Author: jasperbay
Date: 2010-06-05 15:23
I've disassembled wood clarinets (joints sealed with toilet-ring wax)after several months of playing (and swabbing after use) to find that no moisture, bacteria,grunge, etc. had penetrated the joint, and that whatever is used to soften and 'tackify'the beeswax had not migrated out of the wax and into the cork, where it might be harmful to the cork.
I'll post a long-term report in a year or so, as to its effect on both old and new cork, and how 'compressable' the cork is.
It's worth pointing out, that I'm not encouraging anyone to leave their clarinet assembled, if they're willing to spend the time to dissasemble and thoroughly dry their well-loved instrument. There are a great many people out there, like myself and the original poster, however,who would not play a wooden clarinet at all if they were forced to adhere to the rigid, high-maintenance practices advocated by the symphony players out there. I believe thats why valuable wooden clarinets go so cheap on "the auction site", and why the clarinet has not achieved the popularity it deserves, in terms of playablity and lovely sound.
A last point, as Dave Spiegelthal has pointed out, you can enjoy the mellow sound of a wooden clarinet, but with lower maintenance and guilt, with a hard rubber (or ebonite, or Greenline) horn. The more I play on hard rubber, the more I suspect they sound as good (or maybe even better! Who plays on a wood mouthpiece anymore?) as wood, though admittedly lacking somewhat in "character".
Clark G. Sherwood
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The Clarinet BBoard
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