Klarinet Archive - Posting 000797.txt from 1999/08

From: LeliaLoban@-----.com
Subj: [kl] Throat tones, tune up note and barrels
Date: Thu, 26 Aug 1999 17:01:13 -0400

Richard Bush wrote,
>I've done tons of tuning charts, documenting many aspects of tuning and work
I've done on instruments being regulated, fine tuned, played with different
mouthpieces, different barrels and those kinds of things that figure into the
tuning equation. >
[Snip of a large amount of very useful information based on that experience.]

I've been saving all of your messages about repair and fine-tuning. Thank
you for taking so much time on them. Hope you write a book! I like your
philosophy about doing reversible things first. In fact, at my early stage
of learning repair work, I have an absolute rule for myself that I do *only*
reversible things (corks, pads and such), since I'm likely to do them wrong
the first (or tenth...) time. Anything exotic I leave to my excellent
repairman.

It's impressive how much a bit of patient, knowledgeable tinkering with key
cork heights and pad thicknesses (often just a matter of adding an extra slip
of cardboard under the pad backing, or sanding down the cardboard that's
there, IF someone knows where to add and where to subtract!) will improve a
clarinet's intonation. I'd been putting up with unnecessary awfulness on my
old Conn, that's for sure. I hardly recognized the throat tones after the
repairman had it in his shop for a few days. It seems my Selmer Signet
Special benefitted from similar simple but skillful adjustments.

I'm trying to learn the work because it interests me, and because the budget
won't allow me to keep taking in all my deteriorated flea market finds, not
because of any dissatisfaction with my repairman. The corks and pads are
worth very little. Knowing what to do with them and taking the time to do it
right is where, IMHO, a professional repair technician earns every cent.

Thanks again, Richard, for putting information out in public and helping make
sure that fixing clarinets doesn't become one of those "trade secrets" that
too easily becomes a lost art.

Cheers--
Lelia

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