Klarinet Archive - Posting 000635.txt from 1999/05

From: Sfdr@-----.com
Subj: [kl] [K] Hans Moennig and Clarinet "Blowout"
Date: Fri, 14 May 1999 18:41:42 -0400

There have been several postings lately on "Old and Blown Out Clarinets
and Oboes". I wanted to share a few thoughts on this topic.
In 1945 an inventor made an oil filter that would keep automobile oil
clean for 100,000 miles. The patent was immediately purchased by a large oil
company in order to keep it off the market. In 1959 the Chrysler company
invented a washing machine that would last for 50 years without servicing.
Due to pressures from appliance stores, the washer never went on the market.
In 1970 the Honda Company introduced a car that would get 50 miles to a
gallon of gasoline. The great oil companies would not allow it to be shown
in the USA as large cars that got 8 miles per gallon were much better for the
consumption of gas. The more gasoline consumed, the larger the oil company's
profits. Some of you might remember the "oil crisis" of 1974. Was it real
or not?
In reference to the "Short life of new woodwinds", Are they being
manufactured to last for 1.4 years or is the wood so scarce, green and
uncured that the manufacturers no longer have any control of the expansion
and contraction rate? Perhaps it is a combination of both! If you were to
make a reed of green cane, how long would the reed last and how stable would
you expect it to be? The same properties apply to Grenadilla wood. As the
Grenadilla forests are being sacrificed more and more to make student
clarinets, the need for older oboe wood becomes even greater. Trees are
being cut more frequently and are not allowed to reach full maturity. As a
result of this huge demand for wood, the trees are much smaller. The smaller
the tree the more wood grain per square inch. The smaller grain structure
has a much higher crack rate as there are more check and flaws per square
inch.
In addition to using immature wood, the curing and drying time
Grenadilla wood has also been decreased on instruments of today. This
accounts for the high crack rate of newer oboe and clarinets. As the
weather, moisture, and climate changes the wood will expand and contract.
This size variance can greatly affect the timbre and pitch woodwind
instruments. However bore shrinkage or expansion on the oboe is far more
noticeable than on the clarinet or bassoon. Because of the oboe's extremely
small bore, wood dimensional changes are in greater proportion to the
instrument's internal volume. For example a .05mm variance in relationship
to a 60mm clarinet bore is far less critical than a .05mm variance in
relationship to a 12 mm oboe bore. Thus new clarinets continue to play for 5
to 10 years compared some oboes which have to be replaced annually.
Cracks are another indication that the wood is unstable. It is common
for oboes to crack between trillers and other tone hole which collect water.
The Clarinet has a tendency to crack through the vent tube hole, key guides
and side Trillers. However, in recent years I have seen new woodwinds crack
around posts, octave vents and even the tenon sockets for no apparent reason.
The wood is contracting faster than the metal, thus a crack occurs.
During my apprenticeship, I asked Hans Moennig how today's oboe wood
compared to the wood used during Marcel Tabuteau's era. Mr. Moennig laughed
and said, "There is no comparison". He then explained. "In 1929 the great
French makers allowed their wood to cure for 20 to 25 years before it became
an instrument. In 1946 the wood was cured for 15 years. After the war more
and more wooden clarinets were being produced and the demand for Grenadilla
increased. Many baby boomers played the clarinet. By 1960 the wood was
being cured for 10 years. During the 70's the curing time of the wood went
to 7 years. Now I understand that it is 3 years of curing time and it is
pretty obvious too. Ninety percent of my new oboes crack. In Tabuteau's time
only forty percent of the new oboes cracked. I recently sold two new oboes
to an oboist here in Philadelphia. He put one in the closet and played the
other. They both cracked the same week."
I then asked Mr. Moennig about the future of Grenadilla wood for
woodwind making. He smiled and said, "I really don't know what is going to
happen. Considering the continued decreases in wood curing, The great makers
will probably start putting the metal keys directly on the trees in order to
save production cost. I'm just glad that I won't be around to see it."
In reference to woodwind "Blow Out". This condition is actually caused
by a volume change in the bore of the instrument. When this change occurs,
both the timbre and pitch will suffer. Some acousticians feel that the
natural oils in the wood dry out and the material becomes unstable and
lighter. When the density of the wood changes the timbre is also affected.
The tone will spread and the sound will become unfocused. Although there is
no way to totally prevent "Blow Out", Players can certainly add life to
their instruments by following Mr. Moennig's instructions on "Woodwind Care
and Crack Prevention" that I posted in December. (If you missed it, I will be
happy to forward a copy to you.)

Regarding Plastic oboes: When I moved to Philadelphia in 1978 there was
a young man in Mr. Moennig's shop having his plastic oboe worked on. Mr.
Moennig was working on the half hole to improve the ascending slurs from A2
to High D and G2 to High D. He referred to this procedure as the High D
response modification. Finally Mr. Moennig finished the job and had the
young oboist to try the high D and it popped right out. After the customer
left I leaned over to Mr. Moennig and asked him about the plastic oboe. I
said that guy must not be a very good player if he is using a plastic oboe.
Mr. Moennig exclaimed, "Are you crazy? Do you know who that was? That young
boy was Dick Woodhams! He took de Lancie's place in the Philadelphia
Orchestra this year! He likes to play and he feels that the plastic is much
more consistent than wood. And most important of all, Maestro Ormandy likes
the tone as well."
From that day on I never judged another player for using a plastic
horn. If it works for you, Great! If you have any technical or repair
questions please feel free to contact me.

Thank you,
Alvin Swiney
Affordable
Music Co.
P. O. Box 4245
Virginia
Beach, VA 23454
757-412-2160
fax412-2158
E mail
sfdr@-----.com

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