The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: harim0suprem0
Date: 2015-05-26 07:42
Hi Everyone,
Has anyone actually tried using nail polish to fill in a tone hole to lower the pitch of a note? I'm considering doing it to lower the pitch of my lower G and second register D but I want to know if people have successfully done it before I try...
Any advice will be greatly appreciated,
Harim
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Author: donald
Date: 2015-05-26 08:41
Here is a suggestion- the hole you will need to fill (under the key cup of the F/C key) is usually quite seriously undercut, leaving a small "cylindrical section" of tonehole to work with. As a permanent solution I'd suggest something more like a "putty", but as this might also be more difficult to remove in the event you are not happy with the result, do a "test run" using blue tack. (I think called "ticky tack" in USA).
No doubt some people will scream that his is terrible etc etc... but I can tell you that more than one top pro I've known has used this material for fine tuning- it's easily applied and easily removed. Whether it's suitable for long term tuning is moot (the former principal of the NZSO had blue tack in many toneholes for a decade) but for a short term "will I be happy if I fill this hole in" test, it's very suitable.
dn
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Author: harim0suprem0
Date: 2015-05-26 14:08
Hey Donald,
I have done a test run on my old yamaha clarinet a few minutes ago as you have suggested, and it works very well! Not very easy to put on, but very easy to clean up if I'm not satisfied with the result...I will try it on my buffet clarinets tomorrow morning.
Harim
Post Edited (2015-05-28 07:31)
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Author: harim0suprem0
Date: 2015-05-27 07:53
Now would anyone know how to lower the pitch of the second register C without altering the low F?
Harim
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-05-27 13:16
Since that is THE critical balance point in the Boehm clarinet tuning I would say that that is NOT possible. It is a function of the bore in its entirety (the low "E" as well). We have touched on this in a concurrent thread. Designers CAN make Boehm clarinets play more evenly in tune with respect to the HIGHER 12th vs the LOWER 12th but that tweak moves the resonance point and causes a significant loss of resonance. It comes down to trade-offs.
Once you have a finished horn though, I don't think you can make the modification you are looking for. You have to chose whether you can stand a slightly lower low "F" or an even higher third space "C." We are meant to make that adjustment with the embouchure (trading off the complication of more keys as you have with a full Oehler system and the thumb trigger for those low notes).
...............Paul Aviles
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Author: Steven Ocone
Date: 2015-05-28 02:24
I would use layers of tape first to find out how much material you need to use. Then if you like, duplicate it with another material. I have always glued solid material inside the hole.
Steve Ocone
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