 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: tucker ★2017
Date: 2016-05-14 17:46
The other night at rehearsal, several of us got in a discussion about cracked clarinets.
The discussion centered around whether a new instrument is more prone to cracking than an older one. When do instruments typically crack? We all agreed the care, storage, use, and maintenance is a huge factor, but let's say those are constants in the equation, for the sake of discussion.
One person made the comment that she would never buy a used clarinet because you never know how it was cared for, therefore it could crack. Someone else said that if there isn't a crack in a 30 year old clarinet, it probably won't crack. A third person said a new instrument is more prone to cracking.
Anyone have a clarinet that developed a crack? Was it newer? Older? Any conditions that you can identify that caused it? Would love to share your thoughts and experiences with my band mates.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2016-05-14 17:52
All wooden clarinets have the potential to crack no matter how new or old they are.
I've seen some really badly treated clarinets that are around 30+ years old that haven't cracked at all and some that are only a few years old and have been treated very well from the outset that have cracked.
So there aren't any hard and fast rules as to which clarinets will crack - it's just the luck of the draw.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Tony F
Date: 2016-05-14 17:59
I think Chris is right in that luck plays a large part in this, but I would add that many clarinets made before the 60's generally seem to be made from better qualiity wood, denser that that of today and with straighter grain. In my experience, these rarely crack.
Tony F.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: CEC
Date: 2016-05-14 18:45
To add to Tony's comment, wood curing was a much longer process in the old days, also. I remember reading a long while ago that prior to the 70s, Buffet would take the squared billets of wood they received, stored them outdoors in open (but covered) sheds for a decade, discarded the cracked ones, turned the remainder down into cylinders, left them out for another decade, then used the ones that survived for horn-making. I think he's quite possibly right that older horns are less likely to crack.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Wes
Date: 2016-05-15 00:08
Some of the really old clarinets were visibly made from a denser wood than has been used in recent decades. Some Selmer clarinets from the 60s, such as a basset horn I've seen, are clearly more dense. Some simple system clarinets from 100 years ago are also seen to have better wood., but I know nothing about the aging process.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2016-05-15 00:53
I am convinced that the regular and careful use of a clarinet over many years provides an additional form of maturing that greatly reduces (can never totally eliminate) the chance of cracking.
As posted above the much greater emphasis on selecting and maturing the wood before manufacture in the older clarinets also adds significantly to reduced risks.
There is only a finite quantity of really good blackwood available at any time and the greatly increased rate of production in recent times has neccesitated the use of both poorer quality and less well matured wood especially on the less than premium models.
I would always place my bet on a older and well cared for instrument for lower risk of cracking.
HOWEVER in my long experience of playing and repairing it is the daily comonsense care of any instrument that is the major factor.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Geronimo
Date: 2016-05-15 07:21
Tucker,
From what I have observed and been told, cracks come from changes in atmosphere (humidity, temperature, etc). As well as from moisture not being cleaned out of tone holes. I think (generally) new instruments are more prone to crack because they haven't been played much and the wood is essentially not "broken in". But the same can happen for older instruments that have not been played in a long while.
In either situation, the instrument has been sitting with little/no moisture coming in contact with it and was stored with consistent humidity and temperature. The argument for having a "break in" period is to acclimate a clarinet to performance level changes gradually. I think an instrument that has been consistently played and maintained has the best defense against cracking.
From my own experience, my clarinet has a small crack on the surface of the instrument that I had repaired this year. That clarinet was made in 2002 and I purchased it in 2014 and have been doing my best to have it not crack. However I live in Chicago so I think the 0 degree winter with low humidity and then rehearsals in 70 degree performance/practice spaces is what did me in.
Another story is a friend of mine bought a vintage (sometime in the 60s I think) instrument and had it completely rebuilt. A year later it developed a devastating crack.
Hope that helps.
GM
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: tucker ★2017
Date: 2016-05-15 19:48
Thanks for everyone's input. I'll print out and show my band mates at rehearsal tomorrow. Interesting perspectives, for sure!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: gsurosey
Date: 2016-05-16 05:51
My R13 cracked while playing in a pit orchestra last year (darned kids running in and out of the building; it was very cold, snowy, and dry in March last year). Thankfully, it didn't go all the way to the bore, but it did go through the register tonehole. It was made in the mid-90s, so not that old. Ironically, it was a replacement upper joint (or that's what the lack of serial number tells me). I wonder if this joint was made around the same time that the original was? If so, I wonder if it could've been a bad batch and thus would've cracked at some other point if not last year? Especially since there was always this line in the tonehole glued prior to this crack), that I could never tell if it was a crack, scratch, or just grain of the wood.
----------
Rachel
Clarinet Stash:
Bb/A: Buffet R13
Eb: Bundy
Bass: Royal Global Max
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: maxopf
Date: 2016-05-16 06:32
Old instruments can definitely crack. I was gifted a c. 1946 "pre-R13" Buffet from a family friend a few years ago, and it cracked twice. Luckily they were small cracks that didn't go through to the bore, and once I had them repaired, the instrument served me well until I purchased my current R13 Prestige (which I broke in extremely carefully out of fear of cracking.) A year has passed with no cracking.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: clarnibass
Date: 2016-05-16 09:04
Statistically and proportionally, I see more cracked older clarinets (a few decades old or older) than newer clarinets (%-wise). I guess that's because they had a lot more time to crack. I assume some older cracked clarinets were thrown away, etc.
Does "denser" wood mean less likely to crack? I doubt it.
This is all just very variable. As an example, I just saw a pretty old clarinet (from the 70s) that had a crack which was glued and never re-opened. It was there when the current owner bought it. Decades later, this clarinet suddenly had a new crack a couple of months ago.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Tony F
Date: 2016-05-16 10:54
Nitai,
As you live in a fairly hot place, do you think that the cracking that you see is in any way affected by your climate? As a kid my father was posted to Egypt, so my earliest clarinet, an old wood B & H Regent, spent much of its time subjected to high temperatures and low humidity. It never cracked while I had it and on my return to UK it was passed on to a cousin. Its now training about its 5th generation of kids and is still uncracked.
Some of my regular instruments are pre-WW2, some pre-WW1, and I have never experienced a cracked instrument. So far! A friend in Arizona has had numerous cracked wood instruments and also has a seriously warped rubber Preufer.
Tony F.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Johan H Nilsson
Date: 2016-05-16 23:56
More mountain climbers die on the way up than down.
That's why old clarinets don't crack as often as new ones.
:-)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
