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

A little service can make a big difference

Author: fskelley
Date: 2014-09-14 10:22

My year old Arioso ASB 101 (= Lyrique 576 BC) has evidently been in need of some adjustment for a while, no surprise with the hours of play its gotten. I know, not as many as some of you 4 to 10 hour a day folks, but a lot more than any clarinet I owned back in high school or university. I'd been poking along waiting for a good time and place to have a checkup done (no backup horn)- meanwhile I've been struggling with reeds and mouthpieces trying to get consistent reliable play.

Finally when I noticed RH F/C was finicky I had a look at that pad, and it was split. Hmmmm, I wondered, how long have YOU been causing trouble? And what else might be off? I did some more testing, and eventually found a problem with LH C#/G# not properly sealing. So I had at least 2 issues in need of a fix.

Before I got my Arioso, I had an old Leblanc Dynamic 2 with ugly old pads that sealed perfectly. And I had gotten a modest setup of torch, some pads and adhesive, shims and such... and a junker clarinet to work on- with the idea of partially or fully repadding that Dynamic. I replaced one big pad on the junker, and got cold feet about possibly messing up my nice Leblanc. If it ain't broke, don't fix it! After I got my Arioso, I put all that repair stuff away figuring I'd never use it. But I still had it.

So today I swallowed hard and went to work on those 2 issues myself. I replaced the big pad- and got it nicely aligned on the third try. And I heated and reseated the LH C#/G#. Didn't burn myself or anything else, didn't start a house fire, but this is way beyond the risk factor of the alcohol lamp I messed around with as a 12 yr old. A butane torch is a serious weapon. Now on the upper joint I can get a good suction and "pop!". Lower joint, not so much but I'm not sure how much to expect. I actually have a new backup horn showing up in a week or 2, and it will be interesting to compare.

Of course I was anxious to play test after my repairs. And it seems to be night and day difference- wow that's nice. I can tell (I think) there is even more improvement to be had, so I still will have it worked over by a real tech. But that will be after I have new horn and can compare side by side.

Now I wonder how many of my reed testing "conclusions" are off the mark because of the leaks. We will see. And one moral of this is, even if your horn is perfect at some point, you should not expect it to stay that way indefinitely, especially under heavy playing. At least you have to evaluate it periodically. Bad things can happen slowly and it can be hard to notice.

Stan in Orlando

EWI 4000S with modifications

Reply To Message | Avail. Forums | Flat View

Newer Topic | Older Topic

Topics