 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: James002
Date: 2010-08-08 21:00
Hello all, I'm new to this but i'll try and present my problem as clearly as I can.
I've been studying the clarinet for roughly 7 years and have been trying to work on my tight embouchure, with reasonable success in the past month, however I currently play on an E-13 I bought first hand 3 years ago and recently had superpadded [some people may think this is a little early to get the clarinet re-padded but the price had risen a month or two before I got the work done and thought it best to get it done before it rose any further] in the past year of playing I have become more aware of tonal deficiencies from middle C to the C an octave above, and seem to have had not luck in improving these notes no matter what [even after the re-pad] my absolute worst being throat Bb and the long B, to get the long B to sound properly is rather like moving a stubborn dog, it will go but only after some persuasion, and even when it does, sounds constantly stuffy, I've done a fair bit of research and tried to consider options to solve the problem by way of modifying the instrument, such as the infamous galper register vent [or a similar iteration that may be compatible with an E-13], does anyone have any other suggestions? I'm open to anything?
If its any help I play with a 5RV Profile 88 and vary between:
Vandoren
- Blue box 4#
- V12 4# [personal favourite]
- 56 4#
Thank you
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Author: James002
Date: 2010-08-08 21:46
They're Eddie Ashton's brainchild, he has his own explanation on his site
http://www.woodwindco.com/
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2010-08-08 23:12
Do a suction test on the top joint to see how airtight it is - you should be able to create a vacuum that holds for well over 10 seconds. If it's leaking (vacuum holds for less than 3 seconds), then this will cause the instrument to be resistant.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: James002
Date: 2010-08-08 23:38
Just suction tested both upper and lower joints, upper joint seems to be better than lower, however then did a pressure test by gently closing off with the usual amount of force I'd use on each key, and it appears the C/F cup/pad on the lower joint does leak to some degree when the key is pressed with only moderate pressure, which would check out being my issue given that I usually use my left little finger when playing long B, that particular finger is my weakest and exacerbated by my use of hard reeds on a closed mouthpiece my air pressure would be reasonably high [?]
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2010-08-08 23:43
"it appears the C/F cup/pad on the lower joint does leak to some degree when the key is pressed with only moderate pressure, which would check out being my issue given that I usually use my left little finger when playing long B, "
Get that fixed and then try again. No one can have a good result on an instrument that is not adjusted properly.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2010-08-08 23:45
The F/C pad should close with more pressure than the E/B pad when both are closed together (best checked with the LH E/B lever) - not the other way round.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2010-08-08 23:46)
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Author: James002
Date: 2010-08-08 23:55
Yeah, that appears to be my problem, I'm sure my teacher's attempted to adjust that in the past, and I'd have thought it'd have been seen to after the padding, maybe its a particularly stubborn one, or another case of gorilla gripped repairmen, either way, I shall pay Mr Ashton a visit [and return here should the issue not be resolved] Thank you!
Out of sheer curiosity, does anyone who knows of the Galper tube think the same concept would work on an E-13? Would make a nice throat Bb remedy.
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