Bolt-On Alternate E-Flat Key

With our Bolt-on Alternate E-flat Key, you'll be able to quickly and easily install your kit with simple hand tools (wrench included). Plus, it's completely removable at any time.

Your kit will include the following:

• Left-Hand E-flat Key
• Receiving Arm
• Hex Wrench - .035" Size
• Detailed Video Instructions Here

IMPORTANT INSTALLATION NOTES

Due to the wide range of sizing we have discovered on Buffet Clarinets, we are now recommending that any Alternate E-flat Keys be installed by a qualified technician. While our keys will work on many clarinets with no modification, it is still best to have your trusted technician do the work.

If you would like Rice Clarinet Works to perform the installation of a standard key on your Buffet Clarinet, we will do it for free! Just pay the return shipping of $35 by selecting the Additional shipping for installation in the drop down menu and adding to your cart. This will add $23.50 to cover the additional return shipping over the $11.50 for the key's shipping price.  If you have another brand of clarinet, or would like us to install a technician's model, the cost to adapt the key is usually only $40 - $80 extra, which we will bill after, plus return shipping of $35.

To do the installation, we'll need your lower joint only. We'll hold your purchased key here until your lower joint arrives and perform the installation within one business day of arrival. Then we'll ship your lower joint (with installed key) the next business day after receiving. If your installation is being done on a brand other than Buffet, we'll contact you at that point for any additional installation costs.

Please reach out to us if you have any questions. Lower joints can be sent to our Princess Anne Location. Installations can also be done while you wait in Princess Anne. Contact us for scheduling.

Buffet clarinets that will need modification to fit:

Buffet B10
Buffet B12
Buffet E11

Will this fit my non-Buffet clarinet?

While we only guarantee our kits will fit Buffet clarinets without modification, they can be easily adapted to other brands of clarinet by a qualified technician (or us). If you are interested having us do the installation, please Contact us. If another technician will be doing the installation, please have them reference the notes below to see if the key can be installed with no modifications.

For Technicians

The RCW Alternate E-flat Key Technician Model is for technicians only, as there is some fitting involved. The kit will ship with an undersized 1/8" pivot hole so the technician can ream the hole up to the exact size of the hinge tube it will slip over. The purpose of this is to create a better fitting key and give more installation flexibility.

With the key fitting being more precisely controlled, the adjustable set screws which regulate excess wobble are unnecessary, and so there are no holes for them in this model of key (as are present on our standard model).

Technicians, please also note that we offer dealer pricing on all of our products. Please contact us for our dealer price list and terms.

Fitment Notes

You will need to take the following measurements to see if the key and arm can bolt onto a non-Buffet B-flat clarinet with no modification. If the clarinet you would like to adapt the key to is out of spec, follow the instructions below:

Left-hand F#/C# hinge tube outside diameter: .115" - .133"
Hinge tube too large - Sand or turn the hinge tube exterior on a lathe (do not ream the hole in the e-flat key)
Hinge tube too small - Usually not an issue, but consider machining an adapter sleeve

Distance between the LH F#/C# hinge rod centerline and the E-flat pad cup centerline: 2.05" - 2.09"
Distance too long - Remove the nylon pin. Using a piece of drill rod, ABS, or nylon, make a longer pin that extends farther from the key. If using drill rod, wrap in heat-shrink tubing to silence
Distance too short - Remove the nylon pin. Key can be ground shorter and pin re-installed.

Length of the LH F#/C# hinge tube (between the key face and the post): .242" - .270"
Hinge tube too short? The rectangular boss can be filed down until the key fits
Hinge tube too long? While this will work, the key will be noisy. Consider machining a small washer to be used between the E-flat key and the existing F#/C# key.