 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: Mary Jo
Date: 2011-08-27 22:38
I bought a Bundy bad boy a few weeks ago and am at a loss for maintenance on this instrument. I'm using a baritone sax swab, a long fabric-covered tube, which I thread down the neck about a foot in.
The case contained a "new push-through cleaning cable" for the neck and body, which calls for "two new type vinyl plastic cleaning pads" to be placed in the loop of the cable and run through neck and body. Is this it? I'm guessing I'd have to make my own "cleaning pads" out of cotton cloth, stick them to the cable and run it like cleaning a gun, through the tubes.
I'm hoping there is a better way. Clarinet experts, please help. If you know a great store for supplies for this instrument, I'd appreciate that information, also.
Thank you for your help.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2011-08-27 23:48
You probably only need to dry out the crook after playing instead of the body joints as the majority of the condensation will collect there due to it being metal.
So after playing, tip the majority of the water out from the crook (and also shake it) and use something like a Yamaha large (L) clarinet pullthrough as these are designed for bass clarinets, so no danger of them getting snagged on the speaker vent(s) on the way through.
You'll probably have some condensation in the main body of the instrument later on in the year when it gets colder (mostly in the upper part of the top joint), but again use a bass clarinet pullthrough for this.
Is the body fixed together at the middle joint or is it easy to take apart? If it is a one-piece body (in that the joints are locked together), then a plastic or wooden stick with an eyelet (or a trombone cleaning rod) can be used with a cotton cloth wrapped around the end and through the eyelet so it doesn't come off when in the bore. If the joints can be separated easily, use a bass clarinet pullthrough down the bore.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2011-08-28 10:58
FWIW I use old t-shirts (worn and washed a zillion times) on a piece of rope with a weight at the other end. Works like a charm, you just put the weighted end of the rope into the neck/body/bell, shake, turn and tilt the piece until the weight appears at the other end, then pull. If unsure, attach a bit of string on the other end of the rag so you can pull it back if gets stuck somewhere.
Old tees or handkerchiefs have lost all their loose lint and and finish and make for excellent rags.
--
Ben
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Mary Jo
Date: 2011-08-28 11:28
Thanks for all your help, Chris and Ben. I'll experiment with swabs to keep this instrument in good shape. It plays nicely for me after glue-sticking a pad back on. It's an old school horn a man bought for his daughter, who kept it 15 years and sold it to me for $250. The case is like new.
I will haul the clarinet to my tech for a check-up, just to be sure.
Thank you again.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2011-08-28 15:17
My Contra-Alto is a Bundy. The clarinet is just barely lightweight enough for me to swab the monster fully assembled (except for the mouthpiece) without too much trouble, with a silk (Ann Hodge) bass clarinet swab that also fits through the neck and the bell. The fabric is very loose-fitting in the lower end of the instrument. I swab from the bell through the neck, so that I won't be dragging water from the wet neck into the lower end of the clarinet, which has always stayed dry as far up as I can reach with my hand. Since this swab's all-fabric cord was too short to reach all the way through, I added a about a foot of chain between the end of the cord and the drop-through weight, to help the cord go through the neck curve.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
Post Edited (2011-08-28 15:20)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Wes
Date: 2011-08-30 00:21
The Bundy contra alto clarinet is best swabbed in the body as I've seen rough interior surfaces due to not being swabbed in school clarinets. This could dull the sound, I suspect.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2011-08-30 13:09
Wes, I think you're right -- and cleaning accumulated crud out of old instruments is a big hassle. Even though I don't detect moisture in my contra-alto, it takes so little time and effort to swab it that there's no reason not to do it. Better safe than sorry.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
