Klarinet Archive - Posting 000627.txt from 1998/09

From: "Cox, Graeme" <Graeme.Cox@-----.nz>
Subj: RE: [kl] real subject: breaking in my R-13
Date: Thu, 17 Sep 1998 20:14:51 -0400

Your=E9 quite correct, Tim, in thinking that a recorder body is much =
thinner
than a clarinet and oboe. A recorder body does vibrate a lot - you can =
feel
it in your fingers when you play. The head joint, however, is much =
thicker
than the body, but it does resonate.

Regarding oiling, according to Mr Kloc, clarinet bodies are soaked
in oil=20
during their manufacture, and should come "fully loaded" for a
lifetime. =20
Grenadilla wood is so dense that any oil applied during maintenance
doesn't=20
soak in -- it just sits on the surface until you wipe it away. =20

Try a simple test - take some bore oil and apply a little to the =
outside of
your (wooden) clarinet. Leave it for a few hours and then inspect. You =
will
find that much of the oil has soaked into the surface, leaving only =
small
residues visible. If the wood was saturated, this would not happen. The =
same
thing happens on the inside of the bore too.=20

I'm not saying that oiling is necessary (Mr Kloc contends that it isn't =
and
I accept that). But if it soaks in, it is most likely helping to =
protect the
instrument and to stabilise the moisture content of the wood.

Those lucky people who own clarinets without too much black stain in =
the
wood might think about applying a little furniture restoring oil to the
outside surface. It soaks in more quickly than the heavier bore oil and =
It
enhances the appearance of the instrument. Is there anyone on the list =
who
does this? I wonder if doing this could bring its own set of problems?=20

Cheers,

Graeme Cox=20
Graeme.Cox@-----.nz=20

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tim Roberts [SMTP:timr@-----.com]
> Sent: Friday, September 18, 1998 5:34 AM
> To: Cox, Graeme
> Subject: RE: [kl] real subject: breaking in my R-13
>=20
> On 17 Sep 1998 15:21:18 +1200, you wrote:
> >In an earlier post to this list, I mentioned recorders. It is well
> accepted
> >by the recorder playing fraternity that a good recorder will improve =
it's
> >tone gradually over its life ...
>=20
> This is almost certainly wishful thinking and fable rather than =
actual,=20
> physical change. "Tone" is certainly a very difficult thing to =
quantize.
> I=20
> strongly suspect that blind tests and signal analysis would show no
> difference=20
> in the sound produced by a recorder over time.
>=20
> This is certainly true in the case of clarinets and oboes. Research =
has=20
> demonstrated that the body of a clarinet is far too thick to vibrate, =
and
> thus=20
> the material has no affect on the tone. I'm not well-versed in =
recorders;
> if=20
> recorder bodies are significantly thinner than clarinets and oboes, =
then
> there=20
> might be some sympathetic vibration. But I am extremely dubious.
>=20
> This research hasn't stopped the elitism, of course. Oboeists
> acknowledged=20
> this fact long ago, and as a result plastic (and non-cracking!) oboes =
are=20
> common in professional orchestras today. Clarinetists still cling to =
the
> "wood=20
> is better" fable.
>=20
> Regarding oiling, according to Mr Kloc, clarinet bodies are soaked in =
oil=20
> during their manufacture, and should come "fully loaded" for a =
lifetime. =20
> Grenadilla wood is so dense that any oil applied during maintenance
> doesn't=20
> soak in -- it just sits on the surface until you wipe it away. Thus, =
like
> much=20
> of the pedagogery in clarinetistry, the oiling process is largely
> superstition.
>=20
>=20
> --
> - Tim Roberts, timr@-----.com
> Providenza & Boekelheide, Inc.
>=20

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