Klarinet Archive - Posting 000937.txt from 1998/09

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausman@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] C clarinet barrels
Date: Thu, 24 Sep 1998 21:26:13 -0400

At 08:06 AM 9/24/98 -0700, Jacqueline Eastwood wrote:
>The upper barrel socket on my C clarinet is a bit on the tight side for my
>mouthpiece. Sometimes when the horn gets all warmed up, the mouthpiece
>tends to stick, even when well-greased (I grease before every performance
>when I'm switching horns a lot). Once last year, during Traviata, I went
>to pull the mouthpiece and ended up with, yes, a ligature and reed in my
>hand. I found that covering my bare hand with a swab helped provide some
>traction when pulling. I consider myself to be very adept at quick
>switches, and feel that the problem lies with the tight barrel socket.
>
>So my question is, has anyone ever had the barrel socket sanded or reamed?
>Is this a job that pretty much any repair person could handle (we don't
>have a woodwind specialist in town any more) or should it be done only by
>very qualified techs? I hesitate to thin down the cork on the mouthpiece
>since it is fine for my Bb and A clarinets. I'm going to be starting
>Lucia di Lammermoor rehearsals on 10/3 and there are a lot of changes,
>with extended periods on the C clarinet, which could mean trouble if I
>don't try to fix this problem! On the other hand, I don't want someone to
>destroy the only C clarinet barrel I have by not knowing what they are
>doing! Thanks!
>
Shaving down a barrel socket should not be a major, overly complicated job
for a tech. Note when you put your mouthpiece on whether it is binding AT
THE CORK only, or is it very tight where the hard rubber meets the wood.
If this is the case, reaming the socket just a freckle should solve the
problem. It might also be possible to shave a little rubber off the
mouthpiece, but that might affect the fit with the other horns, causing it
to wobble.

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.

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