What is the difference between the R13 and the Festival...the bore? *i know the festival has that Eb Ab lever* but is that all?

Yeah, I think when you get to R13 and above, there are only very slight differences, except for the Vintage model!
BTW, Does anyone know what the 'Low F correction key' does on the Buffet Tosca model, because all the sellers go on about its special features and that's the only one I don't get!

So would a standard R13 or Festival be a better choice if you can get either for a very discounted price...

When you get into the high end buffet models, they split into two categories, the R13 line and the non R13 line. The R13 line contains the R13, the Vintage and the R13 Prestige. The other line includes the RC, the Festival, the RC Prestige and the Tosca. It's all about bore difference.

As far as which you prefer, it's all preference. I would suggest that you trial both, and if you can, trial several of both. Just because I prefer the festival doesn't mean that you will. Bring YOUR mouthpiece, reeds, and ligature when you trial them.

And to Pyface, as the low F on clarinet tends to run quite sharp (can be as bad as 15 cents on some instruments), the low F correction was added to help fix the problem. It just simply brings that note down in pitch.

I ended up choosing the Festival...the keywork was very comfortable, and the slightly brighter tone (in my opinion) was very nice, the Eb/Ab lever added convenience to playing some difficult passages...and honestly i love this clarinet.