 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2007-02-03 06:10
I've only ever seen one Noblet alto clarinet with a tuning slide fitted to the crook, so the mouthpiece socket is telescopic with the rest with a locking screw like a sax crook socket, and it's with me right now.
How rare are these tuning slide crooks?
The problem I had with this one was it leaking - the owner was complaining of water pouring from it - and she's never greased the slide, and even when packed with grease (La Tromba) it still leaked when vacuum tested.
So the only thing I could do was fit a cork gasket by turning a 3mm slot near the top, holding the crook in a mandrel I turned out of nickel silver (and turning at a relatively slow speed due to the bent free end of the crook causing vibration at a speed I'd rather use) and then glueing a strip of cork in the same manner as a tenon cork.
After shaping the cork and applying more La Tromba to the entire slide, the job's a good 'un - no leaks with the tuning slide set to any position when vacuum tested, and with luck, no water trouble for the customer too.
I think she wanted to get a new (one-piece) crook, but they cost a fortune - provided this modification is kept well greased it should last, and cost a fraction of the price of a new crook to do.
Incidentally, the speaker tube is around 2.2mm in diameter on this alto.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2007-02-03 14:45
Hi Chris - No posts yet?, so I'll start with what little I know. I have never seen makers other than Selmer supply "tunable" crooks [necks]. Both my 1970 bass and 1980 slto have them. I like them very muchl, no leaks, I do put a bit of "harder" cork grease on the slides every now and then. I doubt that there is a [non-expired] patent on such, but will look for an older one later today and measure vent diameter. Sounds like you did a good job. Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2007-02-03 21:45
Don Berger wrote:
> GBK - I posted a few min. ago, whot happened ? Don
Nothing. No post.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2007-02-03 23:47
TKS, Mark, prob. I did something wrong, or my AOHell knocked me off at the strategic moment. Chris, I'll try to reproduce what I wrote. My Selmer Alto # B0244, single reg. key, with "pinch"Bb, actuated [closed] by the thumb pad/key, has about a 1mm dia. reg. hole located about 30 mm above the top trill key's pad. It plays beautifully, clarion and altissimo [its a bit sharp]! It and my Sel bass [30s+ model] both have the tunable/slide necks , VG ! I found several patents, an early 1916, US 1,171,647 and a later 5,291,817 which has a list of cited, pertinent? references maybe of interest. Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2007-02-07 15:24
Are these (Noblet/Vito alto) crooks the same length as Leblanc basset horn crooks?
Anyway, the owner didn't have any of the water troubles she had before, so it looks like this modification has done the trick.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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