 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: saxlite
Date: 2011-11-15 22:17
I have a nice Selmer 10G which plays well and is generally in tune. No leaks,etc. It plays quite evenly except for register F ( top of staff)- this note is in tune, but very stuffy. Bb in lower register seems OK. No pad to raise here....I'm considering "fraising" the lower side of the tone hole- any advice would be appreciated.
Jerry
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2011-11-16 02:06
Hey Jerry,
Good question...
I'm questioning what fingering you are using for the F and the Bb? Both of these notes can be played with different fingerings, so once we know which fingers are being used we can offer various fingering to get rid of the stuffiness.
Your Selmer is a very fine instrument and I've not noticed any really stuffy notes, when sitting next to someone in a band or an orchestra. I've only played the horn one time when a friend bought one. After playing it I was considering buying one. It plays very freely and I loved how the keys feel. This is why you have me wondering about the finger issue; if there is an issue.
Since the horn plays fine, no leaks, in excellent playing condition, the correct fingering positioning, it is unlikely, but maybe one of the key holes is plugged up a bit, in which you can take a Q-tip or something and clean out the key hole. I'm mainly referring to the keys that are covered and you can't see inside the holes.
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2011-11-16 02:20
It's not a problem that's in any way endemic to the 10G in my experience with them. The most likely culprits are dirt in the hole below or mis-adjusted bridge keys. I would think if the bridge keys were out of whack, everything on the lower section would be stuffy and unstable, but maybe light pressure on the 1st (Bb/F) ring isn't closing the pad above the hole firmly enough (because the lower bridge key is being restricted by the upper one) but as you add fingers you're also adding just enough weight/pressure to pull the pad closed. Without playing it myself, those are my best guesses.
Karl
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2011-11-16 12:13
kdk wrote:
> It's not a problem that's in any way endemic to the 10G in my
> experience with them. The most likely culprits are dirt in the
> hole below or mis-adjusted bridge keys. I would think if the
> bridge keys were out of whack, everything on the lower section
> would be stuffy and unstable, but maybe light pressure on the
> 1st (Bb/F) ring isn't closing the pad above the hole firmly
> enough (because the lower bridge key is being restricted by the
> upper one) but as you add fingers you're also adding just
> enough weight/pressure to pull the pad closed. Without playing
> it myself, those are my best guesses.
>
> Karl
That'd be the first thing I check. Check your 1/1 Bb. If that's stuffy or not playing, I think it'd point more towards the bridge key alignment.
US Army Japan Band
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2011-11-16 13:42
The Selmer 10G has existed in several forms, some of which approach Gigliotti's Buffet R13s with Moenning's extensive customization and others of which do not. Ralph Morgan was in charge of the production of the hand-tweaked 10Gs. The story, as he told it to me, is at http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=199692&t=199692.
If the instrument is clean and in good condition, undercutting the proper hole or reaming the bore may improve particular notes, but it's delicate and specialized work, not to be undertaken by anyone but the best technician. See the Morrie Backun video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weGxlC0YI2I.
Ken Shaw
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Author: saxlite
Date: 2011-11-16 23:17
BTW this 10G is a serial X*****. Although it may not have gotten Ralph Morgan's personal touch, closer inspection revealed that someone has put a little wax on one side of each of the open holes on the lower joint. Since XXX XOO (F ) was stuffy, I cleaned out the wax on the second hole which is the one that emits F. ( I double checked the sealing of the F# pad and the bridge first. ) This improved the F somewhat. Encouraged, I took a little off the bottom and sides of the tone hole-a little improvement here. I'm reluctant to take any more-I think I'll play it a bit more before any I make any more dangerous mods. Thanks for the suggestions, and keep them coming.
Jerry
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2011-11-16 23:47
The X series is, I think, an early one. I bought my B-flat 10G, also an X series instrument, from a batch Gigliotti had in 1972, so it should be well before Morgan came on board. The wax is there probably to repel water to keep it from filling the hole, although you don't normally use wax that way on the large tone holes in the bottom section, and there shouldn't be that much of it, so maybe it has a less deliberate origin. I would have a skilled tech look at it - I own two of those early 10Gs and have played several others, and I don't think that your stuffy F is the result of a design flaw, so something may be wrong somewhere. Undercutting may help as a last resort, but it may make the note sharp as it clears the response up (you said that it's in tune as it is right now).
Of course, if the instrument is from the early '70s, there might be some kind of change going on with the bore itself, which will need to be dealt with by a very skilled mechanic.
Karl
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