 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Trevor M
Date: 2012-02-10 09:26
I'm pretty good friends with a woodwind tech. He's a youngish guy, but he's worked for years at some very reputable repair shops, and he's done a lot of small repairs for me – a pad here and there, tenon corks, etc – that seem to have worked quite well. It's well past time for both my horns to be overhauled, and part of me thinks I should take them to a 'serious' tech like Deitch up in San Francisco. Is this stupid? How much of a difference is there between the work of a competent local guy a more famous big city guy, and what are the pitfalls?
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2012-02-10 09:47
For me, I look for the ability and knowledge to do a wide variety of things. I do this by asking about installation of teflon in key places, the installation of cork pads, and the flexibility to do an overhaul in a manner that may not be what HE would normally do if that is what YOU want.
Of course I ask around first and try to find someone with a decent reputation, but if you find someone up front that can do amazing things...... all the better.
...............Paul Aviles
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Author: salzo
Date: 2012-02-10 11:26
There is a tremendous difference between a goodt tech, and an ordinary tech.
THere are a lot of charlatans out there when it comes to clarinet
repairmen. When you play on a horn that has been taken care of by a great tech, you will notice the difference.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2012-02-10 11:58
If they have examples of their work to show you what they can do, that should be a good indication of the quality of their work.
Look for neat and tidy key corks (with crisp edges instead of rough looking), clean pads that seat well and don't feel spongy under the fingers, well fitting keys between pillars, tidy tenon corks with the join barely visible (although the quality of glue used will make this variable), any pinning or filling work is well matched to the joint surface in terms of smoothness, cork pads all perfectly smooth on the surface and either crisp, sharp egdes or nicely and evenly domed or chamfered, silver plated keywork well polished, spring tensions well balanced, strategic use of felt or ultrasuede to dampen key noise on open standing keys, adjusting screws that can move reasonably easily but will stay in place, good use of new and hard wearing materials other than natural cork in places of high pressure, joints looking well polished (but not over or underdone), ...
But in all, a general appearance of overall pride in their workmanship. They should be happy to show you examples of previous instruments they've rebuilt or recetly serviced so you can see what they offer in terms of quality.
Also get feedback from other customers who they've done work for in the past and if they still recommend them.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2012-02-10 13:38
>>How much of a difference is there between the work of a competent local guy a more famous big city guy, and what are the pitfalls?
>>
One of the pitfalls might be the assumption that the local guy is inferior to the famous big city guy. The local technician could turn out to be the guy that musicians drive miles out of their way to hire. Okay, I'm somewhat joking -- but not completely. If the local tech has done excellent work for you before, then it seems reasonable to expect excellent work the next time, too. The fact that you describe him as a friend might also mean he'll take special care with your clarinet, whereas an extremely busy big city guy who's in a hurry and doesn't know you from a split reed might not care as much about doing a first-class job.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: Luuk ★2017
Date: 2012-02-10 14:37
'If it sounds good, it IS good' (Duke Ellington).
I would like to add: 'It should STAY good for a reasonable period'.
Regards,
Luuk
Philips Symphonic Band
The Netherlands
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Author: BobD
Date: 2012-02-10 15:37
You could ,first, just ask your regular guy if he can do the job.
Bob Draznik
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Author: davyd
Date: 2012-02-10 17:09
Is your local tech a sole proprietor, or is he one of several in a shop? One man can work only so quickly. If he's a sole proprietor, an overhaul might well take him longer to do, depending on what other work he has. If he's one of a team, he is perhaps more able to focus on your instrument for longer periods of time, and get the work done more quickly. Of course, the soloist might still be a better tech than the team player, so the longer time might be worth it.
I have taken overhauls or major tasks, such as replacing a tenon, to a multi-tech shop, relying on a sole proprietor for small tasks, such replacing a pad. In this particular case, the soloist didn't have the specialized equipment to do the tenon replacement anyway. I have heard stories of a rival sole proprietor taking months to do an overhaul, what with all the minor stuff he has to do.
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Author: Trevor M
Date: 2012-02-10 18:44
"There are a lot of charlatans out there when it comes to clarinet
repairmen."
Yeah, no arguments here... I know a couple other techs that I wouldn't let near my instruments. There's a lot of people out there who make a living by putting not-working band instruments back into sort-of-working commission.
My pal wouldn't have the gear for big operations like re-boring or re-plating keys, but I basically just want a repad and extremely thorough cleaning. He does seem to be serious about his work (he's getting certified for whatever those magical flute pads are) and he's always more than happy to let me play any instruments he's working on.
Does anybody have a list of who they consider to be reputable Bay Area clarinet techs? I mean, I could take it to a famous shop like Forrests or Best, but the wait time would be longer and I don't think I'd be getting a better tech than somebody who'd already worked there for years.
