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Re: Synthetic vs. real cork on tenon joints?

Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2020-09-18 19:36

George Stalle wrote:

> so when I changed to the synthetic cork tenon joints, I noticed
> an immediate difference. The sound was a little tighter and
> less open.

So, was anything else done to the clarinet at the same time the corks were replaced? Did you do the corks or have it done at a shop? If at a shop, was it there for general maintenance or specifically for the corks?

Could any of the older corks have been fitting poorly enough that they were leaking, even slightly?

I'm risking belaboring a point that I've already said doesn't really matter much. Using natural cork doesn't have any real downside, so it really isn't a trade-off of benefits. And the general opinion among the repair people who have chimed in here seems to be that they'd prefer to use natural cork. So whether or not the difference you heard was because of the material or because of something else that changed when the corks were replaced, it doesn't seem that there's any reason for you (or anyone else) to do tenons with synthetic cork. Seems as if using synthetic on tenons is all downside with no upside to balance it.

Karl

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