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Re: Advice needed

Author: Northreed
Date: 2004-10-14 15:10

Hello All:

I use Gary Armstrong's cloth/string swabs too, wearing out a couple per year. They are made by the mother of one of Gary's employees and are excellent. I use the cotton ones for a first drying, then cigarette paper for the octave and trill keys (with puffs of air), then a "silk" swab for final pull-throughs.

Of course, time constraints during concerts limit swabbing to a quicky with the cotton type and cigarette paper as needed.

Gary warns to be sure there are no knots or kinks in the "silk" swabs before pulling them through. Knots are a good way to get a swab stuck!!

I learned something recently about the old "giant pipecleaner" type swabs that used to be supplied with some instruments (the swabs with wooden handles). In personal practise sessions, I had been using one of these to frequently and quickly swab out my new Loree English horn during it's break-in period, in order to reduce the amount of water sitting in the instrument. I noticed, however, that I was getting a LOT more water in the C# and D trill holes and I suspected that the cotton "bristles" of the swab may have been flicking water up into these each time I swabbed. So I stopped using these swabs even for quickies, and took a bit more time with the old faithful cotton cloth ones. Voila - less water in the trill holes!!

Cheers,

Nigel

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