Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2006-12-27 12:26
I check a used instrument for general condition (pads and corks that need replacing, etc.), but I don't feel a need to replace pads, corks or springs just to make the instrument seem like my own, as long as the old equipment works. Cleanliness, though, is another matter. The idea of putting someone unknown person's dirty old dried-out spit in my mouth--eeeeeeewwwwww.
The first thing I do with an old clarinet is wash the mouthpiece thoroughly, wash the clarinet itself if it seems dirty, wash out the case lining and dry the case open in the sunlight. If the lining has a stink that washing and sunlight won't remove, then I rip out the case lining and re-line it with new cotton (washable) velvet. If a case smells that bad, then generally the corks and pads reek, too, and need replacing.
Maybe this is too Adrian Monk of me, too, but I never play on a former owner's used reed. I throw away any reeds in the case unless they're interesting, obsolete brands--if so, I wash the interesting reeds and put them away in a collection. If I'm quite sure an obsolete brand of reed is new and unused old stock, I might get curious enough to try it out after washing it, but I think the ick-factor is enough of a distraction to negatively affect my playing, whether or not the reed seems any good! As for the mouthpieces, I do play on them, after covering up any bite-marks with mouthpiece patches. Bit of an ick-factor there, too, even if the former owner gnawed marks that fit my teeth!
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
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The Clarinet BBoard
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