 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Ebclarinet1
Date: 2009-06-27 23:30
Hi guys,
I just did a gig and one of my colleagues remarked that the neck joint on his Prestige did NOT adjust. Mine is a couple years newer and it adjusts easily. Mine worked fine on his horn so the dimensions are the same. Was the adjustable neck something Buffet added or does he have a pig of a neck that doesn't adjust? He has to pull out the neck and mouthpiece to get his horn in tune.
Eefer guy
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Author: blazian
Date: 2009-06-28 03:18
Do you know if he's the original owner of that bass clarinet? I'm sure someone knows better than me but I think maybe it's a replacement from an 1180...? I don't know if the neck is the same length or anything but Buffet is Buffet so it probably fits.
Then again I forgot that there was a key on it.
- Martin
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2009-06-28 04:50
Does his neck LOOK the same as yours and other newer Buffet bass clarinet necks? Or does it not have what looks like the adjustable part, and is obviously just one piece.
If it looks obvious that it is one piece then most likely it's a replacement neck. Buffet had a regular adjustable neck with a screw before they chaged to the current version. But if it looks the same as yours then it is probably the newer type which doesn't have a screw.... but it is stuck!
When I first had a Buffet like this there was no screw, and I couldn't adjust the neck, so I thought the neck wasn't adjustable. Later I found it's supposed to be adjutable, but when I tried with as much force as was possible, it still wouldn't move. Eventually I managed to seperate it and it worked fine since then.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2009-06-28 06:33
The best thing to do with Buffet crooks (with the tuning slide) is to seperate them as soon as you get them, then grease the sliding part well before putting it back together.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: thomas.b
Date: 2009-06-28 07:37
CHris, I think you are perfectly right... on my Buffet it works perfect, but the first two or three times it was a mess, but grease helped... on two other Buffets I tried, I thought as well, that it was not adjustable ( I did not want to use brute force, they were not my instruments ;-)
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Author: Ebclarinet1
Date: 2009-06-28 11:31
Hi guys,
That was my thought too. That it was functional but somehow had become stuck because it was not used early on. I did give it a tug in his absence and it didn't budge but after 4-5 years of not being used or greased it still could be an adjustable neck. The neck looks otherwise just like mine.
I suggested calling a Buffet dealer to get a replacement neck but all he might need is something to give it a good tug. My alto neck is NOT adjustable on my prestige alto but there are two neck sizes and the longer one plays right at A440 so I was thinking that this neck might be the same deal as the alto ones too. I don't know where this bass was obtained and it might have been one sitting around somewhere too.
Anyway thanks for your opinions! I think I'm going to have him give it a try at pulling it apart with more force.
Eefer guy
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2009-06-28 11:51
>> The neck looks otherwise just like mine. <<
In that case 99.9% that it's stuck (ok 100%, but I don't want to say that). Pulling as strong as possible (without damaging anything) might help, but maybe not and then you need to try other methods (in addition to pulling/twisting).
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2009-06-28 15:07
You could immerse the crook in hot water for a while (just the socket side and past the tuning slide part, but don't immerse the key or tenon cork) and then see if that frees it.
Please don't use pliers or try to hold the crook in anything that could damage it - always try to do things by hand, and make sure you don't exert any excessive lateral force ie. by bending it sideways or holding it in such a way you put a lot of leverage on the tuning slide section as the solder joints could break.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Ebclarinet1
Date: 2009-06-29 16:55
Thank you guys! I forwarded your comments onto my friend. Hopefully he'll give these a try. He has to go to ridiculous lengths now to get it in tune.
Eefer guy
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