 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Reese Oller
Date: 2024-03-28 22:08
Hello!
I borrowed a friend's 91 year old Selmer Paris low E bass clarinet (tiny little thing compared to my longer-than-usual Buffet) that is in very poor condition, to hopefully get it playing. I set about adjusting the thing, and inspecting the pads, when I noticed a big crack right through the Bb/F tone hole. Is this the death knell for the thing, and why it was sold for so cheap (around 200 USD)?
On a possibly unrelated note: the thing is very free blowing on about 80% of the notes except for T123 C, pinch Bb, and altissimo E. Does anyone have any thoughts on what could be causing this, maybe the pads?
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2024-03-28 23:14
One possibility for the C and maybe altissimo E (regular fingering) is the top pad on the lower section being too low. Of course it might be something else.
A crack is almost never death. Whether it's worth saving or not depends on the crack, what type of repair is needed (can vary a lot), and maybe most of all what it is worth to the owner/player.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2024-03-29 00:10
Just fir clarification, which exact tonehole are you calling the Bb/F tonehole?
The Bb/F tonehole is the one directly under the RH2 fingerplate as that's where the notes Bb and F issue directly from.
I doubt for a second that'll be the end of it as the majority of cracks can always be repaired and cracked toneholes can be bushed and recut.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2024-04-02 21:18
Attachment: clarinettoneholes.jpg (560k)
Attached is a labelled diagram of clarinet toneholes - the toneholes are named after the notes that issue directly from them and not by the names of the keys as the keys have all been removed.
Plus it all ties in when you look at a fingering diagram for any given note as the note can only issue directly from the tonehole below the one that's being held closed,
eg. A/E - XXX|XXO - the RH3 tonehole is the one the note A/E issues directly from.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2024-04-03 00:40)
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