Klarinet Archive - Posting 000672.txt from 1998/03

From: Steve Hodgson <seh@-----.com>
Subj: Re: Scientific American Article
Date: Wed, 11 Mar 1998 14:02:07 -0500

I'm not sure if this is relevant to this discussion but Howarth do state
that with new wood instruments you should run them in by only using for
about 15 mins a day initially. Whether using it for a full rehearsal on
its second day would cause it to freeze up I don't know. Have you asked
Howarth about this? I think they would want to know. So far I've had no
problems with mine which I've had for over a month now, and love more
each day! I do find it a strain on my thumb though, having been used to
a sonorite one all my life.

Bill Hausmann wrote:
>
> At 09:27 PM 3/5/98 -0600, Ed Lacy wrote:
> >A strange thing happened with our Howarth English horn. We received it,
> >and I played it and found it to be very easy blowing, to be well in-tune
> >and to have a nice tone quality. Then, the very next day, I gave it to a
> >student to use in an orchestra rehearsal, and she liked it, too. However,
> >before she finished the rehearsal, all the right hand keys had frozen up.
> >I might have expected this on the plastic top joint, with its higher
> >degree of thermal expansion and contraction, but was quite surprised that
> >it happened on the wooden joint.
>
> I am confused and curious. Does the plastic actually expand and contract
> MORE than wood? And then is it able to WITHSTAND that better than wood
> because of its very plasticity (lower moisture content, etc.), or does
> plastic expand and contract LESS? Engineers and designers are invited to
> respond.
>
> 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
> ICQ UIN 4862265
>
> If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is too loud.