 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: Lobo
Date: 2006-08-30 15:32
My Buffet Prestige bass clarinet was last overhauled two and a half years ago. It isn't currently giving me any problems, but the corks on the neck and the mouthpiece I use are on the verge of disintegrating. Should I get a complete overhaul or just get the two corks replaced and wait on the overhaul. To give you an idea of its usage, I play it a few times a week, but I am not a professional who is playing on it four hours a day, six days a week.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: crnichols
Date: 2006-08-30 16:53
Just get the corks replaced and while it's in the shop have it looked over for leaks and get an adjustment. It's very unlikely that an overhaul is necessary.
Christopher Nichols, D.M.A.
Assistant Professor of Clarinet
University of Delaware
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2006-08-30 16:57
When you say overhauled, do you mean it was completely repadded?
It probably needs a service (rather than an overhaul), and both the crook and mouthpiece tenon corks will be done as well.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: RAB
Date: 2006-08-30 21:07
Lobo
You should have the instrument serviced every 6 months, much like you service a fine car, Have it tore down , completely cleaned and oiled. have the pads re floated if needed, any corks, felts or anything else starting to wear can be fixedat this time.
The instrument will seem like new if this is done properly.
RAB
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2006-08-30 22:30
I expect good servicing work to last a LOT longer than 6 months. Apart from lubrication, for clarinets I expect servicing to attend to any issues that may affect the instrumnet for the next few years.
The high quality modern lubricants will also last a lot longer than 6 months in most situations.
The following is from a sheet I give to customers who ask, providing suggestions for when a clarinet needs servicing:
SOME SIGNS THAT IT MAY BE TIME TO SEE A SPECIALIST REPAIRER:
1. The membrane covering a pad is torn or punctured, or rubbed through at the edge.
2. The sealing indentation on a pad is irregular in colour, maybe having a darker spot where there is a pin sized hole.
3. The note "B" (middle line on the stave) is difficult to play. The little finger key needs to be pressed extra hard, especially if the left little finger is used.
4. "G" (1st space above the stave) and the notes above it are OK but "F" (top line on the stave) and the notes below are unresponsive and the keys have to be pressed hard to make them work. This also applies to the corresponding fingerings in the lower register.
5. The special "one-and-one" fingering (for Eb in the low register and the corresponding Bb in the upper register), also known as "fork Bb" does not work unless the right hand first finger is pressed down extra hard.
6. After a key is pressed it is reluctant to rise again, as if the spring is not strong enough. (The problem is normally not the spring, but rust in the pivot, or a jamming pivot, etc.)
7. A "ring key" is jamming against the timber or plastic of its tone hole.
8. A specific note is easy to play sometimes, but difficult at other times, even though the player is "in practice".
9. A key wobbles unnaturally at its pivot.
10. A pivot screw is loose or has fallen out. Sometimes the player can correct this with a small screwdriver but in many cases a lack of expertise will result in the key jamming.
11. The mechanism is very noisy and rattly.
12. A pad is loose or has fallen out.
13. A tenon joint is very tight to assemble, even though cork grease has been applied. (This usually means the wood is jamming.
14. A tenon joint is very loose, or wobbles when the instrument is played,
15. A tenon joint cork is badly damaged or falling off.
16. There is a split in the body of a wooden instrument.
17. The body of a plastic instrument has broken in half. Yes this can be repaired
18. A key is broken or bent. This is common around the centre of the instrument.
19. You have had repair work done which was clearly inadequate. The instrument still does not go well. (The installation of extra thick pads is a common fault.)
19. Certain notes have a "fuzzy" sound compared with the rest.
20. Brand new instruments normally need adjustment, and this is normally not carried out before the instrument is bought. Also, many faults in adjustment are not apparent to a beginner player. All brand new instruments should be serviced!
Leak Test:
Apply this to each of the two main sections separately.
Block the lower end with a cork or your knee. Close all the keys of the section, using normal fingering. Now close the lips around the upper end, and gently (i.e. with low pressure) attempt to squirt (the opposite of sucking through a straw, with the throat blocked) a mouthful of air into the instrument.
Air should not leave the mouth. If it does then this indicates a leak in the clarinet. Servicing is required.
I stress that this test is not valid if the air is blown hard, and also that leaks cannot be detected if air is blown from the lungs rather than "squirted" from the mouth.
Note:
Two items of routine maintenance can be regularly carried out by the player:
a) Annual (more or less depending on the instrument and lubricant, and how the lubrication is done) lubrication, mainly to protect the pivots from rust (but also wear and noisy mechanism). A guidance sheet is available.
b) Most tenon corks need cork grease to be applied on a regular basis, otherwise assembly of the instrument is a struggle and damage to the mechanism and pads is likely.
Many brands of cork grease cause problems while they solve others. A guidance sheet is available.
Post Edited (2006-08-31 06:49)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: clarnibass
Date: 2006-08-31 04:42
I also have the same bass clarinet, and I have to diagree with RAB. It is now two years since I bought it, and other than some really small repairs and tweaks it never needed anything else. It was never oiled and never taken apart. Actually it was at a repairer two times (two differnet ones), but to be honest, if anything it did more damage than good...... For this instrument I would either find a very good repairer that is familiar with it, or a repairer, that even if they don't have a lot of experience with this instrument, will be able to understand everything and fix it.
If a repairer makes someone come back every six months for the exact same repair, then they are either very bad, or very smart......
Gordon, on number 3 did you mean middle of stave B?
I pretty much never lubricant my clarinets. Is this a bad idea? Also, some of those problems in your list any reasonable repairer can fix (for example changing corks). I think it is the more specific problems to bass clarinets that need a specialist repairer.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2006-08-31 07:00
>Gordon, on number 3 did you mean middle of stave B?<
Quite correct. Many thanks for pointing that out. I've corrected it.
>I pretty much never lubricant my clarinets. Is this a bad idea?<
Oil gradually evaporates, and is also wicked out from where it should be by contact with the case lining, clothing, and skin contact where the lubricant sits.
It is needed in the pivots:
1. To prevent rust (especially in some climates, and with the corrosive pollutants in some atmospheres and some players' perspiration). Technicians very frequently have to deal with rusted pivots, even 'stainless steel' ones. (The best stainless steel alloys for bearings are not the best for preventing corrosion)
2. To reduce wear.
3. To reduce the noisiness of the mechanism.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
