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Re: ? on bass clari 2nd joint

Author: William
Date: 2004-08-15 15:48

I've had my Presitge low C bass for about two years now and that little metal ring is often a **pain** when removing the bell. It seems to be at its "worst" when the instrument is cold--not warmed up. Allowing the instruments wood and metal parts (bell and wood/metal tendon) both adapt to the environment seems to help. The metal tendon ring is really there to help prevent damage duing assembly and if your careful, I don't really see any advantage in putting it back on. It certainly will not hurt to play with it off until you can have your tech repairperson reinstall it with epoxy (like mine did).

To help make your bell assembly easier: 1) let your bass adapt to the climate before assembly--expeically if you just took it out of your air conditioned car. 2) frequently apply cork lubricant on the ring to help minimize the metal-on-metal friction that the Buffet folks "designed" for us. 3) remove your bell as soon as possible at the end of the gig while the instrument is still uniformly "warm".

If the bell does stick (as it most likely will), don't play "macho clarinet man" and force it. Make certain that the bell is precisly level with the tendon and use gentle twisting motions until it loosens. Using short, non-forceful back and forth twists may take a little persistance, but they usually succeed after a short time. This proceddure has worked for me, but the next time my tendon ring comes off, I am just going to leave it off (as long as the cork still makes a good seal with the bell sockett) and take my chances.

"A twist in time, saves nine". Benny Franklin, may have said it this way if he had played the bass clarinet.

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