Klarinet Archive - Posting 001045.txt from 2000/08

From: Bilwright@-----.net (William Wright)
Subj: [kl] Once a year....
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2000 17:16:24 -0400

You folks who have been playing for many years probably know when
something isn't quite right with your instrument. But for people like
myself who only have a year or two of experience, allow me to recommend
in the strongest possible language that you find a top notch technician
and take your clarinet in for a "check up" every once in a while.

Recently I bought a wood clarinet (used) because it was so much
easier to play and had a tone far superior to my plastic student horn.
The only problem with my purchase (so I thought!) was that the thumb
rest didn't quite fit the shape & size of my hand.
I told my teacher that I intended to take the instrument to the
local music store. "Oh no," she said, "I'll introduce you to <name
omitted, he may not want it publicized> who is retired now and doesn't
want too many customers, but he has forgotten more about woodwinds than
most part-time repairmen will ever learn....."
Once this fellow showed me all the things about my clarinet that
needed repair and/or adjustment, I wondered why I hadn't noticed them
myself -- including that one of the metal tenon rings had compressed the
mouthpiece end of my barrel, and he put it back into shape on his lathe.
I was already 100% satisfied with my 'new' instrument, and I had no
idea how much I was compensating unnecessarily for equipment problems
with my fingering and embouchure. He bent a couple of keys to fit my
hand better, machine a ne pin for one of the keys (the existing key was
scarred), reshaped some of the corks, and so forth. If I was in
'seventh heaven' before, I'm in 'eight heaven' now.

Bottom line: if you're a newbie like I am, and if you haven't done
this during the last year or so, take the time to identify a really top
notch repairman (who may be at your favorite music store, but then
again, he may not) and get a checkup.

Cheers (cheerier Cheers than before),
Bill

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