 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: maureen bleiman
Date: 1999-09-01 05:45
Since moisture is so destructive to the clarinet would it not be sensible to store one of those little packs of dessicant inside the case?maureen
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Author: Travis
Date: 1999-09-01 06:39
Try "Damp-it". I think that's the name of the product. My former instructor told me about it. I think its made of plastic or rubber.
Travis Miller
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Author: Dee
Date: 1999-09-01 12:02
Excessive drying is also destructive. Do NOT use a dessicant.
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Author: Drew
Date: 1999-09-01 14:12
A previous post suggested the use of "Damp-It", which is actually a product to introduce moisture to the case, rather than take it away.
Personally, I believe that the greatest danger to a clarinet is shock; thermal, humidity, or mechanical. To control humidity, I swab out my instrument thoroughly and place the swab in the case to act as a small "humidifier". This way any significant amount of moisture has been removed from the bore and is available for the entire instrument to absorb, albeit slowly.
I have three clarinets over 20 years of age, no cracks.
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Author: paul
Date: 1999-09-01 18:21
If Drew has absolutely no cracks in 20 year old horns, then who knows? Perhaps he might be onto a good thing.
At least he helps to prove his point with a "real life" example.
My horn is too new to make any comparisons. However, I use a simple rule of thumb for the environmental protection of my horn. If I'm comfy, it probably is, too. If I'm too hot, cold, wet, or dry, then it probably is, too. If I like to stay in a warm and comfy house, then the horn probably likes to be stored in its "house" - the case.
Only time will tell if I'm right or wrong.
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Author: lis
Date: 1999-09-01 20:08
I've been told by 2 different teachers not to leave my swab in the case. I don't exactly remember why, but it had something to do with discoloring the silver???
I was wondering if this had any truth to it.
Drew wrote:
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To control humidity, I swab out my instrument thoroughly and place the swab in the case to act as a small "humidifier".
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Author: Connie
Date: 1999-09-01 21:32
I live in the "mildew capital of the world", and have had trouble with my reeds mildewing in the case this summer, even though the house and my rehearsal site are air conditioned. I too was tempted to try a little dessicant!
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Author: Hiroshi
Date: 1999-09-02 00:18
I once thought the same thing like yours. But I found it totally wrong. This is FYI.
1)To leave a swab in the same compartment with clarinet is totally wrong.It absorbs saliva and is really dirty(may include ammonia or zinc dioxide).Sometime it may become a nest of micro-organism.It is also harmfull to pads.This is true for all wind instruments. It is also harmfull to silver plating since zinc dioxide or ammnonia is corrosive element to silve.
2)Dampit makes the humidity above 40% relative humidity. There is a portable humidity gauge available from woodwind and brasswind.
3)If we keep reeds with dessicant in a sealed space,it kills reeds and they loose their vibrancy if we do not take fresh air into it fluently. I guess grenadilla wood is also alive and dessicant may kill the grenadilla. Also dessicant may dry up pads skin and shrink them.
Nothing good to keep dessicant with clarinet.
4)Some of the pros recommend to keep fresh peel of orange inside the case in stead of dampit.
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Author: Travis
Date: 1999-09-02 01:23
Sorry, guys, I didn't get to finish my message because I was called away from the computor. Guess I should have finished it before I sent it.
Yes, Damp-it will provide moisture, which goes along with a previous opinion that dryness is bad for the instrument, too. My former instructor has used Damp-its for years with excellent results. According to him, many string players use them for similar purposes. I also agree that the swab should be stored separately.
A good article by Steven Prescott may be found at--
http://www.sneezy.org/OCR/articles/prescott1.html
Make sure that you read the entire article carefully, as the author describes the pros and cons of different techniques.
Sherman Friedland's article at--
http://www.sneezy.org/clarinet/Friedland/Article016.html
recommends the orange peels.
An old discussion in the Klarinet Archives at--
http://www.sneezy.org/Databases/Logs/1999/06/000780.txt
has several suggestions, but many of these are contrary to what I, and some of you believe.
Other parts of this and other discussions can be found at the folloing pages--
http://www.sneezy.org/Databases/Logs/1994/01/000189.txt
http://www.sneezy.org/Databases/Logs/1999/06/000779.txt
http://www.sneezy.org/Databases/Logs/1997/07/000758.txt
http://www.sneezy.org/Databases/Logs/1999/06/000772.txt
What I have found by doing this little bit of research into others' opinions and experiences is that they are just that--opinions and experiences. Many of these, again tend to contradict each other to some degree.
To make a long story short (too late!), if it works for you, do it. If you are not sure, talk to someone you know personally.
Travis Miller
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 1999-09-02 16:14
My experience is very similar to Drew's. Living in OK, medium dry climate, I {wrongly?} leave the damp chamois swab in the case and suggest to students that they NOT put a moist swab IN the cl [wood in particular]and dry the reeds as well as possible, leaving them on the dry mp,or in an open holder. This seems to work well in the moist spring, and dryer summer BUT a dry-cold winter is another story. Most of us at times experience loose rings, [wood]bell in particular, and I resort to a humidifier and at times use a homemade pill bottle with damp sponge, or moist paper towel! The point here is that the humidity we speak is Relative [not Absolute], so for those who havent been exposed to the physics [of air/water] as in P-Chem, cold [30F -] outside air may have a R H of 40%, but when brought into a house at 72F its R H drops to maybe 10% or lower , so the poor cl just dries out. A lengthy post, but believe it is important. Don
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Author: Daniel
Date: 1999-09-03 05:09
Connie wrote:
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I live in the "mildew capital of the world", and have had trouble with my reeds mildewing in the case this summer, even though the house and my rehearsal site are air conditioned. I too was tempted to try a little dessicant!
I keep my reeds in three different Harrison and similar style cases (Harrison, Selmer and Wiseman reed cases) and i leave them in the pockets of my case cover (obviously because they're too big to go in my case. And living right next to the gulf coast, there's always lots of humidity, but i've never had mildew problems with reeds.
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Author: Daniel
Date: 1999-09-03 05:12
Hiroshi wrote:
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1)To leave a swab in the same compartment with clarinet is totally wrong.It absorbs saliva and is really dirty(may include ammonia or zinc dioxide).Sometime it may become a nest of micro-organism.It is also harmfull to pads.This is true for all wind instruments. It is also harmfull to silver plating since zinc dioxide or ammnonia is corrosive element to silve.
Everyone i know who has silver plated keys leaves their swab in the case and hav had no problems with the plating. And none of them, including myself, have had problems with the pads.
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Author: Connie
Date: 1999-09-04 18:06
Thanks, I'll look for one of those. I've been using an old metal Reedgard and the blue plastic VanDoren case. Recently, I read a suggestion in David Pino's book to use microscope slides with a rubber band...to keep them flat while they dry, and more open to the air...very intriguing.
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