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Re: Problems with old bass clarinet

Author: Chris P
Date: 2016-04-24 23:07

When you say you can play something like a scale on it, do you mean you're able to play a diatonic or chromatic scale as you'd expect, or a microtonal scale whereby putting each finger down in turn slightly flattens the open note?

There's an automatic throat Bb/speaker mechanism on the back of the top joint with two vent holes - the upper smaller vent hole is for the upper register and the lower larger vent is for throat Bb.

Neither of these vents should be open when the speaker key and thumbplate are left untouched, so check to see if either of them is open.

When you place your thumb on the thumbplate to close it, do any of the vent keys move?

The lower (larger) vent key should only open when the speaker key is held down with the thumb off the thumbplate and the upper (smaller) vent key should be fully closed.

With the thumb holding both the speaker key and the thumbplate down, only the upper (smaller) veht key should open and the lower (larger) one should be fully closed.

And while checking things at the top end, be sure the adjusting screw on the arch of the throat G# key isn't fully engaged on the throat A key - open he throat A key slowly and you should ideally feel a slight delay between it opening and then opening the throat G# key. If there's no gap between the tip of the adjusting screw and the throat A key, then the throat G# key may be held open and that will prevent you playing anything lower than an open G(sharpish). Back the adjusting screw off (anticlockwise) so there's a gap between the throat A and G# keys when you open the throat A key slowly so you can feel it.

Also check the side and trill keys to be sure the pads are closing and aren't damaged or missing. Pad mites/pad bugs can also do damage by eating the felt inside the pads (as it's made from wool) and that's fairly common with instruments stored for long periods of inactive time.

Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.

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