 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: kararae02
Date: 2015-02-20 03:02
On February 9th, I came home from school and my godfather surprised me with a brand new R13. I did not get to play test it before he bought it because I didn't know he was getting it (not that I wasn't grateful because believe me I was). I took it to school all last week so that I could test the intonation and overall performance and things and now that I've had adequate time to ensure that everything is working as it should and there are no problems, I need to start breaking it in. Can anyone give me tips on how to break it in and things to avoid doing during the break in process?
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Author: kdk
Date: 2015-02-20 03:28
Probably you've already missed that train - depends on how much you ended up playing it at school. The break-in process most repair people recommend is simply to play it for limited periods of time - 15 or 20 minutes - once or twice a day for several days, then gradually increase the time over a period of a another week or so.
Buffet actually recommends a more liberal half-hour limit, maintained for the first month of use. Read their care instructions at http://www.buffet-crampon.com/en/notice?category=48.
If you've been playing it more and nothing's happened yet, you're probably safe to disregard the longer process. But if you want to be safe, cut back to 30 minutes per session for the next 3 weeks. Make sure you dry it (swab it out and wipe out tenons) after each time you play it.
Karl
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Author: kararae02
Date: 2015-02-20 03:31
My band class is about 45 minutes and I played it three days. Is that too much?
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Author: kdk
Date: 2015-02-20 05:20
If no harm came of it, then it wasn't too much or, at any rate, it doesn't matter. What's done is done and the clarinet is still intact. If you want to be on the safe side, follow Buffet's instructions for another 3 weeks and, if possible, use a different clarinet at school.
In reality, I'm sure there have been untold numbers of students who were never told to follow a "break-in" process, who jumped right in as you did and never had a problem.
Karl
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Author: Wisco99
Date: 2015-02-20 07:17
I bought an R13 from Bill Brannen in 1976 that he had worked his magic on. Bill told me about how to gradually break it in, but I was doing a Broadway show and had no choice but to start using it full time right away. I guess I was lucky and I did not have any problems. It was summer, and they had the air conditioning cranked, and it is coldest in a pit. If it could survive that I figured I had a good instrument. Sometimes you just have no choice.
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Author: kararae02
Date: 2015-02-20 08:17
Did your clarinet crack later on?
I'm probably going to try to break mine in but I have an audition in a couple weeks so I don't really know what to do. I've also heard of a lot of people who have went through the elongated version of the breaking in process and still had terrible cracking in their clarinets.
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Author: Wisco99
Date: 2015-02-20 15:34
Kara,
No, my clarinet has never cracked or had any major problems. It still plays great. I have read that Buffet no longer ages their wood as long as they used to when I bought mine, so that is a factor now. Where you live and what kind of weather you are having are other factors. Right now in Wisconsin it is not exactly the best time of year for wood. Every instrument is different, just as every reed is different. Common sense is best if your situation allows it. Be glad you are not dealing with a wooden flute or piccolo.
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Author: kararae02
Date: 2015-02-20 16:34
I actually haven't been able to try a CL5 or CL6 mouthpiece. I live in Kentucky and we are currently in a state of emergency because of the horrible weather conditions. So now is definitely not a very good time in Kentucky for a wooden instrument.
Also Wisco99, did you take any precautions later on or just jump into it full time?
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Author: Irwin J
Date: 2015-02-20 21:22
I have a new Buffet Greenline Festival. I'm assuming there's no limit to how much it can be played when new since there's no wood to crack. Do people agree or disagree with that?
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Author: Wisco99
Date: 2015-02-21 07:58
Kara,
The last question you asked goes back to 1976. When I finished that Broadway show after a week I eased back on the throttle and tried to follow Bill Brannen's advice on breaking my instrument in. It was summer, and not like the weather we are having right now. If you are having a state of emergency in Kentucky for the weather, us folks in Wisconsin would consider your weather springtime here. Everything is relative. This is a bad time of year for wood instruments and reeds.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2015-02-22 00:37
I've always thought breaking in a clarinet for more than a very short time was overrated. I've never taken more than a few days to break in a clarinet and in my long career have never had a crack. I've always told my students to use common sense. Don't take it out in the extreme cold, don't leave it near a heater, swab it out ofter, new or not. I usally played a new clarinet for s short time the first day, 15-20 minutes, increasing every day and after 4-5 days I was ready to go. I guess it's different for everyone. Just use common sense, my answer to almost everything clarinet wise.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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