Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2006-05-05 12:45
b.roke, details are as follows:
Upper end of bore: .581-.583"
Lower end of bore: .581 - .586" (i.e. somewhat oval)
The serial number is 252**
The timber of the centre tenon is a VERY sloppy fit.
The materials and workmanship of the repadding/overhaul job are what I regard as poor.
And now to hopefuly clarify a little:
You wrote, ".....he [i.e. myself] has not been making the same kind of noises about the quality that your tech has."
True, but I did not make negative noises about the quality, either. I wrote, "I cannot coment on comparative tone of different models... They [clarinets] almost all sound good to me when adjustments are good."
I consider that just as some people have far more discernment re the taste of wine than others, some people are far more receptive to nuances of tone. I do not regard myself as one of these, so out of respect fro my integrity, I refrain from making profound and seemingly learned comments about clarinet tone.
The workmanship in making this clarinet is excellent; it is only the repadding job that I regard as poor, and POSSIBLY detracting from the tone. (Squishy leather, seemingly porous, and heavily domed in the centre of each pad, with some of the pivot wear and wobbly post issues not addressed)
I am very conscious that a few faults like faulty linkage adjustments, imperfect low pad seating, wobbly centre tenon, fricition in a low lever linkage, poor throat Bb venting, and a small leak high on the instrument are sufficient to titivate a player's human subjectiveness to the exent that he thinks the overall tone is poor. May I suggest that these could be a contributing factor to your perception of disappointing tone?
This is the reason I offered to correct just these faults (and a few other minor ones, for quite a modest fee.) It is my belief that if they were corrected you may well be far more satisfied with the instrument in general, including tone. Admittedly, I think you would probably be happier still with a full overhaul/repad.
I might add, that it is quite comon for the second hand value of an restored instrument, even a high quality one, to be not much more than the cost of the restoration, perhaps more so in some countries than others, and especially for a lesser-known brand. It is this very thing that makes some old, restored clarinets, an excellent aquisition for the amount spent.
I never intended to communicate that it was not worth restoring, as you seem to suggest by the question "do i just throw it away?"
I hope this clarifies the situation a little. Best of luck with your decision making. :-)
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The Clarinet BBoard
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