Klarinet Archive - Posting 000149.txt from 2004/11
From: X-MailScanner-tom.henson@-----.com
Subj: [kl] Clarinet Repair & Some Questions
Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2004 15:23:01 -0500
I think at some point, as a clarinetist becomes more familiar with their
instrument, that it is natural to want to learn more about how to maintain
it and possibly even repair it.
I know that I am this type of clarinetist, but did not feel comfortable when
returning to playing after a 25 year absence in doing any repairs myself. I
have had several technicians work on my clarinets in the last couple of
years and they include Walter Grabner, Morrie Backun, and Mike Lomax. All of
them did excellent work. In each case, I examined the work that had been
done with an eye to seeing what they had done and to try and figure out how
and why.
I also have purchased a couple of repair books which have helped me greatly.
One book by Robert Schmidt titled "A Clarinetist's Notebook Vol. I: Care and
Repair" and a recent purchase from Gary Van Cott called "The Clarinet
Revealed" by Ernest Ferron. This last book is written by a French instrument
maker and master repair technician. It has been translated into English
(very well I might add) and is published in France. The first book by Robert
Schmidt is basically all of the knowledge that he gained while an apprentice
to Hans Moennig. Just about everything in his book explains how Hans Moennig
would have repaired it. The second book is quite a bit different. The
beginning of the book deals more with how a clarinet works and deals a lot
with what a instrument maker would need to know. It talks about the science
that goes into a clarinet. It discusses sound waves, pressure nodes, wave
reflections inside a mouthpiece, barrel, and bore, etc.. Only the last part
of the book deals with actual hands on repair. Both books are excellent in
their own way and helped me a lot.
I have learned to do many things that I used to pay to have done. I have
found that if one has the patience, skill, and aptitude to work with tools
and delicate mechanisms, that there is great reward. The biggest thing I can
do that I could not afford to pay someone to do is spend 10 hours (over a
period of time) adjusting the crows foot and the lower 4 keys that make up
this very difficult to adjust mechanism. I have also spent several hours
adjusting and then readjusting the bridge mechanism. These are the two
hardest adjustments to make, and make or break an overhaul in my opinion.
One thing I found after you repad a clarinet and make the initial
adjustments and get all the pads to seat properly, is you need to go back as
those pads break in and make small, minute adjustments. This requires
checking pad seating with paper strips as thin as a human hair or less. The
result of all this is that I can easily get a 4 minute vacuum on the lower
joint and about a 3 minute vacuum on the upper joint. People are amazed when
I show them this. Vacuum testing however is only part of the equation and
this alone does not guarantee a good playing clarinet.
So much more must be taken into account and this is no substitute for
experience. One must consider the following things and how they will affect
the sound and playability. Pad composition (skin, leather, synthetic), tone
hole facing (smooth or rough), key and key cup alignment (are the keys bent,
cups bent), key height (taken into account after the pad has broken in),
spring tension, post alignment (loose post will greatly affect key feel and
pad seal as the spring will not get the right fulcrum and will move with the
post), etc.. The list goes on and on.
This is why a $400 overhaul is actually quite reasonable if indeed all these
things are taken into account. I have learned to do all this and more. I
have experimented with Oil Immersion Therapy with very good success also. I
have learned to make and apply key and tenon corks as well. Loose posts can
be fixed usually with a paper shim underneath the post. About the only
things I can not due are to tighten loose rings and repair cracks, generally
anything having to do with working the wood. Perhaps one day I will also
attempt this.
I recently had to replace a couple of springs in the Eb/D# and F/C mechanism
on the lower right side of the bottom joint. This is probably the most
critical for spring tension adjustment as too loose a spring will cause
small air leaks and will affect the playability of the entire lower joint,
especially the lowest notes.
I have one question for the experienced repair techs on this list. Where in
the world do you find high quality blue needle springs?
The batch that I bought from Ferree's was of poor quality with many of the
springs not even blue. The color of the spring, if a bright blue, tells you
that it has been properly heat treated and that it is of the proper
hardness. This means that it will be strong enough. If the color of the
spring is not bright blue (not counting Stainless Steel or White Gold
springs), then the metal is either brittle and will break, or is too soft to
hold a good tight 'break' in the bending motion of the spring. What I mean
by break is that the motion of the key will reach a point in it's movement
that you will find the 'break' point at which the tension reaches it's
maximum point of resistance, and then 'breaks' into an even and progressive
give as the motion reaches it's bottom and the key is either opened or
closed.
The reason why a new high quality clarinet feels so much better is simply
that all the parts are new and in proper alignment/adjustment and the post
and springs are working perfectly in their motion. There is no reason why
this can't be achieved in an older clarinet, provided that the clarinet is
in excellent mechanical condition. Walter, I understand perfectly where you
are coming from and you have my sympathy. I would not want to do this for a
living, but am pleased that I can take 10 hours to perfectly adjust the
bottom keys if I want and need to.
My clarinet teacher (Jeffrey Lerner - Studied with Bonade 8 years and
teaching me the fingers ahead technique) was amazed when he wanted me to
play a Rose etude that started on a middle B natural. He told me that this
note is the hardest note on the clarinet to play because it requires a lot
of air and is usually stuffy. Boy was he surprised when I was able to play a
perfectly clear middle B at a double pianissimo with ease. I can start on
this note at a volume that only a microphone would pick up, crescendo, and
then back down to a volume that is almost inaudible to the human ear, and
with no air hissing sound whatsoever or loss of tone color. This is not an
accident, but the result of a properly adjusted clarinet.
Tom Henson
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