Klarinet Archive - Posting 000159.txt from 2007/09

From: Fred Jacobowitz <fbjacobo@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Blown out clarinets
Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2007 16:28:50 -0400

Kevin,
I repeat my offer. Come and play it! Once again, I'll say it: don't
pooh-pooh something just because you haven't experienced it -
especially when a host of reputable players have. No it isn't an urban
legend or wives' tale. Go ahead and try to explain sight to a person
who has been blind from birth. They don't really believe that other
people are not like them until they experience others. Men used to
belittle women who had PMS (except those married to them, of course).
;-) It took women decades to get doctors to accept the idea. Is that an
urban legend?

Fred Jacobowitz

Kol Haruach Klezmer Band
Ebony and Ivory Duo
On Sep 23, 2007, at 3:55 PM, Kevin Fay wrote:

> On Sep 23, 2007, at 3:24 PM, Nitai asked:
>
> <<<Just curious how come "blow out" is a common believe in some places
> and
> not in others. For example, I've never heard anyone around here even
> mention
> it. Anyone has an idea?>>>
>
> You need to be in the city to hear an urban legend, perhaps?
>
> I'm afraid that I side with Dan Leeson on this one. Old clarinets can
> play
> like they're old - loose keywork, leaky pads, all of that. No
> question too
> that there can be deposits of calcium (and other, more unpleasant
> stuff) in
> the tone holes, making the horn go sharp. All of these can be fixed,
> however.
>
> A good repair tech can do the repadding and swedging that you can't do
> yourself. For the tone hole schmutz, I use Q-tips dipped in vinegar to
> clean them out a couple of times a year, too.
>
> I have no doubt that Stanley Drucker et. al. buys a lot of new horns.
> I
> like new horns too! It's great to pick one up that is all fresh and
> pretty.
> Buying a new one is less hassle than getting an old one redone, esp.
> when
> you have a gig that night.
>
> A good analogy, I think - old horns are like old cars. You can get a
> '64
> Corvette all pimped up with a rebuilt tranny, a new crate engine and
> hi-tech
> disc brakes to run better than when it was new, and arguably as good or
> better than a new one. It will take some money to do that, though,
> and much
> more time than trundling to the nearest Chevy dealer and buying a
> spiffy new
> one with only three miles on the odometer.
>
> I have no doubt that there are horns that are so thrashed that they
> can't be
> brought up to playable condition. If the wood has cracked and it has
> been
> badly repaired with banding, for example, the bore could be killed so
> that
> it won't play in tune. The cost to fix an old soldier could be more
> than
> what it's worth, or even less than a new horn. This doesn't mean that
> it
> *can't* be fixed up, however, only that it is not economic to do so.
>
> kjf
>
>
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>

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