Author: Bill
Date: 2019-09-17 03:26
kdk wrote:
> I would think at this point you might get better information
> from the repairman who installed them. He will know what they
> are, and he can tell you why he used them. He may have enough
> experience with them to know if they explain any problem you're
> having. Or, if he was experimenting, you can give him feedback
> about the result.
>
> Karl
Well ... I had sent this repairman the bottom joint of an old Kohlert clarinet with a broken tenon socket and he repaired it wonderfully and at a truly fair price. When I bought my 22xxx Buffet (needing an overhaul), I thought to send it to him because he has an excellent reputation. When it was ready and I phoned to give him payment info, he began the conversation very brusquely, asking me "Where I got this old clarinet" and "Is this thing YOURS?!" He was mumbling something I didn't fully hear about how these old clarinets are NOT worth the price of an overhaul. I was both shocked and really bummed.
I know that quite a lot of serious clarinetists as well as repair people cannot understand the enthusiasm for vintage clarinets -- as I cannot understand the lust for the "latest, redesigned, improved" clarinets at five-figure prices with names like "Divine" and "Fabulosa" and "Vanilla Truffle Liqueur." So, this famous repair person (who I had never used before, except for the tenon repair) hates old stuff. I totally understand. He's probably in the majority. He didn't even cork the thumb rest (left it bare metal).
So, no, we are not destined to have another conversation. And I have had an expensive lesson. I'm having my regular repair person replace all the pads with cork and bladder.
Bill Fogle
Ellsworth, Maine
(formerly Washington, DC)
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