 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Meri
Date: 2000-07-10 23:32
At the end of my lesson on Saturday, my teacher told me about a way to help keep the lower joint regulated, by using nylon hair elastics (the small ones) around the three left-hand keys on the lower joint and the four lowest right hand keys.
Does this really help keep the lower joint properly adjusted? (note I had the lower joint regulated about a month ago)
Meri
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Author: J. Butler
Date: 2000-07-11 02:41
I'm not sure what hair elastics are. However, I've used rubber wedges to hold down the open pads for years. I also know a few other pro's who do the same. Beason (sic?) makes a device for saxophones to do the same without compressing the key cork.
J. Butler
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Author: Paul Lester
Date: 2000-07-11 03:01
Hi John or Meri;
Are the rubber wedges or hair elastics to keep the pads down during storage of the horn?
Paul
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Author: Brent
Date: 2000-07-11 12:16
Yes, they'd be used to keep the pads seated when the instrument is not in use. Music stores sell key clamps for saxophones. I never heard of such a thing being used on a clarinet, but there's no reason it couldn't. The larger the pad, the greater the likelihood it will go out of adjustment (and the bigger the leak), i think, so it owuld seem to be more important on a larger instrument like the sax--or contra...
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Author: J. Butler
Date: 2000-07-11 13:04
Paul,
Yes, they are used to keep the "open" pads seated during the times that the clarinet is not in use. I also "block" them down this way when shipping back to customers to help keep the instrument regualted during shipment. It only takes four wedges to block down the necessary keys.
J. Butler
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Author: paul
Date: 2000-07-11 13:21
Regulation and proper packing for shipping are indeed valid concerns for all clarinetists. I can't help but agree that the bigger the pad, the greater the chances of things going wrong over time. The odds just go that way.
All that said, I feel I must tell folks to be careful with rubber products in their horn's case, especially if they have silver plated keys. The sulfur in the rubber compounds does a real nasty number on the silver, and it doesn't take very long to see the undesirable results. I have no problem with nonconductive and non rubber products, such as nylon or other plastics. However, folks need to keep in mind rubber and that less valuable metals and silver don't get along inside the case.
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Author: J. Butler
Date: 2000-07-11 18:09
Paul,
You are correct, but I also keep a 3M Silver strip in each case and replace them every 6 months. I've not a problem yet and have several clarinets with nickel silver keys and silver plate. I used to use cork however the cork wedges break after a time. One could cut small wood wedges and that would solve the problem with the rubber......and I may do that one day when I'm not too busy and it gets a little cooler in the garage.
J. Butler
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Author: Brent
Date: 2000-07-12 13:16
Rather than use regular rubber, i ordered some silicone rubber stoppers from Edmund Scientific and use these where the sax clamps won't fit properly. I've had no discoloration or other problems.
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Author: HTW
Date: 2000-07-16 05:18
When I got my clarinet back from the overhaul a few years ago, I was wondering why there was a little hair elastic holding down my E key. My teacher explained that the elastic keeps all the lower key pads at the same level and well-seated, thus preventing leaks due to pads changing shape over time and climate changes. I've done this ever since and it's worked fine. The elastic is cloth-covered, and my silver plating has never been better. Just slip it on when you're done playing and take it off when you assemble, it's that easy
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