Klarinet Archive - Posting 000400.txt from 2003/05

From: "Resurgere Jones" <resurgereweb@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Quick survey on "Clarinet Overhaul"
Date: Mon, 19 May 2003 18:06:24 -0400

I would say "yes" to all of the above except with the following qualifiers:

-- immersion in oil may be controversial (notice I am not taking sides :-) )
I would ask the player what, if anything, they want done in the oiling
department.

-- resurfacing tone holes might be another "ask first" service, if it
involves removing any material.

-- tuning work/play test -- my local technician is excellent, but I would
say this is where a person of your reputation could really make a
difference. After a repadding, I sometimes have to bring a horn back and say
that the intonation on tones associated with a certain key is now
different/worse and ask him to make adjustments as to venting. I think a
more careful play test, done with a tuner, could make a difference here.
However, since horns/mouthpieces/reeds/players differ, I would think a
player should be realistic as to how much you can do in "tuning" a clarinet
in an overhaul, unless careful notes were made of any problem
notes/tendencies pre-overhaul. I wouldn't want any technician, even a master
repairman, to change my tone hole sizes or the like without some specific
input from me.

-- pads -- seems to be a great opportunity to offer a good/better/best
option. I'm not of the school of thought that pads work miracles, but I do
like the idea of cork pads in certain trouble spots for durability.

Price -- not sure there is a reasonable answer. For the "basic" service of
essentially stripping an instrument down, cleaning, re-padding and
re-corking everything, putting it all back together, regulating it, and
basic play-testing, I expect to pay $300-500 at a big music store in a
medium-sized city where the head technician has 20+ years of experience, but
is *not* a dedicated clarinet/woodwind technician. I live in the S.E. U.S.,
btw, so things like this are probably a little cheaper than in big cities in
the NE. Extra attention to tuning could become very time consuming, so tend
to think a per-hour additional charge would be in order.

I would personally have a hard time doing without my clarinet(s) for more
than 2 weeks, but I know it's usually a lot longer than that due to shipping
and backlog - one reason I've never gone in for one of the "super" overhauls
by a big-name tech. My local store would turn it around in a week or two. I
have a backup Bb, but only one "A" (of course, all my jobs don't require an
A). If they were gone longer than a month, I'd really wonder what happened.

>From: GrabnerWG@-----.com
>Reply-To: klarinet@-----.org
>To: klarinet@-----.org
>Subject: [kl] Quick survey on "Clarinet Overhaul"
>Date: Mon, 19 May 2003 15:54:55 -0400
>
>I get approached frequently with requests from clarinetists to have their
>clarinets "overhauled". When I get into a discussion with them, I find that
>each person has a slightly different definition of what an overhaul is.
>
>I thought I'd do a quick survey of what we on the list think an overhaul
>should be. Maybe some questions with yes or no answers would help clarify.
>For this discussion, let's assume a pro quality R-13, separately we can do
>student model horns.
>
>An overhaul should consist of:
>
>Thorough cleaning of bore?
>Thorough cleaning of tone holes?
>Thorough cleaning or all hinge rods and hinge rod tubing?
>Thorough cleaning of all pivot screws?
>Oiling or oil immersion of the wood portions?
>All new tenon corks?
>All new key corks?
>All new pads?
>What quality Pads?
>All new springs?
>Re-surfacing tone holes?
>Swedging loose keys?
>Easing tight keys?
>Fixing loose key posts?
>Adjusting spring tension?
>Tuning work?
>Play test?
>
>Any other services?
>
>For the things that you said yes to, what would you expect to pay?
>
>What should the turn around time be, in a less than emergency repair?
>
>Thanks in advance, I for one can profit from any and all answers shared. I
>also think as a community, we can collectively learn something here.
>
>Walter Grabner
>www.clarinetXpress.com
>clarinet mouthpieces and repairs
>
>
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