 The Oboe BBoard
|
Author: ptarmiganfeather
Date: 2012-12-30 06:30
I am probably doing something criminal. I am using one of those fuzzy double ended swabs on my plastic oboe. I even used one in my previous oboe life way back in high school, and actually didn't know the details about pull through swabs until recently. Yes, ignorance is bliss, because I finally realized that the fuzzy swabs make lint, and lint is bad for tone holes. Probably a slew of other evils associated with fuzzy swabs too.
So I need to start using a pull through swab. Do I need more than one? Like a larger one for the middle joint and a smaller one for the top joint?
Since I know how to sew can I make some out of an old silk shirt I ruined by washing but am too cheap to throw away?
Thank you for your answers.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: heckelmaniac
Date: 2012-12-30 07:41
I use a Hodge silk clarinet swab (the type with the long, thin drop weight, not the chain type) for oboe, oboe d'amore, and English horn. Not a "pull through" swab- it is big enough that you will not be tempted to try to pull it through the upper joint of an oboe. On occasion, the weight of the Hodge clarinet swab will not pass through the reed receiver on some oboes. I have found that if you take pliers to the existing crimp on the metal weight and crush it smaller, the weight will pass though the reed receiver on almost any oboe. Using a Hodge clarinet swab, I do not have to concern myself with finding separate swab sizes for any of the various oboe instruments...
Oboes.us
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: huboboe
Date: 2012-12-30 21:33
Faith, a pull thru works just fine, but get one with a string on both ends. The single string version sometimes jams in the small end of the bore and is difficult to remove without damaging the bore...
Peter, does the clarinet swab go clear to the small end of the oboe bore??
Robert Hubbard
WestwindDoubleReed.com
1-888-579-6020
bob@westwinddoublereed.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: ptarmiganfeather
Date: 2012-12-31 04:07
Oh thank you for your responses. A swab with a tail it is. Looking through the search function I have read too many stuck swab horror stories. Have a great day and Happy New Year.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: oboi
Date: 2012-12-31 11:20
I use both a silk pull-through and a cotton swab. The silk is good for some quick swabbing without pulling the instrument apart. The cotton is better for absorbency, but it doesn't go through. So I just pull it till a bit snug and yank it out the other end (it's double-ended). I also use it as a pull-through for the bottom joint. The cotton is also good to absorb the pool of moisture in the tenon wells or in bulbous bells.
The key to not getting swabs stuck is to not pull too fast. The bottom folds up on itself if you do so. Couple that with the fast motion and that folded-up wad lodges itself in the bore before you can even notice the tension.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: RobinDesHautbois
Date: 2013-01-01 19:45
I started with feathers, went on to silken swabs and now I like the microfibre ones.
Feathers don't seem to actually remove any moisture at all.
20 years ago, it seems that silken pull-throughs were made of thicker material. There was a risk of them getting stuck, but only if there was a knot in them (easy thing to happen, had to be careful). Now it seems that they are made of a thinner silk to prevent that, but the result is that they shrivel and end-up not rubbing against the whole bore.
I was surprized at how well microfibre "pull-throughs" work. You don't actually pull them throught: with the oboe assembled, I pull it untill it gets jammed in the top joint, then I remove the top joint to pull out the swab bottom. This works like a charm and tone holes don't get water in them either.
Robin Tropper
M.A.Sc., B.Mus., B.Ed.
http://RobinDesHautbois.blogspot.ca/music
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2014-03-17 13:46
Here's a video showing how to use a silk pullthrough on your oboe after playing (and during long rests!) without any risk of it getting stuck:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l17k1jEnHTY
Common sense, really.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: oboi
Date: 2014-03-18 04:36
I never pull my pull-through swab through the reed receiver end because I find it damages the swab.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2014-03-18 13:40
I always drop it in through from the bell and pull it out through the reed socket.
And pull it through SLOWLY!
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: darryoboe
Date: 2014-03-19 18:47
I usually use silk swabs. I have different sizes for oboe and Ehorn. They do have a string on both ends so they can be pulled out either way.
I'm a bit paranoid about getting a swab stuck so I always run the swab between my fingers before placing it inside the instrument to be sure it's not knotted.
I occasionally use turkey feathers. Not necessarily because they're effective, but because a colleague (trumpet player) who owns a turkey farm gave me 100 of them.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: ptarmiganfeather
Date: 2014-03-19 19:14
I have silk pull through swabs now. Never thought of putting the swab through the reed receiver end.
I've never used turkey feathers for swabbing - my favorite used to be chicken tail feathers for cleaning reeds. Now I use pipe cleaners. I actually saved some ptarmigan tail feathers to clean a reed once. But the pipe cleaners are effective.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: jhoyla
Date: 2014-03-19 20:00
The weight can get a little sticky with continued use.
The solution is to strip off the plastic, and then wrap obliquely with a single layer of teflon tape (plumber's tape). When this gets sticky (next year), strip and repeat.
J.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
