The Clarinet BBoard

The Clarinet BBoard The C4 standard

New Topic | Go to Top | Go to Topic | Search | Help/Rules | Smileys/Notes | Log In

Previous Message | Next Message

Oh, the horror: Repadding your clarinet isn't that easy

Author: chadbang
Date: 2010-10-08 16:12

As someone who constantly struggles to support his family on his salary, (I guess that's a lot of us these days) I decided to try repadding my new (vintage) clarinet myself. It didn't seem like it would be a difficult task. After I pulled off the old pads, there would be little metal cups, properly positioned, just waiting for the new pads. It would be a cinch. And there didn't appear to be THAT many screws. I thought it surely would be both fun and educational - you know, a hobby thing. Also, buying a $20 sets of pads would save me at least $100 if I installed them myself. I could take the kids out to eat! My bank account would thank me!

Flash forward to DAY THREE:

BUT THAT LADY ON YOUTUBE MADE IT LOOK SO EASY! Oh my goodness. "Will I ever get this thing playable again?" That was going through my head all night long as I went to bed 3 hours past normal with fingers orangey with cork and pad glue. Key oil stains on my pajamas. Wow, are there some fine tolerance on these darn clarinets or what? I never imaged a tiny sliver of cork could make such a huge difference. Or slowly discovering those little metal pad holders don't exactly compensate for ANGLE (that was discovered on Day Two). And then there was the magic word I was missing completely from my vocabulary: "Shim." After prowling the web for hours, someone on a forum mentioned that magic word. Of course, "Shim." Duh! and my life got a bit easier .. just a bit.

Of course I forgot to mention "discovering" the greatest secret of all: that the keys come off in a PRECISE ORDER. I can't tell you how many times I put keys on only to have to take them off again because I didn't say to myself "Oh, you better put that one BACK ON FIRST." Waaaaaaaahhhhh! *anguished baby cry*

Well, as I sit here having just finished up Day Three and now patiently waiting for my King American Standard to dry, I have to say there's a reason for that rare breed known as the "professional." Phew, it's seem to be playing decently now and I'm glad I saved some money. But there will always be that nagging "is that how it's suppose to perform...? feeling that I guess paying someone else to make things right is worth paying for.

Everyone, keep your fingers crossed for me .... please?

Post Edited (2010-10-08 16:24)

Reply To Message | Avail. Forums | Flat View

Newer Topic | Older Topic

Topics