Clarinet Care, Help!! Options

[Fenix]

I have just been reading about the care of a new wooden clarinet and there seems to be a lot of conflicting information out there. With my plastic clarinet I swab it thoroughly after each session of playing and use cig papers to dry moisture from under the pads.
The instrument is kept in the same room as the new Sauter piano where hudmidity is kept at 40 to 50 and temperature between 16 and 18.
What oiling should be done with a new wooden instrument and how often. Also I gather that new wooden ones need to be played very little to start with to break them in so to speak. Can anyone advise on all this?

[barry-clari]

What oiling should be done with a new wooden instrument and how often. Also I gather that new wooden ones need to be played very little to start with to break them in so to speak. Can anyone advise on all this?

Re. oiling : very little, and not very often. To be honest, if you get your instrument serviced regularly (every 18 months or so), it's something you shouldn't have to worry about, as the technician will do it for you (ask if oiling is part of the service).

All new wooden instruments need to be broken in, to avoid them cracking. All sorts of theories abound as to what to do here, mine is to play it about 20 minutes a day in the first week, 30 in the second, 45 in the third, then you should be fine to play it whenever you like. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Fenix]

Many thanks. I will let you know how I get on.