 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Victoria Baker
Date: 2002-01-21 04:08
Hello-- I'm new here. I played clarinet as a child and have been playing again in our eclectic rock band for the last several years. I only play on a couple of songs and I don't consider myself an accomplished clarinetist at all (mostly I sing). I'm afraid that my use of the clarinet will seem offensive to you professionals and scholars, but I really need some help so here goes.
I recently acquired a "Supertone B3857" nickel-silver clarinet ($80) and had it serviced ($120). Compared to my old off-brand resin student model, this is difficult to play. I don't actually know anything about this brand except that I really do like the tone a lot, it penetrates into the band's sound more readily and has an Eastern music sort of feel which is very good for us. Was it a cheap clarinet to begin with? Are they known to be difficult to play? I'm used to being able to blare around in the low register quite freely but this clarinet seems touchy. Also, after I release the register key it continues in the upper register for a few notes before unpredictably falling shut again. Is this a problem with these instruments, or is this me, or is it the repair wasn't right?
I also bought a Selmer Signet 100 and got the couple pads replaced it needed. I find it also difficult to play compared to my old student model, and the tone seems subdued. Is it just a matter of getting used to a different instrument? Is there a clarinet that might be recommended for (eclectic) rock that would be fluid in the bottom end with a penetrating tone? What I actually want is a bass clarinet but meanwhile, any feedback on any of this?
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Author: ron b
Date: 2002-01-21 05:59
Hi, Victoria 
Nice to meet you. Glad you dropped by. You're among friends)
To make a fair comparison and offer opinions, it would help us to know what "student model" you have that you like. There are many student models and they are not all created equal.
A metal Supertone, completely overhauled, should play okay. However, it may need a little tweaking now that you've played it for a while. The term 'service' can vary quite a bit from one shop to another. A couple of questions come immediately to mind:
When was it serviced?
What all was included in the servicing?
That'll get us off to a fair start :]
- ron b -
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Author: Victoria Baker
Date: 2002-01-21 07:57
Hi, thanks for the welcome.
I've got an Olds with the number 12458 stamped into both of the main sections. It eventually quit playing well because it needed new pads, and a shop in San Francisco told me that it would cost over $100 to fix and that the clarinet wasn't worth it, and basically pretty much refused to do it. I wish I'd insisted or found someone else but I felt intimidated. We moved to northern Calif and the band stopped for a few years; when we took back up I started looking around and naively bought the Supertone and the Signet off ebay.
The service on the Supertone is a(nother) ghastly story. There is only one person in this rural county who works on woodwinds. In our initial discussion I asked him to do everything it needed to play well because we are going to record a CD and I wanted something I could have confidence in; he promised to call me after he'd examined it to let me know what it would take. Two months later he apparently returned the clarinet to the shop which takes in work for him, never having called, and then the shop lost my clarinet for 2 more months. So, the work was done, apparently, just prior to Nov 7, 2001. The repair fellow has never returned any of my phone calls and the shop knows nothing, so I am unable to determine what exactly he did :( I've been playing it for a couple of weeks.
The pads over the holes were definitely all replaced, and all the corks on the sections of the instrument. I don't think any of the corks on the keys themselves were replaced. I do not know what if any adjustments were made to the keys or the spring on the register key.
I have lost trust for the shop because of how this whole thing was handled. Hence, I've had to seek other input. Meanwhile, band practice continues and I feel like I'm either a flake without a decent instrument or a flake who has no control of her instrument, and the uncertainty is um... tenseful for me. And of course, money is now too tight to make a big change, though I'm perfectly willing to sell the Signet and probably will make moves in that direction very soon.
That was probably more than you wanted to know, but there it is. Thanks for listening.
--Victoria
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Author: Lawrence
Date: 2002-01-21 08:09
Victoria,
You don't mention the type of mouthpiece you are using. Is it your old one (that you were accustomed to) or one that came with the Supertone? Try out some different mouthpieces - you may find it makes a big difference.
Lawrence
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Author: Victoria Baker
Date: 2002-01-21 09:08
I switched around mouthpieces. And boy am I embarrassed! I never quite believed that a mouthpiece could make so much difference. The Supertone's aperture to accept the mouthpiece is too large for the good mouthpiece, it slips around and would slip out easily, but even with all that going on I was instantly able to feel and hear the difference, rolling all around the low end, dare I say, effortlessly. Suddenly lots more volume, too. I'd been feeling that I was having to bite too hard... I can see that whereas I thought I was used to my old student model, what I was used to was actually the mouthpiece.
The one I like has a wider, shorter angle than the (now despised) one that arrived with the Supertone. Obviously which ones work best have to do with the shape of one's mouth and teeth. Really I thought I was going crazy having lost my ability to play the simple things I do.
