 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Connie
Date: 1999-11-30 21:49
OK, after trying the Leblancs, I liked the R-13 best. I like the sound and the way the keys respond MUCH better than my old Leblanc. I've been breaking it in according to the manufacturer's instructions (play 30 min/day for the first month) and here is my problem: The middle joint sticks...the longer I've played, the harder it is to get apart. Cork grease doesn't help much----it seems to be wood-on-wood at the tenon. Once I even bent the keys on the lower joint trying to get a grip on it to get it apart. I've had it for just about 4 weeks now. How long before I take it to a repair guy to get the wood sanded down, or whatever you do? I don't want to fix it now if it's likely to loosen up with time.
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Author: john diprofio
Date: 1999-11-30 22:02
Have you tried taking the clarinet apart and greasing the
corks. Let it stand overnite so the grease will penetrate.
Then see how it behaves. Otherwise a little fine sandpaper
on the offending joint's cork cover would help...but no
sanding on the tenon wood itself.
johnd
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Author: Eoin
Date: 1999-11-30 23:09
It may be too late now, but you should apply cork grease to the ends of the tenons as well as to the corks on a new instrument. This prevents moisture from being absorbed by the end grain and the swelling of the tenon, causing the problem you have described.
If the tenons have already swelled, it may not be a good idea to apply cork grease to them, as it will prevent them from drying out again.
Eoin
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 1999-11-30 23:24
Actually, guys & gals, tenons swelling a bit on new clarinets is pretty common - then they get hung on the shoulder. Barrels have the same common problem. It's under warrantee, right? Have wherever you bought it do the work.
What, you didn't buy it locally so you could save some money? Take it to your local shop, but be prepared to shell out a couple of bucks to get it done right.
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Author: Dee
Date: 1999-11-30 23:25
I strongly suggest taking it in immediately before you do any further damage to it. The repair tech can advise you on what should be done and when to do it.
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Author: HIROSHI
Date: 1999-12-01 01:19
If you need to assembly or disassembly the upper/lower joint before doing Dee's suggestion, do not bend lower joint keys to overcome hardness.
Lower joint should be aseembled with bell and then hold the bell(not lower joint) to asseble it with upper joint.
The larger diameter of bell generates bigger torque than holding the lower joint and ease the connection. Please do not make matters worse like me.
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Author: Frank O'Brien
Date: 1999-12-01 06:16
My clarinet acts that way if I have not taken it apart immediately after playing. Have you been putting the clarinet aside without disassembling? If you have been taking it apart and the sticking still happens, then you need to take it to a tech. That person should be able to fix the problem in very short order.
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Author: paul
Date: 1999-12-01 13:59
I'm personally surprised that the tenons between the two joints are giving you fits, because these two parts are supposed to be worked on as one unit at the factory. Check to see if they are both the same serial number. If they are not, you may have cause for a major complaint with the retailer.
However, I'm not surprised that you have some initial fitting problems with your brand new Buffet clarinet. I had a similar fit problem with the bell not going on all the way. The Buffet certified tech at my retailer had to do some major work on the lower joint to get the bell to fit. He shaved about 1 mm off the outer portion of the bottom tenon to get the bell to snug up properly. Since the horn had been on the shelf for about 2 years, the corks had dried out. So, he shaved a little cork off each tenon to get all of the parts to fit air tight, yet attach and detach with minimal effort. This was done under warranty, so I didn't have to pay for it. However, I was without a clarinet for a couple of weeks.
The tech should bring your keywork back into proper alignment for free, too. While your at it, have the tech check out the entire horn from top to bottom to find any misalinged pads, out of tune keys, etc. Many retailers perform this kind of fundamental regulation on all of their new horns, just so consumers like you and me don't have to suffer brand new horn fit and function problems. The retailers do this service so the consumer will be very happy with their purchase. That's because the consumer's first 30 days of owning a major investment like this are very critical to the retailer's bottom line profit.
Here's a neat trick to help you get your horn to perform to its maximum potential. Take lessons from a professional clarinetist. My pro tutor took the time over a couple of years to fine tune my horn with a very careful bending of keys here and there. He did it all by ear and by bare hands, with hearings aids and extremely arthritic hands. But, you should hear my horn now. It's fantastic. He pegged the tuning meter every time! Of course, my playing ability has vastly improved over the years, too.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 1999-12-01 15:54
Paul, it's a very common problem. The tenon shoulder/socket clearance is very close. The problem tends to happen more in summer than winter.
The socket swells with the humidity, decreasing the inner diameter. The tenon swells, increasing its outer diameter. With only a couple of thousandths clearance, it's easy to get them bound together _very_ tightly.
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Author: Robert Small
Date: 1999-12-01 18:35
I had the sticking problem on a student line clarinet. My repairman took an odd looking knife with a semi-circular blade and turned it inside the socket a couple of times and problem solved. Total time: about four seconds. Cost: zero. I am wondering though, if the wood shrinks a little to the point where the fit is no longer tight is it possible to build the wood back up?
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Author: Connie
Date: 1999-12-01 19:16
To Mark: It wasn't just a matter of saving money...actually, my favorite retailer would have come really close to the price I paid. But no one around here stocks "pro-grade" (i.e. good wooden) clarinets. They would order one for me, but I'd be obligated to buy it, whether I liked it or not. The reason I went the mail-order route was so that I would have a bigger selection of brands, as well as of individual instruments. Incidentally, it came from WW/BW, who advertises a pre-sales fine tuning, which as far as I can tell was done pretty well.
To all: Thanks for your ideas. Is this BBoard great or what? I'm wondering if the humidity here in the Mildew Capital of the World is part of the problem. I have been greasing the corks, but I find it a little bothersome that the joint is fine till I push it in that last 1/32", which is where it appears to be sticking. It's under warranty, but I'm already spoiled and hate to give it up for the time it would take to mail it back and forth...I'll probably have my local repairman do it. By the way, my daughter says her R-13 sticks at the bell joint.
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Author: Aaron Hayden
Date: 1999-12-01 19:18
In order to repair this problem correctly, material must be taken from the shoulder. If you ream the socket, this can cause a wobble in the future. With the proper factory tools or a lathe this job will take approx. 10 seconds. Bring the instrument back where you purchased it and ask them if they can do the work.
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Author: HIROSHI
Date: 1999-12-03 01:06
Buffet should correct this problem.
When I bought RC, I had the same problem. But since then, I bought RC-Prestige and Selmer 10SII, and did not have this problem. I came to a conclusion. This is a quality problem,not a common problem.
If a manufacturer consider seriously, they should additionaly oil the problematic part. They do not, if those things happen. Certainly, it is not a 'common' problem.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 1999-12-03 01:28
HIROSHI wrote:
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If a manufacturer consider seriously, they should additionaly oil the problematic part. They do not, if those things happen. Certainly, it is not a 'common' problem.
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Certainly it is a common problem on new clarinets, Hiroshi. As you noticed, one out of the three clarinets you woned had a problem. I noticed it on a couple of Yamahas, too, straight from the Japanese factory when I visited Yamaha in Grand Rapids.
Oiling is not the answer, either. The clarinets today are made to fine tolerances. Shrinkage and swelling due to changes in humidity or temperatures cause problems. I would much rather have fine tolerances where they may have to remove a tiny bit of wood than to have a sloppy fit where someone expects the cork to make up the difference.
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