 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Jenab
Date: 2005-04-26 22:39
This is on my Eb soprano clarinet.
I've been playing for a few minutes, with no problems at all. Then suddenly the song I'm playing takes a transition from the A at the top of Chalumeau to the B at low Clarion, and as soon as the B kicks in there's this watery hesitation, like spit's trying to come out somewhere.
I have three theories.
1. Water on the reed.
2. Water in the register key hole.
3. Water trying to escape from one or more of the low vent holes despite me trying to keep them closed with those B keys.
I disassemble the clarinet. I take the reed of the MP. I blow a puff of air through the register key hole. I swab the body interior down with my silk-on-a-string. I do likewise to dry the barrel and MP. I finger wipe the reed. I put the reed back on the MP and reassemble the clarinet.
Sometimes the flubadubbing B problem reoccurs immediately.
What's wrong?
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2005-04-26 22:46
Hi,
I'm not a tech but I would suspect that the regiater key is the culprit but that you have some gunk in the tube. Take off the register key, look down the bore, and insert a toothpick or a pipe cleaner and see if it dislodges anything.
Worth a try.
HRL
PS But then, the register key tube might have a leak around its circumference instead.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2005-04-27 14:38
It's dollars to matzah (no doughnuts during Passover) that the crowsfoot is bent, and the C key is slightly open when you press the middle B key. To check, slur from throat A to middle B, keeping your little fingers on both the C and B keys.
It could also be a bad pad on the middle B key.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2005-04-27 15:01
Further to what Ken wrote, it is VERY common for the F/C and E/B pads to be installed in such a way (or change with use) such that the area of the pad near the hinge closes well on the tone hole while the opposite side does not.
Test by putting LIGHT pressure on the E/B lever while dragging a thin strip of cellophane from under the pad. There should be equal and significant resistance right around the pad.
However if this (or what Ken mentioned) were the problem, then I would expect it to occur immediately you start playing.
The fact that there is a delay strongly suggests that the problem is condensation-related.
It could also be a pad that has a leaking membrane, such that when it gets wet, the felt absorbs water and swells, causing the hinge side to close while the other side is leaking.
Yes, definitely check that the register vent is clear.
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Author: Jenab
Date: 2005-04-27 21:06
I have noticed that the middle Bb, just below the break, also sometimes flubadubs after I've been playing a while. I wasn't sure the two problems are related, even though they both begin only after I've been playing long enough for the body interior to be wet. Should I poke into the register key hole with a pipecleaner?
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2005-04-27 23:11
Yes. Both notes rely on it being clear.
Take the key off first, or you are certain to wreck the pad before you do any good.
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Author: Jenab
Date: 2005-05-05 13:55
OK. I took off the register key with my wee little screwdriver. I cleaned out the hole - there didn't seem to be anything except a tiny trace of copper oxide. I mean very tiny. I don't think it was enough to matter.
I put the register key back on and started playing. After a few minutes, I ran into a middle Bb, and -- flubadub. That spitting/gurgling sound that rips through a note's timbre.
I think it's pure condensation, which seems inevitably to drip into the register key hole after a few minutes of playing. To avoid it, a clarinet would have to be made such that the hole was on the side of the body, rather than at the bottom.
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Author: Bart Hendrix
Date: 2005-05-05 19:43
If it's related to a bent crowsfoot or a problem with pads (that would include any questionable pads or anything bent anywhere on the instrument), you probably want it looked at by a tech anyway. While you are visiting your tech, if it turns out to be condensation in the register tube, see if there is one available that extends slightly into the bore without messing up the tone or intonation. That would prevent moisture from getting into the register tube in the first place. The beast is hard to tame even when everything is working right. Don't subject yourself to unnecessary, extra work.
Having played Eb with large hands, I can also tell you it is easy to be putting unintentional pressure on a key without knowing it (warm up awhile, your fingers start to losen up and relax and . . . . ).
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Author: BobD
Date: 2005-05-05 20:25
As already suggested I'd check for a pad with a loose skin....or a pad that's just not solidly cemented in place. Or the adjustment of the screw between the A and Aflat keys.
Bob Draznik
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