Klarinet Archive - Posting 000170.txt from 2003/09

From: "Ken Wolman" <kwolman@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Overhauls and honesty (was Re: [kl] Buffet A clarinet on ebay)
Date: Mon, 8 Sep 2003 16:35:22 -0400

Bill Hausmann wrote:

> >...Musiqueweb also said they did a "play condition overhaul"--I have no
> >idea what this means.
>
> The word "overhaul" used in this context is confusing and borderline
> dishonest. They probably did what our shop calls "putting in playing
> condition" -- fixing what ails it. An overhaul is a full rebuilding of the
> instrument, even more extensive than, but including, a complete repad.

This starts to make sense. I purchased a used Selmer/Bundy plastic bass
clarinet in February 1999 from a repair shop in the West 50s in Manhattan. The
guy who sold the instrument said he guaranteed nothing but that it would play,
and he declined to predict for how long. He checked it over with a light to
make sure there were no leaks (can ABS crack?), looked at the pads and springs,
manipulated the keys. He said the pads were somewhat worn but would seal, and
the springs were at least okay. He then let ME play-test it to make sure it
was comfortable (it wasn't but only because I'd never played a bass before) and
spoke from bottom to top. As I said, no warranties were offered on how long
the instrument would last it as-is condition. By July 2001 it was back in
Perry's shop, this time for an overhaul that was almost as costly as the
original instrument: I was lucky, I was riding the dot-com wave:-). The pads
had started to go south and the spring tension was iffy. He basically rebuilt
the instrument: new pads, new springs, tension adjustments, and he even cleaned
it up. I have no clue what else repair people do when they overhaul a
clarinet, bass or otherwise. But I can only imagine what he'd have charged me
if he'd been working with a wooden instrument and had to oil it. He returned
to me a bass I had to relearn how to play because I'd been inadvertently
compensating for the wear inflicted by being owned first by the Mamaroneck High
School marching band (stencil outline on the case) that probably beat the hell
out of it and then by a Broadway pit musician who used the ABS bass as his
backup instrument and probably also beat the hell out of it.

Still have it, still love it, and if it is within my power it will never end up
for sale on eBay.

Ken
--
Kenneth Wolman
Proposal Development Department
Room SW334
Sarnoff Corporation
609-734-2538

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