Buffet Crampon S1 26655E
The S1 soprano is a charming instrument, with an elegant bore profile, giving it a character of its own.
But it has a couple of shortcomings as well. The peculiar placement of the lower register hole is one of them; the absence of a C#–correction mechanism is another one. Ergonomically too there are some improvements to be made.
The neck of this instrument was lengthened roughly by a centimeter. Both intonation and stability in the top end of the second register clearly profit.
A piece of cylindrical tubing on the inside of the neck, which is so typical for any soprano, now was no longer necessary. The entrance to the neck even got a little wider! The ring at its entrance has a short inner conicity which bridges the gap between neck and mouthpiece chamber.
The original lower register hole (red arrow) was closed and a new hole was made a little lower. This has the advantage that the register hole offers less damping for D#2 and D2 (hisses less) and that a long C#2 becomes playable.
A simple C#–correction was added to the register mechanism. This new mechanism was (somewhat superfluously) fitted with a set screw.
The front side of this same C#–correction mechanism. The mechanism closes key nr. 18 about halfway. A small disk hanging under the key cup takes care of the acoustics.
An X-mechanism (alternateve top F) was added which opens keys 20 and 22 (red arrow) at the same time. Originally the S1 doesn't have such a mechanism at all.
An overview of the left hand mechanism. Ergonomics: the arm of the touchpiece for the third finger was lengthened so that its pearl fits better under the finger tip and the spatula of C1 (top D) was made higher to better fit under the palm.
Ergonomics: a large thumb rest, having a slightly more outward position, improves the way in which the fingers of the left hand are held. Again the higher spatula of C1 (top D).
A large thumb rest for the right thumb fitted with a sling hook. The thumb rest is a placed tad higher than the original and therefore needs a notch for key nr. 8.