 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: OldClarinetGuy
Date: 2010-03-13 20:55
I have a student determined to buy a Yamaha CSG. Does anyone have a suggestion for a retailer who will do all the little things and adjustments a shop should do before it leaves the store. We have one store around here who sells them but the buyer will be the first one to break open the box.
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Author: Iceland clarinet
Date: 2010-03-13 21:02
Is it not ok to play test it and if he likes it to send it maybe to some repair man to set it up the way the student wants it to be or is it better to try already an set up instrument like Walter Grabner and Gregory Smith offer(only Buffet though) for example.
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Author: OldClarinetGuy
Date: 2010-03-13 21:25
That is not what I meant. Many shops will take a new instrument out of the box and make sure the pads are set, key height is consistent,springs are ok, etc. before it leaves the shop. Just a once going over to make sure it is ok. He is pretty advanced and can work with his repair tech to get it the way he likes it once he purchases the instrument.
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Author: USFBassClarinet
Date: 2010-03-13 21:33
I got my bass clarinet from Midwest Musical Imports if you are looking for an online retailer. They were great with everything and my bass played great when I got it. They also do readjustments within 6 months of purchase and give a two week trial period.
It took a few extra days to get my bass because they sent it through their shop before shipping it.
Peter was the clarinet guy when I got my bass and he is really good about getting anything you need done.
They list every brand and clarinet on the website, but you do have to call for availability I think. They seem to have had plenty of everything whenever I have ordered.
http://www.mmimports.com/xcart/yamaha-ycl-csg-bb-clarinet.html
Post Edited (2010-03-13 21:35)
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2010-03-14 21:06
The adjustments of the CSG "out of the box," are really quite good. I had only to make one spring a bit weaker to meet my personal standards. The adjustments thing had become a big issue with Buffets which get shipped with a host of questionable standards as to be almost funny. The old line Buffet US uses is that the horns have to make it ALL THE WAY FROM EUROPE, so of course adjustments will be necessary.
I think you'll be amazed by the Yamaha standards. And just think, they only came from the other side of the planet.
.................Paul Aviles
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Author: Dan Paprocki
Date: 2010-03-14 22:44
Scott Winkler in Sheboygan did my CSG's. He is one of the best in the country. I have gone to Brannen and Tim Clark. Scott is the same level.
Dan
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Author: bbillings
Date: 2013-01-18 19:11
Hello all,
I realize this is an old thread, but I'm looking for a repair tech who has worked on CSG instruments. Linda Brannen indicated to me that they aren't working on Yamaha's anymore. Has anyone repadded theirs yet? Use the same resonator pads or tried a combo of cork and leather etc....
Thanks!
Brian
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2013-01-18 19:19
I can't understand why anyone would be selective as to what make of instruments they will or won't work on.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: JamesOrlandoGarcia
Date: 2013-01-18 20:20
Scott Winkler works on them. He is located in Sheyboygan, Wi. He is one of the most gifted techs in the field.
Not for nothing but the CSGII clarinets don't have the resonators and such that the original had. Its a combination of white leather, cork and synthetic. Very well thought out.
A lot of techs won't do serious work to a CSG bored instrument because it is just a very different animal from the traditional french bored clarinets. Voicing is different and applying the standard french logic in servicing a CSG clarinet can really mess it up.
From a market standpoint, is it really worth a repair tech's time to learn how to service a completely different instrument when a landslide majority of clarinets out there are R13s?
James Garcia
Bass Clarinet/Clarinet III, Des Moines Symphony Orchestra
Post Edited (2013-04-10 20:04)
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2013-01-18 20:56
Chris P: The answer to your question is: Because they can.
If I were famous and expensive and the first choice of pro players, with a backlog as long as my arm, I too would select the easiest instruments to work on. Rather than try to rebuild some nasty 80-year-old no-name neglected/abused half-rotted rusted chipped/scratched musty-smelling piece of clarinet flotsam (as many of us do, out of necessity or the misplaced love of old clarinets), think how much easier it would be to work on a shiny, well-maintained professional Buffet lovingly cared for by a professional player, that would never need much more than pads and a few corks and minor regulation to be perfect!
