 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Noverbuf
Date: 2009-04-27 08:43
Can you please give me avice on tuning the freshly repadded plastic Bundy Bb clarinet?
After repad with bladder skin pads the low chalumeau notes E, F, F#, G, G# are sharp with sharpness getting progressively less when ascending to C. Low E is about 30% sharp, F about the same, G is 20% and by Bb sharpness drops to about 10%. Upper notes starting from chalumeau C on to the clarion C and on to to the second line C above the staff are quite in tune.
I set the 17 mm pads as follows: E 3.6 mm; F 3.2 mm; F# 3.8 mm (can't set it lower); 16mm G# ~3 mm;
I tried to follow Chris P's recommendations on the pad heights as much as possible. Thanks Chris for posting the numbers to this Bboard. I'm sure they are a good starting point but I of course understand there may be exceptions.
Originally with old bladder pads the low pad ventings were higher: all large pads on the lower joint opened to about 5+ mm. I thought that was too much and set them lower.
Was that my mistake and would more venting on lower pads bring the intonation to normal?
Is 5+ mm venting on large pads quite unusual?
What else should I check?
Post Edited (2009-04-27 08:44)
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2009-04-27 12:16
It's unusual for the low E and F to be sharp - normally the low E and F are flat (though the upper register B and C are in tune). Bundys should have a 67mm barrel.
And 5mm (or more) venting for the largest pads is excessive on any Bb clarinet - that will cause trouble with the LH levers.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Noverbuf
Date: 2009-04-28 09:11
Thanks Chris, I'll re-check it again when I have a spare hour. Maybe my embouchure was too tight I don't know why but I often tend to play sharp overall.
Do my pad height numbers make sense (they are actually more like 'your numbers' ).
Overall I tried to follow your advice on pad heights and that was in a few words (sorry for speculation): 3.0 - 3.5 mm for low large pads; 2 something mm for 12 mm pads; 2 - 2.5 for the upper section and speaker key;
Is that a good general guide for the most Bb clarinets and is it safe to say that most will have a decent sound with the above figures?
I don't want to suggest that it's enough to set pad height randomly in a range of 2-2.5 mm and it will play fine at once but is it safe to say that for 99% of the Bb clarinets pad heights for the upper section should not be higher than 2.5 mm and lower than 2 mm.
Thanks!
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2009-04-28 12:05
Your ventings are fine, so I'd stick with how you've set it up. These are general measurements for all Bb/A/C and Eb clarinets, though only a guide. More venting is better than less for clarity in the lower register - mainly to clear notes such as (in ascending order) C,C#,E,G and the throat notes as too low venting can cause stuffiness.
For the 12mm pads, I think somewhere between 2.5-3mm is better - on some clarinets (eg. B&H) you need this venting as the upper ring will need to open far enough to make the E speak clearly.
The side Eb/Bb and F# keys should be well vented and the Bb trill key (the lower of the two trill keys) should have a minimum of 2mm for a clear throat Bb using this key instead of the speaker key.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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