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Re: Cracked Top Joints; To Repair Or To Replace...

Author: Chris P
Date: 2023-08-28 15:31

m1964 "If my instrument was covered by warranty, I would strongly consider a replacement joint"

I raised this exact point and stated that if you had the joint replaced with a new one, it would no longer be the same instrument you chose on the strength of how it played in comparison to others. Therefore repairing it is the much better option regardless if it's covered by a warranty to replace the top joint which is the easy (but more costly to the manufacturer's) option.

While oboes have for decades been supplied with synthetic top joints or fully or partially lined top joint bores (or both joints with lined bores which is overkill), it's only just catching on in the clarinet world. I think Selmer 10G were the first to have ebonite sleeved barrels and the Prologue having plastic sleeved sockets and tenons, but they were slow to take on offering clarinets with sleeved/lined bores. Bushed toneholes were seen on Leblanc Symphonie VII clarinets and more recently on some high end Buffets, then Yamaha offered the YCL-450 with a resin lined bore, but all this is a recent development when it all could've been done many decades ago.

Buffet Greenline clarinets have their inherent problems with the notoriously weak middle tenons and they can also crack between toneholes like wooden clarinets, but a little thought of using such a brittle material as a bore liner in conjunction with the tensile strength of a wooden body will offer the best of both properties of both materials.

Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.

Post Edited (2023-08-28 17:24)

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