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 Bass Clarinet bouncing F sharp/C sharp key
Author: graham 
Date:   2024-05-20 13:47

I discussed this a few weeks ago. It’s the tendency for the pad of this key to bounce so you get a gap in a legato passage between, say, F sharp and E, or C sharp and B. I have found a solution to this on my bass. I had already tried a softer pad, which didn’t work, putting a weight on the pad-cup, which didn’t work, and a tech said that strengthening the spring wouldn’t work (and I don’t want a heavier action there either).

What has worked is: I screwed out the pivot screw at the top of the key mechanism such that horizontal slack appeared. Not much, just a little wiggle. This doesn’t impair pad sealing, nor change the feel of the action. But the slackness seems to soak up the energy that was causing pad bounce. Legato is restored.

Of course, having a loose screw is not brilliant. But it would be possible to permanently buffer the screw such that it could be tightened up and still have some wiggle. Not good for silent action, but a good legato is much more important in my view.

Hope that’s helpful.

graham

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 Re: Bass Clarinet bouncing F sharp/C sharp key
Author: Chris P 
Date:   2024-05-20 16:01

Is the LH F#/C# lever linkage pinned or stepped? If the LH lever is pinned to the linkage, that's often the cause of the F#/C# key rebounding as it's a dead weight.

Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010

The opinions I express are my own.

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 Re: Bass Clarinet bouncing F sharp/C sharp key
Author: graham 
Date:   2024-05-20 21:19

Yep. That key is pinned

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 Re: Bass Clarinet bouncing F sharp/C sharp key
Author: Julian ibiza 
Date:   2024-05-20 23:50

Does the end of LH lever have a little calk rest block that comes down on the body of the instrument? And if so, is it touching properly in rest position? If not, then the only rest stop in the linkage is that between the two key clusters and the otherwise unchecked drop of the weighty LH lever is liable to send a backlash through whole linkage.

Julian Griffiths
Tel. 34 696 798 853

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