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Re: weak note : collapsing F4

Author: Djudy
Date: 2020-10-30 20:38

Thank you Luuk and Tony F for all this useful information ! I've been slow to get back, distracted by other pressing matters and also have to admit that I do not have the vocabulary and my brain just doesn't 'map' either clarinet well enough to be very precise on this.

Be that as it may, when I got back to looking at the plateau again, I found the 2-piece link that activates the tiny padded vent under A4 when the Lthumb is applied. Apparently there is the tiniest difference there in pad seating when playing F4 and E4 , the later being more closed. E4 blasts right out and F4 collapses and wheezes. I slipped a 90 wt strip of paper between the 2 pieces, one of which is corked, and could play a decent F4 until it wiggled and fell out. So it looks like that tiny pad micro leak is the problem.

We are in 'soft' Covid-19 lockdown in France now so this won't get back to the luthier any time soon but I'm reassured that the problem seems to be only a minor adjustement. I like the boomie old time radio broadcast sound the instrument produces. And it's very tempting because you can play 'sloppy' and it still works ! I'm going to save it for desert so as not to encourage my bad habits