 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: kev182
Date: 2010-09-08 19:18
Hello,
What differences do you tend to notice after you have broken in your clarinets?
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2010-09-08 19:37
I tend to notice differences after I have broken a clarinet. :-(
Joking (or lack thereof) aside, and with my one-sample-experience:
- pads close better, or more according to my needs. Inevitably there are manufacturing and shipping issues that make new pads somewhat stubborn. After having played for a while, things are smoother.
- No difference in resistance. I don't believe in the blown-out theory, and much less in the bore-change-after-breaking-in thing. It assembles and disassembles, it plays. Not much to notice there. Go on.
- fluidity in playing. A new instrument requires you to (subtly) re-learn your finger placement. After a while, you got the hang of it. I don't think the instrument has been broken in, but I have for sure.
Compared to the instrument, we're cottonwood in the wind. Compared to us, the instrument is a rock. But either changes, subtly.
--
Ben
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Author: grifffinity
Date: 2010-09-08 20:41
Is it the horn that adjusts to you or you adjusting to the horn?
In a brand spanking new clarinet, where the wood hasn't been dried for years, change happens to the clarinet. A few short months after spending $2K on an R-13 A years ago (before prices for new horns exploded), the throat tone Bb completely changed. I took that horn to everyone I knew - had the tube replaced by Jimmy Yan and eventually had Guy Chaddish rebore a hole half an inch higher. Whatever changed in that wood caused that throat Bb to remain a stuffy mess. A few years later I found a 1955 R-13 A and haven't played the other horn since.
Now I only look for older horns because I don't trust the wood of newer horns...that are in my price range. Even with a horn that has been around the block, there seems to be a breaking in...but it's me breaking into the horn, unless the horn hasn't been played in a few years. You come to know the different resistance of notes and begin to give more or less depending on that. You know which notes are way out of tempered intonation and adjust accordingly. I also believe that if you have a tendancy to hear notes at a certain pitch, you adjust to playing the horn to get to that pitch even if it is not the natural tendancy of the horn to play that note at that pitch.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2010-09-08 21:15
One thing I'm curious about is whether it's the wood's quality that causes the change, or the fact that the wood changes.
Example: Allen Segal states on his website that over time, a barrel's bore will change after playing. And that you should rotate the barrel as it gets an ovoid shape after a bit. I once bought a set of clarinet opus clarinets that had tick marks on the barrels and upper joints notating what the previous owner felt was the optimum position (after it not being circular). And yes, certain rotations DO play better than others. But maybe it's because the bore of the clarinet has ALSO become slightly ovoid? And that rotating it helps to match the bores better?
I'm wondering if the problem that someone might find with newer clarinets changing over time is really a quality of wood issue, or just that the wood changes. I wasn't around, so I don't know how good a "new" clarinet was back in the 50's, or how much they changed. I also wonder if the reason those older are a safer buy simply because when you buy it, the bore has potentially changed all it's going to change. So maybe you get a TRUE representation of how a clarinet is if it's been played for a while and you're NOT the first owner.
Hmmm....just pondering I guess.
Mechanically, I would think things just kinda "loosen up" a bit with an initial playing. My motorcycle manual states to have a 600 mile checkup. After being initially assembled and running for 600 miles, they check the nuts and bolts for proper tightness and make sure it hasn't loosened up past spec. Maybe this should be something required for clarinets too. After 6 months of playing, maybe some corks have compressed too much, or not enough. Maybe some of the posts are loose, etc. etc.
Alexi
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2010-09-08 22:09
It will vary with every clarinet depending of the wood and where you live and how you care for the instrument. One thing I don't recommend, and have never understood why some players do this, is to get a complete overhaul in a very short time. I've always waited until the instrument was at least three years old but one should certainly wait a minimum of a year, perhaps even two to give the wood a good chance to settle. As it does the keys and rods may need adjustments as the wood settles. Of course you should get adjustment made if you're not comfortable with the spring action but when purchasing a new instrument the store should "set it up" to make sure it's sealing perfectly and the action is to your liking before you leave the store. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: Grabnerwg
Date: 2010-09-09 01:48
The other thing to watch out for is seasonal changes in the wood. In my experience these become less drastic after the instrument is played and used for several years. That's another good reason to wait two to three years before an overhaul.
Walter Grabner
www.clarinetxpress.com
World Class Clarinet Mouthpieces
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