 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: DKC7971
Date: 2020-01-11 03:00
Are Ridenour clarinets still being made? Where do you send one for repair?
My received a Ridenour 147 as a beginner clarinet, however, it needs new pads and new corks. No one in my area will touch them.
Thanks
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2020-01-11 04:17
I don't understand that at all. It is a standard clarinet. There is nothing unusual about pad and cork replacement. Find a decent repairman.
Here is one:
https://betterclarinets.com
..............Paul Aviles
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Author: NOLA Ken
Date: 2020-01-11 06:36
Here's another. He's in Fort Worth up there around where Tom Ridenour is. They know each other, so if there is an issue of parts he might have better access than most:
Walter Ringleb
Ringleb Winds
email: walter@ringlebwinds.com
Phone number: 817-307-4771 (office)
https://www.ringlebwinds.com/
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Author: DKC7971
Date: 2020-01-11 19:18
I will check both those places. I personally like this clarinet. And my daughter loves it, based on what little she has been able to play it. I'm assuming the issue with the repair guy I talked with here is a personal issue because he said , and I quote that " the problem with this particular clarinet is that it is cheaply made and that it is easily damaged in repair. And, there are no repair parts available."
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Author: bmcgar ★2017
Date: 2020-01-11 20:08
Cheaply made and no repair parts (I assume pads and cork) available? Nonsense.
I don't think the guy you talked to knows squat about clarinets. Find someone who does.
You shouldn't have to travel too far or send your clarinet away to get this basic stuff done well.
B.
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Author: oian
Date: 2020-01-11 20:20
I have a Ridenour low C bass clarinet. it fell off a chair and the socket on the lower joint fractured into several pieces (long past the warranty period). The repair person I use sent it off to see if it could be sleeved and was told that it could, but the person doing the work could not guarantee that it would work well. My tech suggested that I contact Ridenour to see what they could do. They sold me a new entire lower joint, key work and all for less than the estimate to have it sleeved. My tech (Plug) "The Horn Shop" in Fresno, CA. is the best in the area and has no problem repairing Ridenour instruments.
John
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Author: fernie121
Date: 2020-01-11 23:42
I had the same problem here in SoCal. The repair guy here in Lakewood was an absolute jerk about my Ridenour clarinets. I took it about 10 minutes away to Long Beach Woodwinds, owned by Rusty Higgins. Nicest people I’ve ever met, and they always do a wonderful job. It’s very important to find a good tech you trust and who will not wrong you!
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Author: NOLA Ken
Date: 2020-01-12 02:03
I had a similar experience with a tech refusing to work on my Ridenour Lyrique Libertas - a very nice instrument. It was clearly not that he wasn't good at his craft or didn't "know squat" about clarinets, as he has been an instrument tech for several decades and worked/works on the clarinets of some very famous jazz clarinetists. He took one look at my Libertas, turned up his nose, called it a "plastic" clarinet and refused to work on it. He didn't even bother to examine it or ask about the make. Because of his history I first of all would have assumed that he knew the difference between a plastic clarinet and a hard rubber clarinet (I had to point that out to him - that is to say nothing of the fact that there are some very reputable "plastic" clarinets.) Secondly, because of his past experience with the Leblanc brand I would have thought that he would know of and have some respect for Tom Ridenour's name. I am guessing, and it's only a guess, that many of the older guys have not kept with the times, and that the onslaught of cheap Chinese "CSOs" has soured many techs on anything that isn't one of the historically established names.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2020-01-12 12:56
Maybe some repairers are swamped with work on "professional" instruments so just can't add more work on cheap/student instruments. In that case it would be better to just explain that...
Refusing to work on any instrument because of its name is a bit weird. I've repaired clarinets much worse than Ridenour that were also worth repairing (I'm not implying that a Ridenour is necessarily a bad clarinet). Why not replace a few pads and corks so they are playable... when often the alternative is that the person doesn't have an instrument to play.
The "no parts" issue is especially puzzling. What sort of parts do you need? It's very rare to need actual keys. Even in this unlikely case, I wouldn't be surprised if it's easier to get these from Ridenour than many other companies (the repair forum has quite a few complaints about getting parts from some of the most reputable companies...).
Pads and corks are not different from any other clarinet. Same for springs. Rod screws are usually made for any clarinet anyway. Pivot screws, if not available, are possibly the same as other brands, or possible to modify or at worst case make them.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2020-01-12 16:58
I recall being stunned by Bill Brannen's decision to work on nothing other that Buffet R13s. Yes, only R13s. This was subsequent to his overhauling my pair of Wurlitzer 100Cs and working on those owned by the CSO.
Of course I see the point. If you generate enough business to be swamped by R13s, why bother stocking any other sized pads or parts when you can zero in on one thing.
In that case he did just as "Clarnibass" said, he explained that was the entirety of his business. For years I thought that was a bit selfish. But he did not need my business and did just fine.
..................Paul Aviles
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