 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Clare
Date: 2003-10-15 11:40
Hi guys, I need some technical advice.
I have an intermittent problem with my Eb - sometimes when I've been playing a note that involves holding down the ring keys in both hands and then move to a note just involving left hand fingers, the lower rings stay down. [I hope you follow - this is so much easier to describe when you can point at the instrument!] The effect obviously is pretty grim!
It's been serviced recently and is a good instrument, so it's not just because it's a cheapie. My technician says that the pin inside the long bar that links the two sets of rings is slightly bent and this will just happen from time to time and that I should expect this in a single-body instrument as it's such a long pin and the mechanism isn't the same as one with a bridge over two joints. Even if the pin were replaced, it would probably happen again.
I've tried to make sure that the instrument doesn't rattle around in the case and that I'm not holding it awkwardly and squeezing it in the wrong sod's law means that it mostly comes just when I'm doing something really exposed, so I look a complete wastrel.
Do any of you have any experience of curing this sort of problem? Is there anything that the repair guys can do to help? I find it hard to believe that the mechanism is so inherently unstable - otherwise why do reputable companies still make single-body Ebs and even Bbs? And presumably bass clarinets (& larger) have even larger pins for things to go wrong with?
Grateful for all advice!
Clare
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Author: William
Date: 2003-10-15 14:31
Hmmm....seems to me that if anything is "bent", it should be repairable by staightening. A more likely cause of your sticky RH rings is that one of the posts holding it has become misaliened (bent) or that the rod itself has expanded and needs swedging to free it up. Any reputable repairperson should be able to easily perform these services and free up your rings. I have owned two single body effers for over twenty years ( a Selmer Bundy Resonite and a pro level Yamaha wood) as well as having administered a couple in my school's instrumental inventory, and sticky rings have seldom been a problem (if ever). I would seek a second opinion. At the very least, you deserve better answers and service from your present techician.
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2003-10-15 16:13
Think you've got a problem with the length of the key rods on a single-piece body Eb clarinet? Well, I've been playing a single-piece body BASS clarinet for three years now, and lemme tell ya, it's got some LONG rods on the stack keys. You simply have to be careful with your instrument to not bend those keys, and to this end a good, well-fitted case is essential. Also be careful where and how you grab the instrument when you pick it up. There's no magic solution -- just be careful!
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Author: ron b
Date: 2003-10-15 21:29
Clare asks:
"Do any of you have any experience of curing this sort of problem? Is there anything that the repair guys can do to help?"
...and your repair tech says: 'live with it.'
My suggestion, Clare, is that you talk to a different tech. Bent hinge screws and bent hinge tubes (and binding posts) are straightened many times every day by techs all over the country. It's not a unique problem and the good news is that it's 'fix-able'; maybe not an easy fix but... do-able. The 'not-so-good' news, whether the instrument will stay fixed once the problem is corrected, depends on how well it's constructed and how you treat it. Some makes are just not as well made as others. However, with a little eefer, it should stay in adjustment for a long time if the repair is done correctly and it doesn't 'fall down the stairs' again 
- r![[cool]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/cool.gif) n b -
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2003-10-16 00:18
I completely agree.
Correcting ANY form of binding keys on a clarinet, one piece or not, is relatively easy work for an experience technician. My guess is between 2 and 15 minutes work, depending on the problem. The range of possible causes is really too large and diverse to warrant itemising here.
It sounds as if you need a new technician.
Some technicians give technicians a bad name! Bad!
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Author: OboeAtHeart
Date: 2003-10-16 02:09
Okay. I've got another eefer question. (I do love this instrument!)
I play on a Resonite Selmer Bundy - like William up there. I need to know why the altissimo is so painfully out of tune. I mean like, half a step sharp or flat depending on the weather and the way my reed is. Are the issues that happen in Bbs like that just more noticeable or is it the way I'm playing? The intonation in the lower end of the horn is sharp off of anything, and the rest of it is just sharp, but is usually it's fixable by pulling out about a half-centremetre at the barrel and the bell.
Also, I never -ever- eat before I play (at least an hour before) and I usually rinse out my mouth with water before I do anyway. My eefer's pads are sticking at random, especially in the lower/alternate keys. I'm not sure why either, I clean them regurally and I swab out the instrument after using it.
Oh. And is it a bad idea to stick your eefer in your pocket? I usually wear pretty large pants, so it isn't squished or pushed on in any weird way. I pick up the field markers every night after band rehersal, so I usually don't have an extra hand to hang onto my clarinet. Most of the time I just give it off to someone else to put on my chair (Either a fellow clarinet or a trustworthy French Horn.) Someone tell me if I'm being stupid, please?
-Jenne.
*~"The clarinet, though appropriate to the expression of the most poetic ideas and sentiments, is really an epic instrument- the voice of heroic love."~*
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Author: diz
Date: 2003-10-16 04:07
I call my beautiful Leblanc effer "satan" - 90% of the time it's charming and attractive and 10% of the time it's a tincker's cuss.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2003-10-16 04:09
OboeAtHeart asked:
> And is it a bad idea to stick your eefer in your pocket?
Hmmm ... that reminds me of a famous Mae West quote...GBK
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2003-10-16 05:00
The sticking pads could be because of some bore treatment (oil?) or other unsuitable liquid (wood polish?) getting onto the pads.
Think of the sticky deposit left on the kitchen shelf where the cooking oil did a dribble! If the oil polymerizes (sets semi-solid) it is very difficult to remove.
'Powder papers' could help.
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Author: Clare
Date: 2003-10-17 11:15
Thanks folks - this sort of confirms my suspicions. I'll look for another tech!
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Author: William
Date: 2003-10-17 14:06
Mae West played effer?? Now, that's inspiration...............
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