Klarinet Archive - Posting 000580.txt from 2003/03

From: "Lelia Loban" <lelialoban@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Modifying the intonation of a clarinet
Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 14:14:04 -0500

Peter Jaques wrote,

>I've tried two different barrels-- one 69mm & one adjustable
>from 59mm-65mm, with the tuner set as high as 449Hz.
>The longer barrel still ran generally a bit sharp of 440Hz,
>unless I pull out about 1.5mm. I haven't tried different
>mouthpieces though.
[snip]
>I just checked & the serial number (only appears on the lower
>joint) is 516T, which looking at the Buffet serial number list on
>woodwind.org, implies that it was actually made in 1904! While
>interesting from an archaeological perspective, now I wonder
>how likely it is that this will ever be reasonably playable....
>Were Buffet clarinets of that vintage generally tuned sharp?

Most clarinets of that era were tuned sharp by today's standards. I think
1904 is earlier than when Buffet started marking clarinets HP (for high
pitch) and LP (for low pitch, which is A=440), as they were marked in the
1920s and 1930s. I have a Buffet Albert system in Eb from 1898 that I can
see is considerably shorter than modern Eb sopranos, so it will be
high-piched, if I ever get around to re-padding it and replacing the broken
mouthpiece that came with it (which wasn't the original-- it's hard rubber,
probably from the 1920s or 1930s) with one that might work.

Did a mouthpiece come with the clarinet? Is the mouthpiece made of wood?
Bill Wright's suggestion to try other mouthpieces is a good one, when you
have a chance, because the ratio of mouthpiece length to the rest of the
clarinet is different on the antiques. The inside shape of the mouthpiece
is different, too. My two Buffets from the 1930s play like pigs with
modern commercial mouthpieces. Their intonation is good with their own
mouthpieces and a couple of others of 1920s-1930s vintage. (I haven't had
a mouthpiece custom-made, although that's another option.)

I'm glad you don't want to do drastic, permanent modifications, and, like
Bill, I wouldn't want to modify tone holes myself, though I might do
easily-reversible experiments with modelling clay. Maybe if you found a
modelling clay solution that worked, you could have a "doughnut" made of
grenadilla to match the instrument, then have it glued in with hot hide
glue, the type that violin repairmen use. (The glue I'm talking about is
glue for melting in a small cauldron and painting on with a brush--it's not
a glue stick, and not the same as the synthetic hot glues most hobby/craft
stores sell.) I don't know if clarinet mavens use hot hide glue, but it's
great stuff. It makes a nice seal, but it sits *on* the wood instead of
bonding *into* wood and it's meant to be easily strippable in order to
avoid permanently modifying a valuable instrument. Violin repairmen strip
hide glue and replace it all the time. My husband and I have watched one
of the top violin repairmen, Bill Weaver (Washington, D. C.), open violins
in a couple of seconds, just by sliding a thin knife into the joint between
the top or the back of the fiddle and the ribs. Zzzzzt! the "lid" comes
off with no damage to the wood, and he's ready to work on the inside. Yet
Kevin can play his violin hard, polish it and otherwise handle it without
the seams coming open.

Hide glue is all-animal but not particularly pure, and trust me, you don't
want the details. Let's just say that if you've heard sad stories about
mean people sending poor old horses to the glue factory.... Anyhow, one
day, when my husband and I were standing around bothering Bill Weaver while
he worked, another repairman sauntered into Bill's workshop, held up a
smoking steel can with his heavy mitt around the bail-handle, and said
forlornly, "Do you *smell* that? I think something died in my glue-pot."
Bill said, "Well, $#!% on a shingle, good buddy, thank you *so* much for
bringing it in *here*!"---as he hastily opened a window! Fortunately,
fresh hide glue usually doesn't stink, and even when it does, the smell
goes away when it dries; though many repairmen swear that hide glue mellows
and improves with age, as it slowly turns dark brown and accumulates an
enriching blend of dead bugs and cigarette butts.

Lelia Loban
lelialoban@-----.net

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