 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Terry Horlick
Date: 2002-11-21 06:48
I had an old clarinet overhauled and treated with oil about a year ago and have been using it since. It has new corks which I greased when I got the horn back a year ago, and several times since(I know!).
Now it is time to start oiling the bore and treating the corks. On my other clarinets it always took about ten years to get the corks on the tennon how I liked them. This means (I now know) that it took that long for the cells in the cork to get loaded with petroleum products and break down enough to loosen to the state I like. As the cork gets older it needed more and more grease more and more often.
I went to one of the sneezy's sponsors and read his stuff after learning from him by his posts on this forum. L. Omar Henderson, Ph.D. has approached the preservation of our woods and their care from a refreshing perspective. It has taken me months to get past the name of his company and actually order products. I have a hang up about folks prmoting things with their advanced degerees, I have some degrees also and rarely refer to them in any communication.
No matter about tmy reservations, my order arrived today and I started out with the synthetic cork grease. It is very different from the old waxes I used to use. It goes on like a thin cream and seems to soak in a bit. The joint remains as tight as before, but the pieces just slide right together, makes you worry that they might slide apart in use, but that doesn't seem to happen. The fit of the parts is just right and if the claims of the manufacturer are correct the fit will stay the same for many years! The most impressive thing is that now it is easier to tune the horn as the barrel slides easier. In addition to this the mouthpiece comes off much easier. In the past a change from the Bb to the A always meant re-setting the reed because the piece was too tight on the barrel and the reed got dislodged. I can now do the switch without messing up the reed position! I use an inverted Bonade which I have bent to contact the reed only on the rails with light pressure, even so the piece can be pulled off without shifting the ligature as would have happended before.
It now remains to be see how long the stuff protects before needing to be redone. Also I am curious to see if moisture will affect it.
Another thing I got was his bore oil. I have done one treatment now and the recently treated wood (soaked in a bath of oil for over a week one year ago) really drank up that little bit of oil. I cannot evaluate how well this stuff will do because it's effect of preserving the wood is something which occurs over 25-50 years. In other words I used to use the commercial mineral oils and now I am using the Dr. product... I really don't note any significant, difference from just an initial application. It smells different and soaks into the wood faster.
Just some initial observations.... TH
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Author: Vic
Date: 2002-11-21 15:31
I mostly agree with you, Terry, about the useage of advanced degrees as a marketing device. But in the case of The Doctor, the fact that his Ph.D. is in chemistry is a selling point, at least for me. That indicates that he has some academic and professional expertise backing up his products. Now if his doctorate was in Organizational Behavior or in the physiology of Central American tree frogs it wouldn't mean much. But the chemistry background adds a good deal of legitimacy to his products, none of which I've tried, by the way, but I certainly respect his opinions and background.
But I'm glad to hear your comments about the cork grease. I've been meaning to try some and after reading your post, I believe that I will.
Vic
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Author: GBK
Date: 2002-11-21 16:21
"if his doctorate was in ...the physiology of Central American tree frogs it wouldn't..."
- And I thought our previous orchestra conductor was the only one who had one of those...GBK (making a note to never perform under someone who lists "frogs" on his resumé)
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Author: bob gardner
Date: 2002-11-21 19:38
have you ever stop to think about how good his products have to be. A lot of this customers are on this board day in and day out. If anyone had a problem PHD would know about it posthaste and the rest of the world as well. How many companies or product can stand up to this type of pressure day in and day out.
Now about the name of Omar I had a slight problem with that until he told me he was named after General Omar Bradley.
So we shouldn't get to carried away with names or titles.
Peace
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Author: Fred
Date: 2002-11-21 21:23
Actually, it's not the Ph.D. that really qualifies The Doctor IMHO. I know lots of Ph.D. chemists that I wouldn't turn loose to formulate oils for clarinets. Chenistry is one of those fields - like many others - that you can know volumes about a particular area and have little competence in many others. The Doctor has gained incredible experience through the types of work and research he has done that has superbly prepared him to do really important stuff . . . like help us oil our clarinets.
Thanks, Doc.
Fred
(Chemistry - M.S.)
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Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2002-11-22 13:45
While my mind does work in mysterious ways, I had never considered condemning a product because the maker chose to publicize his terminal degree in a related field. Now that this has been brought to my attention, I am headed for my shoe cabinet, where I intend to rip out all of "Dr. Scholl's" insole pads. Yeah, they're comfortable, and Scholl was a Podiatrist. So what.
Regards,
John, AKA "Angus" (if anyone really cares)
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