 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Henry
Date: 1999-11-11 03:23
I recently picked up an older horn at a "grandpa had it in the attic forever" yard sale. The body is in good physical shape, but after I had the bad corks/pads replaced and tried to play it the first time, I found that it has a horrible smoke-like odor. It is pretty much limited to the upper section of the body, but the smell and taste make it virtually unplayable right now. Two questions: (1) does this odor say anything about the overall fitness of the horn (is it rotting or something?); (2) how can I get rid of the smell/taste?
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Author: Dee
Date: 1999-11-11 04:22
Try a new mouthpiece. Smoke seems to penetrate the hard rubber and leaves a nasty taste. Alternatively try soaking the mouthpiece in mouthwash for a bit and white vinegar for a bit. Not too long, say about 10 minutes each. This pretty much cleared up the majority of a cigarette smoke taste that an old instrument that I purchased was suffering from.
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Author: Dee
Date: 1999-11-11 04:23
As far as I know, it doesn't mean the horn is rotting or anything like that. It just means it was played by a smoker or was seriously exposed to smoke at sometime.
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Author: D.B.
Date: 1999-11-11 11:45
Yup, it says more about the owner then the Clarinet.
Try spraying Febreeze in the case - it is good for ridding odors. Also leave it out in the sun for a day.
Dee wrote:
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As far as I know, it doesn't mean the horn is rotting or anything like that. It just means it was played by a smoker or was seriously exposed to smoke at sometime.
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Author: William
Date: 1999-11-11 14:56
Older players used to check for leaks by blowing smoke through the whole clarinet(before leak lights and teflon strips). This always left a bad taste in my clarinet, which fortunately, went away through use. If the above advice from other experts does not work, perhaps you will need to have your clarinet techician replace the smoked-up pads. The instrument itself, if free from cracks and obvious other signs of misuse, is probably ok.
What is the brand name??? Sieral #?????
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Author: Willie
Date: 1999-11-12 04:31
I'm one of those guilty using smoke to test for leaks but only if they pop up just befor a concert and I gotta fix it quick. But also have had to strip some clarinets down and litteraly scrub them out with MILD detergent and lemon juice to get the soot and tar out. If you do this let it dry slowly over night then swab out with olive or almond oil to replace the natural oils removed by cleaning and years of saliva.
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