 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: JOHN GIBSON
Date: 2001-01-09 11:16
Need some advice on those fuzzy swab inserts you're supposed to place in the upper and lower joints of a clarinet while its in the case. Are they really necessary if you do a good job with a linen pull through, or are they just a way for the manufacturer to make money? Seems to me they'd just hold moisture in the clarinet rather than soak it up. What do you think?
John
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Author: Amanda Rose
Date: 2001-01-09 11:45
ICK! I heard that those are terrible. They're a breeding ground for nasty things in clarinets. (And they aren't good for the wood)
Amanda ROse
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2001-01-09 14:06
John -
Opinions run 10 to 1 against leaving "Shove-It" swabs in the bore, mostly because they absorb moisture and keep it inside the bore, leading to pad deterioration and mildew.
With just air inside the bore, it and the pads get to dry out. That makes sense to me.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Dave Spiegelthal
Date: 2001-01-09 14:14
I'll take an apparently controversial position here: I personally like the "Shove-It" type swabs and use them myself, but ONLY in conjunction with the regular pull-through swabs. After playing, I pull the regular swab through at least 3 or 4 times, and use a cotton rag inside the tenon cavities to get every bit of moisture out that I can, and ONLY then do I put in the "Shove-It", which stays in the horn and at that point just serves to absorb what little residual moisture I may have missed. I haven't had any of my wood instruments crack in the 25 years I've been playing them, so I think this method works. But then again, I'm a radical who also oils the bore of my wood instruments once a year, so what do I know?
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2001-01-09 14:15
Glad that someone asked the question. IMHO this is one of the WORST products ever purveyed on the woodwind community - don't get me started on other simply bad and rip-off products sold by famous manufacturers. Those fuzzy things retain moisture in the bore and actually are ideal incubators for mold, mildew, etc. which can harm both the wood and the pads. Even though my bore oil has bacteriostatic and fungicidal additatives I would not put the wood in a constant warm, moisture laden environment with a culturing agent such as the "pad savers" and promise that no mold would grow. The added moisture in the bore can lead to swelling of the wood and potential cracking due to the gradient of moisture from the inside to the outside of the wood, not to mention the potential changes in tonal qualities of the swollen wood. We swab the bore with an absorbant swab to remove moisture - why put it back with an absorbant plug which retains moisture?
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Author: Stuart A. Inselman
Date: 2001-01-09 20:34
Last Sat. I purchased said swabs at local music shop. They said it was a terrific product(what else would they say for a sale). It didn' make sense that the moisture would be sopped up etc. However I figured there was some special chemical substance to suck it up, so I bought it. After reading everyones remarks I took the swabs out of my horn. I will use them just as swabs to clear moisture, but not keep them in the horn.
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Author: Francesca
Date: 2001-01-09 21:23
I know a repair tech that uses the Shove-its to quickly oil the inside of the clarinet. He places a certain amount of bore oil on one, and runs it through 3 or 4 times. It's a cheap way to get the instrument oiled if you don't have time to leave the instrument at the shop for a few days.
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Author: Amanda Rose
Date: 2001-01-09 21:36
I've used them for oiling the horns at my school. (I've been declared school's wood instrument repair tech). Ah well!
Amanda Rose
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Author: Willie
Date: 2001-01-09 22:32
I use my "fuzzy" to oil the bore with and thats all. Down here on the Texas coast, too much moisture is a problem. The idea of leaving a swab full of germ infested slobber in my horn to breed more fungi isn't tops on my list.
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Author: jerry
Date: 2001-01-09 22:36
"Jeez, after reading Ken and Omar's posts, maybe I'll yank those swabs out of my clarinets...."
Who knows Dave, no telling what you might find in there after 25 years (JUST KIDDING).
Glad the question was asked. I've been wondering about those gadgets I've seen in the ads. Now I know that I probably shouldn't use them in my (plastic) Vito........I mean my wooden horn, when and if I get to *move up*.
~ jerry
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2001-01-10 08:57
I totally endorse what Omar says.
They are also a good case of the more they cost the more the unsuspecting buyer thinks they must be good. In New Zealand I reckon that to sell them would be illegally contravening the 'Fair Trading' act.
Dave if you have dried the clarinet THAT well the best thing you can do is allow the air to circulate to complete the process.
By the way don't even keep that sceptic Pad Ruiner in the case. Just take it back to the retailer and get a refund. Spread the word.
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Author: Dave Spiegelthal
Date: 2001-01-10 14:33
I hereby pledge to remove the Shove-It Pad Ruiner/Fungus Incubator Swabs from my clarinets, and relegate them to the status of Bore Oiler Assist Devices as suggested by Francesca and Amanda.
Assuming I can get them out after they've been sitting in there for a quarter-century.........(JUST KIDDING!)
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Author: Bart Hendrix
Date: 2001-01-10 17:43
Yoiks! For the last twenty-five years or so my playing has been just for my own entertainment, so I haven't been in the market for much new equipment. My contact with sales people has been limited to such things as an occasional box of reeds or some cork grease (of course there isn't much else available out in the boonies). Until I found this site a few weeks ago, I had no idea of the variety of extra cost items that is available.
For me, a swab is an absorbent piece of cloth (used dillegently and replaced frequently to keep it clean), a string and a small fishing weight -- total cost about five cents. Oil can be applied with a similar (but separate) swab. About thirty years ago I started using "official" bore oil, but prior to that my pre-WWII Kohlert was treated with olive oil. With an occasional polishing, corks and pads when infrequently needed and the recent addition of a new case it still looks and plays like new and I still love it.
I guess it's a different world out there now. Hopefully, the rest of you will be able to bring me back up to speed.
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Author: Dave Spiegelthal
Date: 2001-01-10 19:45
Bart,
You know that we've got electric lighting now, and jet airplanes, and computers smaller than a building, right?
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Author: Anji
Date: 2001-01-10 20:28
If it's cheap, effective and doesn't smell funny...Icons are built to be clasted.
So there.
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Author: Susan L.
Date: 2001-01-11 02:57
Bart,
I know what you mean. Send for a Woodwind and Brasswind catalog (or similar one). You will be surprised at all of the mouthpieces, ligatures, reeds, etc.!!!
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2001-01-11 15:36
To make a swab: Get a boot lace (for strength) of the hollow variety (to accommodate the weight). One end needs a weight so find a weight - any piece of metal (or small pebbles!) that will fit inside the lace, held in position between two stitchings, one at the end of the lace (cut that hard thing off the end first) and one say an inch further up the lace. Leave the lace long enough to go right through just one main section, or else through the whole clainet (without mouthpiece), in which case the lace it is more likely to knot & tangle. The other end needs an absorbent material attached. Synthetic chamois (for washing cars) is good. Real chamois is hopeless because unless it is already wet it repels water. Strong cotton (no polyester) cloth is also suitable. Sew the lace securely to one corner of a RECTANGLE (or the small end of a trapezium shape) approx 3 or 4" by 6 to 8". (Depends on thickness). A square will bunch up too thick in one place.
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