 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: wanabe
Date: 2014-03-30 01:40
Firstly, this has nothing to do with sailors. No, my question is about what material makes the best pull through swab for a soprano clarinet. It seems to me that silk doesn't absorb wated as well as cotton, and cotton leaves lint behind and artificial chamois is too stiff and on and on and on ir am I over analysing this? Of not, then what is the best material for a clarinet swab?
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Author: ThatPerfectReed
Date: 2014-03-30 04:17
For those who can relate to the informercials that I've seen in the States, there ought to be a Shamwow vs. Zorbeez clarinet swab test. Can you imagine the TV ad script:
"We ran this brand new Tosca through 50 car washes and still...."
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Author: Wes
Date: 2014-03-30 04:55
At one time, I used silk swabs on my nice flute. On looking inside of it, it was clear that it was getting dingy. After changing to a microfiber swab, it looks shiny and polished. The microfiber swabs that sometimes come with a new Buffet clarinet are great.
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2014-03-30 09:17
I've never liked silk much, it just doesn't seem to do the job. I got better results with cotton, but now I use microfibre swabs, which do a good job. Silk is least likely to get stuck in the bore.
Tony F.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2014-03-30 10:31
I'll have to say that microfibre does 'polish' but it really only does a good job of PULLING water out, which does NOT help the moisture along the tone holes it passes. I use silk, with my current favorite being "The Legend" one of the Doctor's Products.
..............Paul Aviles
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Author: claire Inet
Date: 2014-03-30 14:41
I went to Dollar General and bought their version of the "Shamwow". Brought it home and made my own swab. My wife looked at it and declared "Nice felt!", which is probably all it is. I guess it works OK. It's certainly absorbent.
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Author: muppie
Date: 2014-03-31 09:40
I have tried cotton and silk. Not sure which is better. Then I saw this "chamois" type swab. It is tiny but thick. It seems to be much more absorbent.
The problem is, after about a week or two of use, I threw it into the washing machine (inside a delicate laundry bag that ladies often use) along with my laundry, and inadvertently chose the "Cotton" cycle - normally I used "express wash" cycle at 30C (celsius), but the Cotton cycle which I normally wash sheets and towels with, is set to 70ºC and... the chamois swab came out like a fried crackers. The corners and edges were crispy, I could snap / break / tear it easily. It looked burnt.
I will salvage the string and maybe buy a car chamois cloth, and find someone to help me sew it.
I just got a Vandoren microfibre swab... looking forward to trying it. It feels like a thicker silk material though.
Don't they have microfibre swab using material like the kitchen cleaning cloths?
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2014-03-31 16:27
old silk ties are great. Especially 70s specimen with their ghastly prints. Final (terminal) use. Swab until dirty, then bin. ![[tongue]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie6.gif)
--
Ben
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Author: BobD
Date: 2014-03-31 16:38
I still think it's a good idea to tie a string on the tail end of your swab so that you can back it out when it gets stuck. In my experience chamois is notorious for getting hung up on the register tube.
Bob Draznik
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Author: MSK
Date: 2014-04-01 02:34
I've got quite the collection of different swabs. My current favorite is GEM silk, although it does require multiple run throughs. I just got the BG microfiber, but the jury is still out. Like the Vandoren microfiber swab, it is also just a little to bulky to pull through easily. The shape is better though
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Author: muppie
Date: 2014-04-01 03:06
I dont like my new vandoren microfibre swab. The string is too wide and not soft. Doesn't seem very safe to pull through the mouthpiece. Also too bulky.
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