 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: Maruja
Date: 2018-07-25 21:02
My reeds seem to be playing up at the moment (squeaking, not speaking etc). I wondered if this has to do with either of the following -
we are going through a heatwave at the moment in the UK - I do notice that the reeds dry off very quickly if I am not playing for a few minutes
- the cork on the top joint of my clarinet is very flaky (I am waiting to have it recorked). There doesn't seem to be a leak and it fits pretty snugly but it is uneven. Could this be the problem?
I also found, while playing out in the heat, that my 'go to' Legere reed was not happy either. I know plastic softens when heated - could this be the cause of excessive squeaking?
Any comments gratefully received.
Maruja
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2018-07-25 22:12
Maruja wrote:
> - the cork on the top joint of my clarinet is very flaky (I am
> waiting to have it recorked). There doesn't seem to be a leak
> and it fits pretty snugly but it is uneven. Could this be the
> problem?
>
At the distance from Pennsylvania in the U.S. to wherever you're located in the U.K., my vote would be yes on the cork. You can't always see a leak clearly, but if there's any kind of gap at all none of your reeds will play.
An important key is whether this happens only with certain reeds or with every reed. The fact that even your "go to" Legere is squeaking suggests really strongly that a leak high on the clarinet is the problem. A top tenon cork would be a prime suspect.
Karl
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2018-07-25 23:08
What does your mouthpiece look like? Just a minor nick on it, an uneven facing, warped, will cause squeaks. If a mouthpiece if off just by less than a human hair it won't play well. A nick or a scratch is often much larger than a human hair. I've refaced 1000's and made 1000's of mouthpieces, so these little marks on a mouthpiece can create all sorts of problems.
Bad cane, uneven side rails, with the cut of the cane will cause this. Some of the best reeds such as the great Steuers sometimes cut the reeds wrong. Not very often, but mistakes do happen. Nothing is perfect all of the time.
A trick you can try is clipping the tip of the reed and see if the squeak goes away. If it goes chances are one side of the reed was too thin. Probably the right side. This is where most reed makers screw up.
You can try a more open tip opening on the mouthpiece. Often this greatly helps. But if the reeds are bad it probably won't help that much. But I personally don't like real open mouthpieces. 1.07mm's is max for me and 1.03mm's might be too close. There is a fine line of comfort.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Wes
Date: 2018-07-26 07:23
A tiny crack in the area of the reed tip seems to cause some squeaks on occasion for me. If it can be detected, I try to seal the crack with some lacquer and scrape off the excess, letting it dry. It seems to help but the life of that reed is probably limited.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2018-07-26 18:00
I suffer unusually brittle sound or none at all from cane reeds that dry out immediately. This is more of s problem here in the States in the Winter where interiors suffer from dry, overheated air (and outside dew points being low to begin with). So perhaps if you have access to a hygrometer (there is usually an inexpensive pairing with a thermometer available at hardware stores) and you see readings bellow 50%, then that's your problem.
The Legeres should get you through, but as you have found, they are also susceptible to heat. Going up a 1/4 strength should do the trick.
..............Paul Aviles
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2018-07-27 16:49
Of course the problem could be any number of things, there are so many possibilities but drying out can certainly be a big problem. Reeds going from wet to dry tend to warp more quickly. Read my reed pages on my website, especially about never "soaking" the entire reed and never letting them be exposed to the air for more than a few seconds. Even under good conditions I always caped my mouthpiece if I wasn't playing it for a short while to make sure the reed didn't dry. Many players I know, and don't know, have taken my reed advise and thanked me over the years. No matter what the problem you're having, a warped reed, not sealing on the MP facing, is not your friend and all wood will warp when going from wet to dry.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2018-07-27 17:53
Maruja wrote:
> we are going through a heatwave at the moment in the UK - I do
> notice that the reeds dry off very quickly if I am not playing
> for a few minutes
>
So, when you first wet them, are they playing well or do they squeak and otherwise misbehave from the very start?
> I also found, while playing out in the heat, that my 'go to'
> Legere reed was not happy either. I know plastic softens when
> heated - could this be the cause of excessive squeaking?
>
Have you tried more than the one Légère? If so, do they all behave this way?
The problem with fixating on the reeds themselves as the cause is that there's no reason to expect that every reed has suddenly become damaged by heat, and reeds that are well-moistened and not dried out from sitting in warm, dry air shouldn't be exhibiting this behavior - it isn't a problem of dryness if wet reeds are squeaking, too.
So it makes a difference whether this is an all-reeds-all-the-time problem (which your post suggests) or something that happens only to reeds that dry out and Légères of a specific strength.
If the squeaking and unreliable response can be fixed by re-wetting the cane reeds or by wetting a new one, then your question really answers itself. If none of your reeds seem to work and this seems to have developed rather suddenly, then you should be looking for a leak that wasn't there before. The cork is one possibility, but not the only one. Leaks can happen anywhere there's a pad covering a hole, and they often develop quite suddenly.
Start by playing an open (throat) A. Is it responsive? Does it squeak? If it isn't and it does, change reeds and try again. If A is persistently squeaky for every reed then it's either a reed problem (still, I think, unlikely) or one with your mouthpiece (as Bob suggests) or the tenon cork. If A is stable, start to go down a scale slowly. Does the response become unstable at some specific note? There is likely to be a leak at or a little above the first hole that is open for that note.
If, contrary to the suggestion in your original post, some of your reeds will play easily and squeak-free all the way down to low E(3), then you probably have a reed problem. If none do, your problem isn't reeds and you should have the instrument checked.
Karl
Post Edited (2018-07-27 22:36)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: hartt
Date: 2018-07-30 09:48
The late BB guru, Ken Shaw, had an extensive response to a similar post some time ago.
I recall the cause was an unbalanced reed tip, as also mentioned by Bob Bernado.
Perhaps GBK can re-post ken's response
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Maruja
Date: 2018-08-03 20:15
Thanks for your replies - much appreciated. I have had the tenon recorked, the weather is cooler and the squeaks have disappeared... but I shall follow the advice of
keeping the mouthpiece cap on
doing some detective work as suggested.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2018-08-03 20:55
Glad to hear all is better. Some things just remain a mystery.
.............Paul Aviles
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
