The Clarinet BBoard

The Clarinet BBoard The C4 standard

New Topic | Go to Top | Go to Topic | Search | Help/Rules | Smileys/Notes | Log In

Previous Message | Next Message

Re: Blown Out ...

Author: Chris P
Date: 2007-09-15 18:37

"I have been told that my clarinets have an oblong bore- taller than wide- and that this is from the 'water trail' that runs down the horn.
the widening causes wide 12ths, just as a wider bore causes wide 12ths... as I was told by a few people.
Trying a brand new version of the same model clarinets I have I found... the exact same problems of pitch- clearly the water trail was not the problem."

The talk of water trails to me is like old wives' tales in that I don't think there's much truth in it (in that it doesn't hold much water!)

True, water (in the form of condensation) will run down the lowest point of the bore once the droplets become unstable, though it won't erode the bore as it isn't an abrasive or corrosive action (and your clarinet's bore should be sufficiently oiled so that condensation forms droplets on the surface).

Condensation will accumulate the entire diameter of the bore, mostly in the mouthpiece, barrel and top joint - though depending on the temperature it will extend to cover the lower joint in cold weather and only the upper part of the top joint in warmer weather.

And using the pullthrough is the best way of distributing the moisture more evenly in the bore with several passings through of it (and not pulled through mega quickly either as this will not only remove less condensation, but runs the risk of the pullthrough getting snagged on the speaker tube) and the majority will be absorbed by the pullthrough provided it's of an absorbant material to begin with (such as soft cotton), and is kept clean and not used for wiping sockets with.

As for the bore being oval, well this is pretty normal and is to be expected with the way timber used in woodwind manufacturing naturally shrinks and expands through the effects of humidity.

Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.

Reply To Message | Avail. Forums | Flat View

Newer Topic | Older Topic

Topics

Author

Date

Blown Out ... new

Chris P

2007-09-15 16:19