 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: jeffyx
Date: 2017-10-20 10:07
Just got my hands on a new CSVR. It's wonderful and I want to take great care of it. I'm new to wood clarinets so I might need some insight on things. I have a couple of questions.
1) Is there a break in schedule I should follow? I know that "breaking in" your wood clarinet for the 1st month is pretty crucial. Some information about why people do this would also be appreciated
2) Are there any special accessories that you would recommend? I saw that anti tarnish silver strips are pretty useful. Anything else?
3) Any other tips!
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2017-10-20 16:55
Ideally you should really have bought it back when the weather was getting better instead of getting worse as the higher humidity levels are more favourable for wooden instruments. Playing it in from late spring to mid summer would have it ready for when winter sets in and humidity levels drop, so while you can still have it played in before winter really hits, do take extra care if taking it from place to place later in the year or early next year. Added to the fact the heating will be coming on (if it's not already on) so that will further lower humidity levels.
As for playing it in, play for around 15-30 minutes at a time, dry it out and put it back in its case. Increase playing time by 5 minutes a day and always mop out after each playing session. Dry the sockets with a piece of paper towel as that will keep your pullthrough/swab clean and you won't end up getting grease in the bore and into toneholes.
Anti-tarnish strips only work well when the instrument is cased up and the keys have been wiped clean beforehand - you can use an old T-shirt to wipe the keys and joints down to remove perspiration after playing.
Never leave it assembled and on a stand while you're not playing it - always put it back in its case and lightly grease the tenon corks to keep the corks supple. If you do find the tenons binding, then take it straight to your repairer to have them shaved down to make them fit easily (but not machined, filed or sanded down too much so they end up wobbly).
Clean the tonehole chimneys out with a cotton bud/Q-tip regularly to prevent dead skin cells, dirt and grease building up in them - your repairer will thank you for that as some clarinets turn up with enough dirt in them to grow potatoes.
And have it serviced regularly after that - you should take it in for a check-up after 6 months to be sure everything is working well.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2017-10-20 19:11
Chris P wrote:
> Never leave it assembled and on a stand while you're not
> playing it - always put it back in its case
Chris, I understand the reasoning for everything else you suggest in the full post, but I don't understand this dictum, which seems very strong. Are you concerned that the player may forget or get lazy and leave it out on the stand all night if he doesn't put it away immediately after playing it? Or do you suggest that the act itself of putting it on a stand for any length of time is in some way damaging or harmful?
Karl
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2017-10-20 21:09
What I mean there is never leave it assembled for any lengthy periods when it's not being played at all (such as a few hours between practice sessions or left overnight on a stand) as that will ultimately cause the tenon corks to compress, water to remain accumulated in the sockets and can also cause the joints to bind.
By all means use a stand whilst playing instead of laying the clarinet on a chair or standing up freely on the floor as accidents can happen. Don't ever lay any instrument on a music stand desk as that's just reckless and you know music stands aren't the most stable things.
The best kind of stand/peg is one where the bell flare rests on a wide flat base to take the weight of the instrument evenly instead of one of those tapered pegs that supports the bell solely from within as that puts outward pressure on the wood which can crack ringless bells.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: LC007
Date: 2017-10-21 00:59
Chris P wrote:
> What I mean there is never leave it assembled for any lengthy
> periods when it's not being played at all (such as a few hours
> between practice sessions or left overnight on a stand) as that
> will ultimately cause the tenon corks to compress, water to
> remain accumulated in the sockets and can also cause the joints
> to bind.
In my area we have music stores that carry fully assembled clarinets on their walls and stands for weeks/months at a time. Some of them are quality instruments and quite expensive. Would you say this warning is specific to the break-in period? Are these music stores harming their horns?
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2017-10-21 01:45
Quote:
Some of them are quality instruments and quite expensive. Would you say this warning is specific to the break-in period? Are these music stores harming their horns?
Because those instruments are not being played, they are not experiencing the dimensional changes that are being discussed above.
But these instruments are almost always sold as "display models" at a discount...and people who buy them need to recognize that and break-in those clarinets with additional care because they have been exposed to consistently dry conditions on the wall.
James
Gnothi Seauton
Post Edited (2017-10-21 01:55)
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2017-10-22 02:29
Way to go, you got a great horn. The keys have a special double silver patented coating on them. Pick up a silver cloth sometime or polishing cloth. The keys will keep looking new. You only have to polish them maybe once every 6 months? The silver is top quality.
The clarinet swab that comes with them are kind of low quality. Buy a few good ones. My horns are about a year old now. After playing for 20 minutes or so I wipe them out, thus having a few swaps. I'm into clean swabs, so I wash them every couple of weeks. Clean swabs, clean horns, clean pads. I think I have about 8 in case I get lazy and don't want to clean them right away.
I've had to change the joint corks on the horns once they start to wobble. If they wobble it is a sign the horn could develop a leak between the upper and lower registers. Keep this area tight. Other than that have a blast. You got a GREAT horn.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2017-10-22 16:54
Common sense, that's all you need to know. I've never had a clainet crack in my entire career. Just use common sense, you don't have to jumb over loops.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: jeffyx
Date: 2017-10-23 08:32
I've owned a plastic clarinet in the past. When i first got it, the corks were too big so after I was done wiping tenons, swabbing, I left the instrument overnight to have the corks compress. I did this for about 3 days until it didn't feel like breaking the instrument after each assembly and disassembly. Would this be okay for my CSVR?
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2017-10-24 04:53
Just use a lot of cork grease. Yes leave it assembled for a day. Use the cork grease each time you assemble the horn. Don't force it. If you have to force this take off some cork by using those ladies wooden nail files from Walmart. You won't have to remove much. Email me if you have questions.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
Post Edited (2017-10-24 06:55)
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Author: nellsonic
Date: 2017-10-24 05:27
I think that's ok, with a plastic or hard rubber instrument - but personally I would never do that with a wood instrument, particularly a new one with the wood still adjusting to use, as discussed by others above. The standard wisdom is always to always disassemble the instrument and put it back in the case. Perhaps Bob has some special reason in this situation for varying from that. I'd be curious to hear it.
The corks on my new Bb CSVR are still needing grease just about every time I assemble it, and it's been a few weeks of playing it every day. The corks on the A have adjusted a bit more quickly. If that's still the situation with the Bb in another couple weeks I might sand the corks very slightly to fit better, but I won't try to compress them by leaving things set up. Too much risk of the wood binding.
Anders
Post Edited (2017-10-24 05:47)
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Author: michele zukovsky
Date: 2017-10-24 11:51
b 40 lyre is the awesome mouthpiece...hard to get a good one, but well worth it!
michele
michelezukvosky@gmail.com
michelezukovsky@gmail.com
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