 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Contragirl
Date: 2000-05-14 17:43
I bought my R-13 3 years ago, and I was told that it was silver plated. My friend just got one and his has a brighter and more silver shine to it, much more than mine. Even my teacher says that mine is probably nickel plated. Right now, I'm wearing down the rings to the copper, and I want to get it re-plated (which my teacher says is a waste). What's up with this? The silver on my clarinet matches the silver of my Bay ligature. Am I confused? How can I tell if it's silver or nickel? Can I beat up the music store for lying to me?
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Author: Kim
Date: 2000-05-14 18:48
How much did your clarinet cost? If the manufacturer's price was over $3225, then it's silver. If it's $3225, it's nickel.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-05-14 19:13
Kim wrote:
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How much did your clarinet cost? If the manufacturer's price was over $3225, then it's silver. If it's $3225, it's nickel.
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Hopefully no one is really paying that price - at least my friends on the BBoard (tell the other folk, too, that don't read the BBoard that the price of a silver plated R13 should be in the 2000-2100 USD range.)
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Author: Nicole Y.
Date: 2000-05-14 19:26
If they really did tell you that it was silverplated and it's not. There's the little thing about misrepresentation but if I'm not mistaken, that's only if they willfully did it and knew about it. For this, I give no advice...
Nicole Y.
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Author: Mrdi
Date: 2000-05-14 20:31
If it's wearing away it is probably silver. Silver is much softer than nickel. Nickel is very hard and takes a very long time to wear away.Silver also has a peculiar smell and will leave a black residue if you rub it with polish, which if you have been doing will keep it shiny but wear it away prematurely. Plating is also very expensive, play it like it is till it's time to move up.
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Author: Kim
Date: 2000-05-14 20:46
The manufacturer's price is what you see in the catalog. What the store charges is up to them. My R-13 was 1778.
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Author: Kontragirl
Date: 2000-05-14 21:05
I don't know, my little plastic yamaha has nickel plating, and it's wearing away a little bit (actually, I got it used and it was already wearing away). I probably haven't owned one with silver keys long enough to know...but my Allegro's silver keys are shiner than my YCL-20's (I just polished them). I wouldn't bother replating them. I know it's not pretty and shiny, but it doesn't affect how you sound, so it's really not important...it's just a cosmetic thing.
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Author: Frank
Date: 2000-05-15 00:55
Don't bother trying to "beat up" the shop where you got it. That's probably a waste of time.
I too play on a nickel-plated R-13. I've had it for exactly 5 years and about 3 1/2 years ago I noticed that I was wearing through the plating. My repairman told me that It's no big deal unless I get down to the base metal...which I have!
I've been told that eating yogurt can stop you from eating through the plating. I'm not sure if that's folklore or not--the person who said that to me said that it changed the pH in your body which is the reason you're eating through the nickel. OR, and this is a better quick-fix, you can put CLEAR fingernail polish in the spots that are wearing away.
You may want to find a couple months where you're not going to be doing much playing ( or less than usual) and send your horn to be replated. Most repair persons send the metalwork to Anderson Plating in Elkerst, IN. It's takes a couple months, and a couple hundred dollars.
Silver is better than nickel, but gold is better than silver. I've been asured that I'll NEVER wear through the gold, but I don't want to look like Aker Bilk! :-)
Good luck,
Frank
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Author: Frank
Date: 2000-05-15 01:03
I wrote that last post without reading any of the previous posts:
Yes, it does matter! If you begin to eat away at the base metal (the metal that your keys are actually mad of) then you're actually damaging the horn, or at least the keys.
And in response to Mrdi; every repairman that I've spoken to has told me that silver will last longer then nickel. That it's a much tougher metal than nickel, etc...
Yes, have you're horn replated is cosmetic, but think of it this way; you don't want the paint on your car to begin to oxidize, right? If it does, then you open the gate for rust! Granted, you're clarinet isn't going to rust, but the metal is plated for a reason.
Aslo you should know that silver feels different than nickel. So if you do have your mechanisms replated with silver, be prepared for a different feel.
Frank
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Author: Willie
Date: 2000-05-15 03:15
I know folks who've worn the plating off their keys 25-30 years ago and keep on playing fine. The only time I worry about worn plating is on chrome plating. If it starts to peel along the edges, you can get a "paper cut" just where you don't want it, on your fingertips.
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Author: Robert Small
Date: 2000-05-15 04:23
Frank's post mentioned the difference in feel between nickel and silver. This is true--silver provides a much more secure grip on the keys than nickel. The extra $200 or so you have to spend to get silver plated keys is worth it.
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Author: Jesse
Date: 2000-05-15 05:32
This may be a little (lot) off topic, but Bay ligatures are rhodium plated, not silver plated.
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Author: Hiroshi
Date: 2000-05-16 07:04
There is an electrochemcal method to clean up silver plating. Aluminum foil,baking soda,luke warm water, and a bin are all you need. Of course you have to remove all the pads to dip the plated keys in the water.
If your clarinet has silver plated keys,this can clean up silver rust(mainly Zinc Silver).You can test this method such as register key(which has cork unnecessary to remove).
There is another commercially available plate to clean up precious metals used by gem stores, which does not need baking soda. (I forgot its trade name.)
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Author: Hiroshi
Date: 2000-05-16 07:09
Another info. After cleaning up your clarinet and if you do not like the plating rusts. Buy a 3M's unti-rust strip and place it inside the clarinet case. This strip is available at musical shops such as woodwind and brasswind or gem shops. See American Silversmith association homepage.(I forgot its URL.)
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Author: Hiroshi
Date: 2000-05-16 07:09
Another info. After cleaning up your clarinet and if you do not like the plating rusts. Buy a 3M's unti-rust strip and place it inside the clarinet case. This strip is available at musical shops such as woodwind and brasswind or gem shops. See American Silversmith association homepage.(I forgot its URL.)
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