 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2005-03-07 03:29
I read somewhere that a good way to keep saliva out of a tonehole (and basically prevent that spitty gurgling sound, such as on the throat A or Eb/Bb sidekey) is to put a small smear of vaseline around the tonehole. Would this affect the tuning significantly enough that it should not be considered a commonly used option?
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: Don Poulsen
Date: 2005-03-07 15:48
I've never done this, but, contrary to the title of your post, I don't think you want vaseline *in* a tonehole as this will potentially affect your tone or intonation. Bore oil, I suspect, would be preferred because there is less danger of creating a blockage in the tonehole and it is formulated for putting on the wood, assuming you have a wood instrument. What you would want to do is smear a small amount of bore oil or whatever oily substance is appropriate above/around the tonehole on the inside of the instrument. It should not be a thick layer, just enough to coat the surface. The effect is that any moisture that collects and runs down the inside of the instrument will detour around the hydrophobic oiled area.
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Author: Ray
Date: 2005-03-07 16:40
I've wanted to try putting some oil or grease around my C#/G# tone hole for a long time since this idea seems to make good sense.
But, won't I just wipe it off pretty quickly by swabbing? And then won't I have the grease on my swab? And then won't I distribute the grease all over the bore when I swab some more? Or maybe I should grease the whole bore (very thinly) so that it is waterproofed and no water will ever get in the toneholes? And then I won't have to swab any more?
?
I am considering trying to apply a very thin layer of silicone grease to the bore of a backup clarinet to see if it really helps to get the accumulated condensation to run out of the clarinet without swabbing, but I haven't sorted out a good way to apply it without leaving some in the toneholes.(I can always tell when there's too much water in there because my clarinet gets a little more resistant and a tiny bit stuffy.)
Maybe the solution is just to swab a lot, especially early in a session when the clarinet is cold.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2005-03-08 02:49
These are along the same problems that I was thinking would arise. But when checking out the peter eaton website (for his custom clarinets) he recommended putting vaseline in there to prevent that gurgling. I just immediately wondered how good of an idea this is. His instruments are supposed to be phenominal, and so I wondered if maybe he knew something we didn't on how to stop gurgling . . . .
Anyways, I think maybe I'll stick to good 'ol cigarette paper.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2005-03-08 07:21
If you want to stop water spreading over this surface, then 'Scotchguard fabric protector' does quite a good job. However, moisture collecting in drops and running freely over a surface can be worse than having it spread evenly over the surface.
BTW a pad not lifting high enough from a tone hole increases the likelihood of water collecting between the lifted pad and the tone hole. This is a slightly different scenario from excessive water collecting in the tone hole itself.
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