Buffet RC Prestige F Basset Horn – NEW w/ Silver Keys

Buffet Crampon Prestige F Basset Horn

The Buffet Crampon Prestige F Basset Horn brings the distinctive warmth, depth, and expressive character of the basset horn together with the craftsmanship of Buffet Crampon’s professional Prestige family. With its balanced, luminous sound and extended range to low C, it is an exceptional instrument for chamber music, orchestral performance, and the specialized repertoire written for this unique member of the clarinet family.

The basset horn holds an important place in clarinet history. Mozart was particularly drawn to its dark and expressive voice, writing prominently for the instrument in works including his Requiem and chamber music. In the modern era, composers including Pierre Boulez and Karlheinz Stockhausen continued to explore its extraordinary range of colors and expressive possibilities.

Crafted from carefully selected African grenadilla wood, the Prestige F Basset Horn produces a sound that is warm and resonant in the lower register while retaining clarity and presence throughout its upper range. Its acoustic design provides a remarkable combination of depth, balance, and luminosity, allowing the instrument to blend naturally within an ensemble or emerge as a distinctive solo voice.

The professional Boehm-system mechanism features 20 silver-plated keys and extends the instrument fully to low C. A double low-E♭ mechanism allows the note to be operated by either the right-hand little finger or right thumb, providing greater flexibility and comfort throughout demanding repertoire.

An adjustable neck allows the player to customize playing position and comfort, while metal-capped tenons reinforce the grenadilla body at critical joint areas. Precision-machined steel springs and professional keywork provide the reliability and refined feel expected from an instrument of this caliber.

Designed for 440/442 Hz, the Prestige F Basset Horn is equally at home performing the great Classical repertoire or exploring the extraordinary possibilities composers have continued to discover in the instrument.

The basset horn is unlike any other member of the clarinet family. Its combination of darkness and brilliance, intimacy and projection, and an extended low register gives it a voice of extraordinary depth and character. The Buffet Crampon Prestige captures those qualities in an instrument designed for the serious performer.

The Copeland Difference

The extended range and complex mechanism of a basset horn make professional setup especially important. Large pads, long regulation relationships, the low-C mechanism, and the relationship between the neck and body can all have a significant effect on response and reliability.

Every Buffet Crampon Prestige F Basset Horn purchased from Copeland Clarinets is carefully evaluated and professionally set up in our shop before delivery. Pad seating, regulation, spring tension, low-register mechanism, key alignment, response, intonation, and overall playability are addressed throughout the instrument.

Our goal is for the extended mechanism to feel like a natural part of the instrument, allowing the basset horn’s extraordinary tonal character to speak freely from its lowest C through its upper register.