Klarinet Archive - Posting 000167.txt from 1997/12

From: "David B. Niethamer" <dnietham@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: clack clack goes my LH B key
Date: Fri, 5 Dec 1997 12:40:21 -0500

on 12/2/97 8:46 PM, SEAN TALBOT wrote:

>I have a Yamaha 72cx and the lever mechanism on the left hand
>B key fits into a hole down in the right hand pinky area. Why Yamaha
>makes the mechanism this way insted of how everyone else does it.....I
>don't know and I don't care. The problem is that every shem that has
>been put in there to quiet the key action has fallen out in short time
>and then it rattles around when using right had B for anything. So my
>question is Where can I find a shem that would be easy enough to replace
>myself?

You could try a little piece of plastic sandwich bag as a temporary fix
until a repair tech can do the job properly. I use a piece about 1/2 inch
in diameter, and that seems to work well. Another thing I've seen is to
get a tech to put some of the plastic shrink wrap that is used to seal
jars over the pin in the end of the key.

BTW, beware Buffets with a teflon insert in the end of the E/B and F#/C#
keys - they shear off (often at an inconvenient moment). One of my
colleagues went through this, and had quite a time with Buffet getting
the key replaced - seems the size was a bit different than when the
clarinet was made 8-(

David

David Niethamer
Principal Clarinet, Richmond Symphony
dnietham@-----.edu
http://members.aol.com/dbnclar1/