 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: cosine
Date: 2007-12-27 04:37
I have a Leblanc Concerto ( my main horn) which has never been oiled as long as I've owned it, and probably has never been oiled in it's entire life. (I bought it about 6-7 years ago when a music store went out of business.) I have no idea how old the clarinet actually is.
I've hit the search function here pretty heavily, and think I've been convinced that oiling the instrument would be a good thing, or at least, not a bad thing to do. From looking down the bore I think the clarinet is what you'd call "dry."
Also, I've been pretty impressed with what I've read about the Doc's products, but I'm still left with the question: Bore Doctor or Grenad-Oil? What would you recommend? Pro/cons of each? Is there something about one products that would make it better for my instrument than the other?
Thanks for your advice.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: kilo
Date: 2007-12-27 09:32
They're both fine products. The two were recently discussed in this thread:
http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=261480&t=261480
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2007-12-27 14:42
I just started using Grenade-Oil, and found it to be more user friendly than the "stuff" I've had in my music gear drawer for many years. I applied it thinly after each play and let it dry over night until the next practice session. It took several days before I found any residual oil in the bore! I used an old felt swab to remove that last excess.
There have been horror stories about clarinets becoming distorted (in shape) because of the upper (wetter) and lower joints, so I'm watching the oiliness on my instruments very carefully these days.
(Oh, and there are stories of warped instruments recovering with time and careful oiling --to balance the moisture content in the instrument.)
Bob Phillips
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: C2thew
Date: 2007-12-27 16:51
I just put a second light coating on my clarinets and it is really high quality oil. the formula or concentration of his bore oil is thicker in regards to other bore oils which evaporate rather quickly. also, the bore oil leaves a natural light wood smell of your clarinet which makes the case have a soothing aroma to it. seriously, this product goes A LONG way. use a Q-tip and you'll be surprised how far a drop of grenad-oil goes.
i was just thinking, grenad-oil would have made an awesome christmas present this year. Bob Phillips wrote:
Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. they are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which was already but too easy to arrive as railroads lead to Boston to New York
-Walden; Henry Thoreau
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: cosine
Date: 2007-12-29 01:58
Thanks for the advice. Right now I'm leaning towards ordering Grenad-Oil for my instrument.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Roger Aldridge
Date: 2007-12-30 16:03
I used the Doctor's bore treatment oil for several years. It's definitely an improvement over conventional bore oil or even almond oil. I recently started using the Doctor's grenad-oil and really love it. The wood now has a beautiful glow and a like-new appearance. Performance-wise, it might be my imagination however it seems to me that my clarinets have even more ring than before.
Personally, I don't think that one can go wrong with either the Doctor's bore treatment or grenad-oil products. However, I've come to prefer the grenad-oil. It was a great Christmas present to my clarinets!
Roger
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: cosine
Date: 2007-12-31 16:30
Would there be any issue if one would use one of the Doctor's oils, and then decide to try the other on the same instrument?
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2007-12-31 16:31
Not that I can see. I think Dr. H. addressed this somewhere in another thread, IIRC.
Jeff
“Everyone discovers their own way of destroying themselves, and some people choose the clarinet.” Kalman Opperman, 1919-2010
"A drummer is a musician's best friend."
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2007-12-31 17:30
(Disclaimer - I am maker of Bore Doctor and Grenad-Oil)
To answer your question - Bore Doctor is composed of several different oils and contains a plant derived emulsifier to keep them together in solution and therefore a different oil - Grenad-Oil and other plant derived oils - will also be compatible with Bore Doctor. An emulsifier is needed because oils of different densities or properties coarsing through the fine pores of the wood will undergo a chromatographic separation (the small pores retard heavier oils or oils with different charges on them, much as we do in the laboratory to separate different compounds by High Pressure Liquid Chromatography) within the wood and need an emulsifier.
L. Omar Henderson
www.doctorsprod.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