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Author: srattle
Date: 2012-02-10 19:59
I travel from Germany to San Francisco to take my instrument to Daniel Deitch. I really respect him, his work, and he always makes me feel like my instruments are in very good hands. If you're close, I would personally choose him (if he has time)
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Author: William
Date: 2012-02-10 22:18
The only "tech" I need is at Ward Brodt Music in Madison, WI. Her name is Mary Jones, a graduate of the Red Wing musical instrument repair school and specializes on woodwinds--clarinets, in particular. She will take the time to talk with you and tweak your pesky agony stick until it sings like a bird, or at the very least, plays exactly the way you need it to. She always has my instrument ready when I need it next and often calls the minuet she completes work. In thirty years, she has never disappointed me, or my clarinets. How do you know.......simple, the "test" of time.
We clarinetists in Madison, WI are very fortunate indeed. No need to go to Evanston, Ill and be overcharged for the same quality work.
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2012-02-11 04:49
Depends on how serious a clarinetist you are. If you are not a terrific player you might not find any difference between great and good repair.
Freelance woodwind performer
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Author: BobD
Date: 2012-02-11 12:15
You have a good point there Arnold. Not all of us are Professional clarinetists.
Bob Draznik
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Author: Trevor M
Date: 2012-02-11 19:38
I am a serious clarinetist but a young-ish and poor one. And apparently not so serious that I'd travel from Berlin to San Francisco for repair work. I am very impressed with either your dedication or your frequent flier miles, srattle.
It does strike me as interesting that every major geographic area only seems to be able to support only one major repair shop – the 'good one' – for each kind of instrument. I wonder whether this is some kind of social law of word-of-mouth: I'd imagine most people probably don't bother to mention more than two names when asked for a good repair shop, and public opinion eventually snowballs into a situation where one or two excellent techs are psychically over-represented in an area. The fact that so many local techs work out of home shops to save on overhead must reinforce any skepticism about their professionalism.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2012-02-12 06:00
>> The fact that so many local techs work out of home shops to save on overhead must reinforce any skepticism about their professionalism. <<
Definitely not! Some of the best techs work from their homes. A lot of people (not just woodwind repairers) have a workshop at home and can often do as good or better work than people with actual stores. Actually, the main reason repairers have an actual store is if they also sell a lot, or they work in stores that sell instruments.
Sorry to say, but I've seen work by some supposedly very reputable repairers that was absolutely average or worse... For example, I've seen several overhauls by one repairer who has excellent reviews online... So who knows...
There are issues that have nothing to do with the level of the repairer that can influence where they live and how they work. Working from home can be a huge advantage in many ways. City/area can be from completely personal reasons too. Someone might prefer other life choices over e.g. where there most work, etc.
I know more than a few people who choose to drive 1-2 hours instead of 15-30 minutes, to go to a repairer they prefer. I guess your only option is to ask people in the area and maybe try them yourself. You can call and talk to them first to ask whtaever you want and get an impression.
>> I'm pretty good friends with a woodwind tech. He's a youngish guy <<
I wouldn't let that discourage you. I know one very young repairer who after only a couple of years working already started repairing for most top level professional players in his area, and some pros from different cities go to him in spite of having several closer repairers. Actually, I now remember I know at least two repairers like that.
>> One man can work only so quickly. If he's a sole proprietor, an overhaul might well take him longer to do, depending on what other work he has. <<
Right, depending also on the market in the area i.e. how much work is there. A 1-person shop might be faster than a 2-person shop if they have less than 50% of the work.
>> In this particular case, the soloist didn't have the specialized equipment to do the tenon replacement anyway. <<
Just not to let anyone get confused that a private repairer working from their home (or similar) won't necessarily have this equipment. Many do and can replace tenons or do other similar repairs without any problems.
Post Edited (2012-02-12 19:27)
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Author: bradfordlloyd
Date: 2012-02-12 11:36
While I'm lucky to live in an area with a variety of very good techs (Chicago), many of those are either quite expensive or have a long wait time (well, at least for us "mere mortals," because the really good shops are so in demand).
As a result, I find myself doing the calculations on the old "you can have it good, fast, or cheap....pick two." So, it depends on what I need (or the horn needs)....but several times recently I've been sending my horns to a great tech out of state. Even including shipping time and costs, he comes out on top of that calculation.
In other words, your mileage may vary. Local guys can be great, but depending on your locality, there may be better options elsewhere based on what you're looking for.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2012-02-12 17:03
There are some local repair people that are not famous that do incredible work and there are also a great many that do mediocre work too, or worse. The best way to find out the quality of a local tech is to find out if they've done a lot of work, like overhauls, for professional clarinetists. There's a vast difference in the quality of repairing a Bundy and a professional clarinet. The quality of the material they use, the way they seat the pads, the way they adjust the spring action and on and on. Ask around. ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: JamesOrlandoGarcia
Date: 2012-02-12 19:49
I've had several good technicians work on clarinets for me. I don't know what Linda Brannen does to clarinets but I can only theorize that she soaks the whole thing in holy water because clarinets come back better than you could possibly imagine.
There is a reason they call clarinets worked on by her, "brannenized."
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