 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Ursa
Date: 2016-03-03 03:44
Hi, everyone:
Six days ago, I liberated a wooden clarinet from its two-year imprisonment at my local pawn shop.
Since then, I've finished oiling operations and hopefully stabilised the humidity somewhat. But the tenon rings are still loose on the barrel.
Today I gave it its first test play, a quick five-minute run-through, and it's an extremely promising instrument. I had planned to have it put into good playing condition for a quick resell. However, thus far, I think it might be a keeper worthy of a full overhaul.
Question: For absolute best results, should I carefully re-break-in the clarinet before taking it in for overhaul, or just have it redone at my convenience without any such preparation?
Thanks in advance!
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2016-03-03 03:54
A gentle break in routine to stabilise the instrument before overhaul would not be a bad idea in my view. The tech will then be working on an instrument that isn't going to change dramatically after he's done his work.
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Author: Ursa
Date: 2016-03-03 04:18
Norm, that's what I'm thinking. Examining the instrument just now, after playing it some three hours ago, revealed that one of the loose rings has tightened up, the tenon ring on the bell is now loose, and the fit of a couple wobbly keys has tightened up. The clarinet is quite obviously not in stable condition.
It would seem logical to me to present it to a tech after things have stopped moving around. But, perhaps the technicians here on the BBoard may have other ideas.
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Author: Steven Ocone
Date: 2016-03-03 04:20
Play it only 15 minutes at a time for a few days with some rest in between.
Steve Ocone
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Author: Ursa
Date: 2016-03-07 03:26
Well, it's Day Four of the re-break-in, and the subject clarinet seems to have lost its voice. The resonance, ring, and facile response so wonderfully evident on the first playing are all memories now. Today's session revealed ponderous response and some of the blandest timbre I have ever heard from a wooden instrument. No ping, no ring, no resonance--just a thin, lifeless, and utterly uninteresting tone. It makes me wonder if this clarinet ended up at the pawn shop in the first place because it's a dog...
Anyway, I'll continue with the break-in and hopefully this will sort itself out over time. The clarinet has spent the entire break-in period in my studio, maintained at 68-70 degrees F with a relative humidity between 48 and 51 percent.
At least key fit, which wasn't bad at all to begin with, has improved over the four days. I did some maintenance today and was pleased to note that no swedging is going to be required.
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2016-03-07 03:37
Maybe more to the point is that the tech would prefer to work on a fully hydrated clarinet. So, simply humidifying it for a few days may accomplish the same thing you're trying to do without your having to acclimate yourself to the instrument's playing characteristics.
Karl
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