Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2015-03-02 12:56
Time to put on my curmudgeon hat, I guess.
I have a Yamaha double case that I've been using since whatever I had before (I think a Buffet case) fell apart - has to be 20 years, but I think more. The bell and lower joint are stored together.
Yes, it does take major careful effort to separate them if I have left them alone for a long time. The cork grease stiffens into something resembling paste and, I imagine, the tenon cork swells to the extent the bell socket allows. I do remove the bell at least every few months . Whether there's some reason or not.
Guess what? No damage, no cracks. I wipe off the cork, apply fresh grease and assemble the rest of the clarinet. I don't think my repair guy (Mike Hammer for the last 25 or 30 years) probably likes it much if I haven't preemptively freed the bell before I bring the clarinets to him for work, but nonetheless, there's never been damage caused to the cork on either of the clarinets I carry in the case. I actually don't remember the last time the tenon corks on the lower joints were replaced on either one. I've been through a number of replacements on every other cork on both.
I'm not saying I recommend the pochette cases over the larger ones that store the bell separately. I think the only reason for the bell-on design is to save space. I'd actually not buy a new case that didn't let me separate the bell, because I don't like going through the periodic ritual of pulling them apart. It *is possible* if you aren't careful - or even if you are - to bend keys in the process. But the bottom line is that, unlike the barrel, which needs to be movable to adjust pitch, the bell can be pretty much left alone once you've found where it needs to be to tune E/B, giving no real need to move it from week to week or even month to month.
The biggest problem is that it makes it easier to test for suction in the lower joint if the bell is off.
Karl
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The Clarinet BBoard
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