 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Matt_Clarinet
Date: 2014-07-24 12:30
A fortnight ago I had my clarinet taken for a general service. The only problem with the clarinet was that two holes weren't sealing properly. At the store, I showed the service person where the problem was but they were dismissive. A few days later I got the clarinet back, and it has worsened tenfold. Notes were squeaking, the tone had significantly changed for the worse and the clarinet required far, far more air to play, so much that you would get tired within the first few minutes of playing.
I took the clarinet to my professor to check, and for the first note he played was a major squeak. He played a bit more then said that there was definitely a leak or two.
We called up the store and spoke to the manager, he told us that the clarinet service person was away and the person who usually repairs flutes had serviced it. He said to take it in and he'd have a look at it and try to fix it. When I took it back, the person who serviced it said that because it was a "general service" he said that he replaced all of the pads on the upper joint and did nothing with the lower half.
At this point the clarinet service person had arrived back and had a look at it. He said that there were one or two things he could fix up and took the clarinet overnight. When I went to pick it up the manager had a bit of a go saying that "you got off on a pretty good deal, you nearly got a full repadding for the price of a general service." I didn't even want a repad, all I asked for was to get two small problems fixed, but this is the outcome. When I played it again it didn't squeak much, but required a tremendous effort to play. My teacher tried it again and suggested getting a new clarinet. I don't want to do that at this stage because my clarinet was perfectly before the service, and I worry that they will just mess up any new clarinet that I get.
Sorry about the length, I wanted to be clear.
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2014-07-24 13:00
Matt, can you give some more details about your clarinet, exactly what the original problem was and what exactly you asked them to do? It would be interesting to know who did the service but probably not appropriate on this forum. I'm also in Melbourne, if you'd like to contact me via email (just click on my name and you'll get my email address) I may be able to help in some way. The timing is unfortunate as I have to head interstate in a couple of days. I repair and restore clarinets, so I'm pretty sure this wouldn't be too much of a problem.
Tony F.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2014-07-24 17:24
Matt, the obvious question is, is this the only repair shop in your area?
Based only on your description of the results of two repairers' work on your clarinet, it sounds like a shop I would stay clear of and tell my students to avoid. Competent repair work shouldn't make an instrument harder to play. And the store manager's reaction makes it sound as though he's in collusion with his repair people ("a pretty good deal?").
Have you asked your professor where he has his instruments serviced? A recommendation from someone whose demands are likely to be high (like your teacher) would be a great help. It's best to find a competent. reliable repair person, preferably someone who will be present when you pick up your instrument so you can try it before you leave the shop and discuss any questions or concerns.
Karl
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Author: pewd
Date: 2014-07-24 18:08
Ugh, this is why I do 90% of my own repairs.
I certainly sounds like the shop isn't very knowledgeable about clarinets.
Hopefully, Tony (above) can solve it for you.
In the future, you should always play test an instrument when picking it up, and if it is not right, hand it back, ask them to expedite a correction. I've learned to bring an etude book and play 5 or 6 pages before accepting a repair. Unfortunately this is not uncommon - I've had several similar incidents in recent years. Good luck.
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2014-07-24 18:20
I always have any of my customers play test their instruments there and then when they collect them from me whenever possible so they can point out anything they're not sure about such as ring key heights, touchpiece positions, assembly issues, crook positioning on saxes (which can affect the 8ve mechanism), etc.
But sometimes when an instrument has been brought in and collected on behalf of someone who isn't in the area, then I just have to make sure I've done everything as I hope is right for them and also contact them to let them know any alterations I've made regarding ring key heights, touchpiece positions, etc. so they're aware of that when they get it back.
I also give a guarantee on all instruments I've worked on so any minor tweaks they want can be done within the guarantee period at no extra cost (but the guarantee is void if anyone else has taken a screwdriver or done any other kind of work on it in that time without my knowledge).
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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