Help all those repair experts...


Playing earlier today and I noticed a clicking and buzzing sound when playing around the throat A, G# area. Tonight it seemed very prominent and a lot of water was collecting around here adding bubbly sounds to the mix

Looking closely at the A key I noticed that the pad is loose so the question is this what do I do?

The shop I bought it from is in Bradford (I'm York based) but they'd do it whilst I wait as they have an on site repairer.

I could take it into Banks but they'd send it off and I'd be without it for at least a week, maybe more.

Or maybe my teacher could sort it out for me but he's away for another week? two?

If I leave it is the pad likely to fall off all together/ become unplayable???

I'm not sure what the lesser of the evils is. I do have a spare student clarinet but that's not in perfect playing condition and certainly not a patch on my new one and I need to make band rehearsal on Monday ...

Any advice for me?

A good temporary repair, if you're not confident in replacing the pad yourself, is to get some clingfilm and bandage the pad in place.

NB : this is only a temporary fix! Do take your poor unwell clari to a repairer as soon as you can!

I wouldn't know where to start with doing my own repair. maybe i should ask my teacher to teach me some basic maintainance too

Thanks for the cling film tip. Do I just wrap the smallest amount round it, flat over the pad? If I can get it to last out till I see my teacher it'd be good.

Does anyone know if anyone in Banks does minor repairs on the premises? Assuming pad replacement is minor ...

And over the top of the key cup : to hold it in place

The cling film bandage works quite well slide a small piece under the bad then twist the ends up over the top of the cup. It may still buzz a little but should keep you going for long enough to get it repaired properly.




edit.....bah Barry types faster than me!

Thanks both

Excellent advice as usual!

Dawn, it's a good idea, as you say, to get your teacher to show you some simple repair techniques. I taught myself - with some help from people on the woodwing.org forum - and although the clarinet looks incredibly complicated, it's actually quite easy as long as you're the careful, methodical type and not the sort who loses the little screws!!

The A key is one of the easiest to deal with and changing the pad is easy peasy once you've learned how. Get a set of those small screwdrivers and ask your teacher to show you.

Some things are best left to the experts. Fine tuning, adjustments of spring strength, pad height, cracks, broken tenons etc. But I think that changing pads and the tenon cork are things that every clarinetist can learn if they want. If I lived in a city with a woodwing repairer close by, I probably wouldn't bother, but not everyone has this luxury.

Steve

I completely agree with this. In my first couple of years at uni my clarinet teacher was forever telling me to take my clarinet apart and look at it, work out how everything links up and functions etc but I was too scared to! Since then I have done it and I've had to replace pads, bends keys back into position etc. for my students and it's really useful to be able to do it yourself. It's also helped with fixing flutes and saxes too! (Why is it always saxes that go wrong?!).

The poorly pad is currently "bandaged" and got me through a practice with Oldnotes this morning but I have arranged to get a proper repair done on Sunday at a repairers recommended by a local music shop. It's 40 mins away but he can do it while I wait. he's going to replace it with a leather pad. Cost £6. is this par for the course?

That is not expensive at all. To do it yourself is not difficult, but you would need an appropriate glue for the new pad, a spring hook to manipulate the springs, small screwdrivers, a way of melting and removing the old glue..etc.

Not difficult, but time consuming.

Oh, leather pads are brill!


Steve

Thanks. I thought this was very reasonable. I still hope to learn a bit about maintainance in due course but maybe not whilst my plaing pressures are so full on. will soon be back on track

Pleased you are getting such a quick and reasonably priced repair.

Mostly because they're bigger. So if there's a bigger area to inadvertently knock it's more likely you'll knock it. Plus the lever effect - if you knock something slightly out and the effects haven't got far to travel it will still be slighty out. Down to the bottom of a sax v a flute and the effect will be amplified. Look at the size of the pads at the bottom of a sax v the bottom of a flute/clari, there is just so much more room for a leak.

All fixed now two pads replaced, one in leather. Some adjustment to the seating of one key - connected to the linkage mechanism and some light oilding of the tenons and it cost me a gran total of a tenner!!! bargain!!

Wow, that really is a bargain! Hope your clari plays fantastically well for the next few months now.

Well so far so good.... was worried a bit about altered set-up after it was taken apart in places but all seems well.

Details of this repairer are available by PM to anyone based around the North Yorks area. Just ask. I have his card.

A full service (i.e neglected instrument for about 5 years) would be around the ?65 mark but a check-over (yearly) would only be about ?35. Sounds good to me

Hi Dawn,

I'd be interested in the contact details, when you have a mo to send them!