Wouldn't it be nice to be in that position? Not saying the Brannens are, but....
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2013-01-18 21:14
Surely Yamahas are perhaps the easiest istruments to work on - I know I'd rather work on them than on Buffets.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2013-01-18 21:27
The Brannen thing seems to me to be the highest version of David's rant. If you only have to have one size set of pads to make, only one kind of flat spring to bend a certain way, only one.......... etc.
I still think Bill Brannen is the best of the best, I just wish he still had the fire in his belly.
I spoke to Peter Spriggs who describes what Bill used to do, cork on top, hand made triple skin pads on the bottom, and he will work on more than just Buffet R13s. Three cheers for Canada!
I am collecting names (for my own horns) of any OTHER top techs who don't mind the brand. Please suggest away y'all.
...................Paul Aviles
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Author: Steven Ocone
Date: 2013-01-18 23:02
There are many techs across the country that do top notch work - as good as the tech's you mentioned for setting up a clarinet.
"Setting up" can have many meanings, from repadding a clarinet, to just lightening some springs.
Much of it has to do with preferences. Not every player wants the ring heights in the same place or the same spring tensions. Best to work with a good repair tech in your area.
Steve Ocone
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Author: bbillings
Date: 2013-01-18 23:12
Well, I'm glad to see this has stirred some interest! I emailed Paul personally and he was very nice to respond.
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Author: bbillings
Date: 2013-01-18 23:17
I used the Brannen's after being referred by Dr. Robert Spring for a Selmer series 10. Their work is outstanding. I mentioned to Paul that I actually have second thoughts about buying an instrument they won't work on. I know that sounds crazy but it is daunting finding a truly talented repair person, that's how i came to ask Dr. Spring. He was very approachable, by the way. There is no one in the entire greater Phoenix area who is ever mentioned and they all seem to be sax players. What I love about Bill's work is the attention to detail, he even bevels the ocatave key cork that he hand makes! Little touches of a skilled artisan are visible to the observant. Never-the-less, I'd like to mimic the setup of the current clarinet on the next one. Most of the techs seem to buy pads and just apply glue. Maybe I'm mistaken in this presumption.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2013-01-19 02:56
I'd like to just add a bit of what Brannen did (does) that makes the horn just PLAY. A great deal of the epiphany I experienced upon trying a Brannenized horn revolves around the attention to the spring tension. The rings are made to be very light (since they don't hold anything closed that is). To add to the feel, Bill uses a rather heavy key oil formula (30 weight if I'm not mistaken), so this help balance out the feather lightness of the rings and also the keys that are held open. To follow through with lightness, the other pads (those that stay closed) are adjusted as light as can be practical without losing the seal under playing conditions (keep in mind the RH Ab/Eb key needs a bit more tension since it's easy to 'blow open'). All of this takes artistry. There is no torsion wrench or machine that can calculate an exact 'feel' to a key or ring. It all requires the hands of an artisan to make it all balance out so the mechanics of the horn disappear under your fingers.
I wish more techs had this touch but they are like truly fine conductors...... really hard to come by.
................Paul Aviles
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Author: Steven Ocone
Date: 2013-01-19 12:09
Not to take away from the excellence of Brannen's repairs, but beveling the register pad is very common. It makes a significant difference on the middle B and it takes less than a minute.
There are other pads that often benefit from beveling; F# ring, F# trill and B/F# (sliver key on the lower joint).
Steve Ocone
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Author: bbillings
Date: 2013-01-21 18:08
Steve,
I appreciate the response. I was attempting to use the register key bevelling as just one example of the attention to detail that Bill Brannen displays. It wasn't meant as an exclusive technique.
Thanks,
Brian
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