Okay. But that still leaves the register key, which is still acting up. And that can't be me, so I have to take this to get looked at. And, see about getting a mouthpiece with a wide enough cork to fit the aperture. Is there any reasonable way to make the mouthpiece I have work in the meantime? When the Supertone arrived it had a strip of paper wound around that cork for fitting.
The reason I'm so confident that the mouthpiece is going to solve the playability problem is because I also put it on the Signet and suddenly it's louder and not being temperamental. Suddenly the Signet is looking like a friend.
heheh. Thank you so much! Any further thoughts or feedback appreciated.
--Victoria
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Author: Lawrence
Date: 2002-01-21 09:20
You can get your mouthpiece recorked to fit the barrel. This is the only permanent solution. For a temporary fix, try wrapping the cork with a thin tape, like masking tape or maybe Scotch tape.
Lawrence
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2002-01-21 12:40
Recorking your mouthpiece should be an easy repair. Around here (St. Louis) it would cost around $12 at a repair shop. In the meantime, instead of using tape, I would suggest you wrap the tenon with dental floss.
It sounds like the repair shop situation where you live is rather dismal. If you are at all handy (and patient), you might try reading this:
http://www.sneezy.org/clarinet/Equipment/Care/TenonCork.html
and then decide whether you want to try to "do-it-yourself." Another approach to do-it-yourself might be Valentino artificial corks. You can buy these (phone- or mail-order) from the Woodwind & Brasswind.
The register key problem could be several things and will probably need a shop. One easy fix you might try would be to unscrew the rod (but don't be too aggressive if it's stuck) and clean and oil it. You can clean the rod with metal polish or light (sewing) machine oil (if you use metal polish, wipe it off thorougly and then wipe the rod with a little light oil. You can clean the tube by putting a small amount of oil on a very small piece of cotton (from a cotton ball or torn from a Q-tip) and pushing it through the tube. Repeat until it comes out clean and then push a dry piece of cotton through.
Best regards,
jnk
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Author: Peter
Date: 2002-01-21 14:35
Welcome.
Try wrapping teflon plumber's tape around the mouthpiece as a temporary fix. It's made specifically to contain leaks and works very well for the purpose.
If you are using the "good" mouthpiece on another clarinet and want to continue doing so, the teflon tape will come off the cork without leaving any residue behind and it won't compress or cut into the cork if you wrap it too tightly. In fact, it will stretch and break first.
Just don't wrap so much of it on that the cork is too tight to fit the joint, as that will unduly compress the cork.
Then, when you are ready, you can buy another mouthpiece to suit either instrument. Be aware of that you may need to have even a brand new mouthpiece recorked to fit your metal clarinet. I have two like that. I've yet to find a mouthpiece that will fit them "as is."
Enjoy.
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Author: William
Date: 2002-01-21 15:08
IMHO, the Selmer Signet should be a fine instrument, given you use your "good" mpc. The advice given by others is good, however, I am more interested in your artistic endevors and would like to hear your recorded music. Please repost when your CD is completed or, better yet, just give me an email as commercialism is not allowed on this Bulletin Board. Bass Clarinet?????--also interesting. A Bundy Resonite should be good for that. I'm "all ears." Good Clarineting!!!!
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Author: ron b
Date: 2002-01-21 16:04
Hi, Victoria
I live in Sacramento, about an hour away from the City. Contact me off the Board if you wish. I may be able to help you. Doesn't sound like you're quite ready for a do-it-yourself project yet.
- ron b -
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Author: ron b
Date: 2002-01-21 18:53
My last post trailed the others' good advice above. Looks like you got things worked out)
That's what it's all about :]]
Happy tootin' !
- ron b -
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Author: Victoria Baker
Date: 2002-01-21 21:22
Thank you all so much for your warm and generous help. An offboard offer of repair persons is probably going to yield the help for the register key problem. Even though I have some fix-it skills, I'm unwilling to attempt to approach it because I would never know if any further problems had been caused by me and what I need most of all is an instrument I can feel confident in (thus being certain that any problems are operator error). I've saved the info you've kindly provided, jnk, and maybe in the future I'll feel confident to try.
I'll wrap the tenon of the mpc in teflon plumber's tape, which I do have. Peter, thanks for the confirmation that metal clarinets typically need extra work on the mpc cork.
William, I've put you on my list to notify when we get the recording done, thank you Was thinking that a Bundy resonite was looking like a reasonable choice for the bass, and you've confirmed that. And yes, I'm looking forward to a fresh start with the Signet.
I'm so impressed with you all and this board. I really was braced to feel frowned upon, but I've gotten precisely the help I needed with the bonus of friendliness. Again, a giant thank you and kudos for such a well-run site... this is the best software for a public board that I've ever encountered.
So is it that clarinetists are just extra-nice people, or what?
--Victoria
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