestige is a common “career instrument” for working classical clarinetists. Advanced college students upgrading from a standard R13, graduate students, young professionals building their orchestral toolkit, and university professors gravitate toward the Prestige for its superior projection and the convenience of the Eb lever. Orchestral clarinetists who want the R13 character with a more resonant and refined sound find the Prestige meets that need without changing bore families.
| Body | Unstained heartwood African blackwood (grenadilla) |
| Bore | R13 polycylindrical |
| Keys | Silver-plated |
| Features | Metal-capped tenons, left-hand Eb/Ab auxiliary lever |
| Pads | Custom leather (RMS-installed) |
| Springs | Blue steel |
| Includes | Original Buffet Crampon case, RMS certificate of optimization |
Contact for availability. Trial eligible; request a trial to compare two hand-selected instruments in your home for 5 days.
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