Klarinet Archive - Posting 000235.txt from 1997/09

From: "Leo van Zantvoort" <leovz@-----.nl>
Subj: Re: Clarinet Lamps
Date: Sat, 6 Sep 1997 08:26:03 -0400

Hello Jim,

Did you carfully start playing (not to long)? Did you care the body with oil? You can change a fair
instrument into a useless (apart from a lampstand) one by play to long on it!

Leo

On Fri, 05 Sep 1997 15:35:28 -0700, Jim Lytthans wrote:

>Several years ago, while touring with a concert band, I brought back a
>clarinet from Shanghai. The brand name is "Lark", and it is a Chinese
>knock-off of a Buffet R-13, complete with adjustable thumb rest, a
>wooden (!) mouthpiece, silver-plated keys, screwdriver and a box of
>reeds, all in a nice case. I bought it brand-new at a music store in
>Shanghai for, I think, $62.00. The keywork is primitive, but
>satisfactory, and the wood looked pretty good. The instrument played
>pretty well in China, but after a couple of weeks in the dry California
>climate, everything changed. Several off the rings came off, the barrel
>became a permanent part of the upper joint, and the posts moved so much
>(because of wood expansion) that the entire instrument became
>unplayable. What to do? Make a lamp out of it! Of course! No damage
>has been done to the "Lark", so a some future date I could (not likely)
>resurrect the beast. For now, It's a nice conversation piece, right
>next to my woodpecker lamp (no, not a Buffet knock-off). Maybe we should
>start a thread on how to change a lamp into a clarinet!
>
>Jim Lytthans
>Anaheim, CA