Klarinet Archive - Posting 000037.txt from 2002/05

From: w7wright@-----.net (William Wright)
Subj: Re: [kl] Breaking in new clarinet
Date: Thu, 2 May 2002 11:46:39 -0400

<><> Jay wrote
At the store I teach at it is recommended that you not spend more than
15 minutes on each session. This allows the Clarinet to absorb the
moisture slowly.

Jay, I feel fairly strongly about this, which is why I'm posting a
longer reply.

How do you feel about my attitude that there is no such thing as a
"final" equilibrium, and therefore a person should discover as early as
possible if the instrument is prone to cracking --- while the warranty
is still effect and the sale is still fresh in the dealer's mind?

I'm thinking of changes in exposure to heat & moisture such as: seasonal
changes in climate, playing in different buildings with different
heating & air conditioning, travelling from one area to another, and
even major changes in the number of hours a person plays each day or
frequency of swabbing. All of these changes are unavoidable. May as
well find out early.

My instrument is a good example: the previous owner of my instrument was
especially careful with it, but then she was forced to travel from
California's seacoast to Phoenix's desert. !Pop! The instrument was
pinned, and later she sold it to me, and as far as I'm concerned, it
still plays just fine. But perhaps if it had been exposed to some
minor stresses in the beginning, it may (agreed, emphasis on "may") have
cracked while under warranty and the manufacturer may've replaced it.

I'm not the sort of person who suspects manufacturers of being 'sneaky',
but perhaps some of them recommend gentle break-ins for two reasons: (1)
the *player* needs to adapt to the new instrument, and recommending a
gradual procedure avoids knee-jerk "This must be the instrument's fault,
this has never happened to me before and I've played for many years"
complaints about intonation and so forth; and (2) postponing the
occurrence of a crack can put the instrument out of warranty.

Cheers,
Bill

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