Klarinet Archive - Posting 000282.txt from 1997/09

From: Roger Garrett <rgarrett@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: Those idiot repair persons
Date: Sat, 6 Sep 1997 20:29:34 -0400

Well Bill, did you ask him how much his work costs?

Roger Garrett

On Sat, 6 Sep 1997, Bill Hausmann wrote:

> It may surprise some people to hear that I have no quarrel at all with
> Clark Fobes remarks below.
>
> At 12:23 AM 9/6/97 -0500, you wrote:
> > I have been following the thread on repair work only sporadically, but
> some interesting
> >things came up that I would like to address.
> >
> > There are a lot of hardworking, honest and sincere repair people out
> there. There are also
> >a few who have absolutley no business even holding a screwdriver. And
> there are a VERY few who
> >really have dedicated a large part of our lives to taking instrument
> repair to a very high level
> >of craft. An even smaller group know something about acoustics and are
> qualified to make
> >acoustical adjustments. The vast majority belongs to the first group.
> >
> > When you take your clarinet to be repaired by ANYONE it is important to
> understand exactly
> >what the technician intends to do to your instrument and how much he will
> charge. If he or she
> >cannot spell it out to you almost down to the number of pads that will be
> replaced then you need
> >to look for another person.
> >
> > Refacing tone holes is , for me, a very common practice, I have to dress
> even new clarinet
> >tone holes to make the pad seat clear of chips or flaws. The amount of
> material that is removed
> >is probably on the order of less that .001". This process , unfortunately,
> is often done by even
> >the most inexperienced technician just because he owns the tool. If you
> are not confident about
> >the level of experience of your local repair guy ask colleagues, teachers,
> pros and find out who
> >does the best work in your area.
> >
> > I am big on finding someone locally to repair your instruments. You never
> know when that
> >emergency may come up. I do work on instruments from all over the country,
> but it is usually
> >when the customer has given up hope in his area.
> >
> > AND, I hate to sound like a snob, but if your repair person cannot play
> the clarinet even
> >moderatley well, most of the fine details that make a clarinet play really
> well will probably
> >escape him.
> >
> >
> > Clark W Fobes
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
> Bill Hausmann bhausman@-----.com
> 451 Old Orchard Drive http://www.concentric.net/~bhausman
> Essexville, MI 48732 http://members.wbs.net/homepages/z/o/o/zoot14.html
>
> If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is too loud.
>