Klarinet Archive - Posting 000721.txt from 1997/07

From: "Todd and Lynnette Staley" <nette@-----.net>
Subj: Re: Cracking
Date: Wed, 23 Jul 1997 08:19:22 -0400

Dirk,
I believe that the reason many high quality instruments crack is due to
conditions in which it is stored or the way that they are treated in
general. I don't believe that any instrument is necessarily
"pre-programmed" to crack. This is not to say that every instrument is
flawless. Extremes of cold and heat can aid in the process of cracking an=
y
wood instrument. Humidity can also play a part. A good instrument which i=
s
kept well should not crack, i.e. kept at constant temperatures, oiled at
frequent intervals and kept at a good constant humidity. I would not let
the fear of cracking keep me from getting a good quality instrument. A
high quality instrument will do a great deal for your playing and is a
must if you intend to pursue music at any sort of professional level. Hop=
e
this helps
Lynnette
--=20
Todd & Lynnette Staley
email: nette@-----.net

----------
> From: Dirk Kussin <dirk@-----.de>
> To: klarinet@-----.us
> Subject: Cracking
> Date: Wednesday, July 23, 1997 4:21 AM
>=20
> Hello!
>=20
> I read many articles in the list and the archive concerning cracking
> of clarinets, and I was astonished, not to say shocked. I get the
> impression that a huge amount even of high quality clarinets is
> cracking, and I find this very unsatisfactory. In the moment I play a
> plastic clarinet,, but later I will upgrade to a top line instrument,
> and I find it not funny to pay thousanfs of dollars in order to get a
> broken horn. My questions:
>=20
> 1.) Can one estimate how big the amount of cracking clarinets is (in
> percentage, approximately)?
>=20
> 2.) Do clarinets of highest quality wood less crack than cheaper
> models? Reduce e. g. caps on tenons the probability to crack?
>=20
> 3.) Is there a "correct" way to treat a (new) clarinet in order to
> keep the probabilty of cracking low? (Perhaps: Only to play a few
> minutes at the beginning, oiling or not, the right
> tempurature/humidity etc.) Or is the cracking pre-programmed in the
> particular horn, and there is more or less nothing to do against it?
>=20
> 4.) Are e. g. the Buffet Green Line instruments a good alternative?
>=20
> Sorry for the lots of question, but I find them important (and maybe
> they are already answered in the archive). Thanks.
>=20
> Greetings
>=20
> Dirk
>=20
> --=20
> Dirk Kussin dirk@-----.de =20
> Fachbereich 17 Mathematik Raum D2.323
> Universit@-----. (+49) (5251) 60-2636
> D-33095 Paderborn --------- http://www-math.uni-paderborn.de/~dirk/
>=20