My Clarinet is Blown Out - what and how does it get Blown Out ?

Why and How does a Clarinet get Blown Out.
A review of all the technical issues that can create a blown out clarinet. Should you get a complete mechanical refurbishment or get a new clarinet?
00:11 Welcome
00:19 What is Blown Out
00:36 What can Change
01:06 Bladder Pads
01:38 Leather Pads
01:49 Cork Pads
02:13 Any Leak Issues
02:42 Sloppy Keywork
03:17 Older Clarinets
04:47 Stranger Things
05:45 Reason for Blown Out
05:51 Old vs New
06:02 High Quality Work
06:51 Setup Issues
07:14 Register pip
07:31 Intonation and Response
07:37 Opinions
07:55 New Clarinet Advantages
08:26 Your Opinions

[@billducker7404]

Thank you and Stephen for your great videos. I appreciate someone who goes into such detail Who plays the Mozart at the beginning of your videos - thank you and God bless you - Bill - UK

[@phillipshearman5597]

Thanks for the explanations...I have never had a problem restoring an old, old clarinet. Like you say "People say the clarinet is 'Blown out'". I have carefully gone through each process needed to get them ready and no serious problems (I don't restore broken or cracked clarinets). Maybe I did not know they were considered to be "blown out" but I have saved them all. PS: Often I will look away from the computer screen to work in my shop and why to I think I am listening to Tom Ridenour?.

[@gottalovetheknowledge4749]

I remember in high school this one asst. director was a sax performance major. He said they play their Selmer mk VI until they are "blown out" where the keys move too much between the posts/pivot screws, and other issues. They had tools back then to elongate rod screws, etc (from seeing old tech books). But the players back then would go to a new horn one the existing one gets worn out. I know currently I think Buffet likes players to buy a new instrument every 3-5 years in one of their statements (though this is years ago now). But I think of that more as a "lease" than "ownership" for players.

[@gottalovetheknowledge4749]

Oh, I really like what Tom Ridenour did at Leblanc with his designs. The Concertos / Opus are fantastic instruments near the top of my lists at their current used prices. And everything he's done afterwards. He has a good informative KZbin channel too.

[@niceguy200107]

​@@gottalovetheknowledge4749 This is why I continue to nurse my Opus 2, despite the damage it received being in a house fire in 2007. The wood shrank so much that residual "sap" came out. After rehydrating it for a week, Joel Lomax was able to get it playing again. Really the only sign is a few bumps inside the bore where some of the sap didn't get pulled in as the wood grain expanded back. I'm sure in a side-by-side or if Tom ever got my Opus 2 the difference could be spotted. But the intonation is still great. Heck, it's still mostly in tune now with old pads. This video really supports my view that when the time comes, I want someone who can really give my old girl some TLC. Tom and the French Leblanc factory really created something special. I like Tom's new clarinets, but I worry about the longevity of hard rubber.

[@scottishwildcat6485]

Fantastic.... just used this technique with the razor blades to free up a wooden mouthpiece frozen lo these many years on an 1860-1880 Besson Albert system C clarinet.

[@gottalovetheknowledge4749]

I show that technique here too ==> kzbin.info/www/bejne/qYmUpHp3mK9mfsU

[@fotojasoriano]

Muchas gracias; Da gusto ver tus videos tan bien explicados.

[@degriottier]

Excellent topic, rarely discussed on KZbin; fully agree, there is always physics that should explain a "blown-out" clarinet. What about micro-cracks in the bore, due to intensive playing?

[@gottalovetheknowledge4749]

Microcracks or deep wood grain? Microcracks is something to worry about especially if it starts expanding into a tonehole. That is one thing I missed in this video. A microcrack that goes through the chimney of a tonehole, that with playing and thermal expansion opens as a microcrack and thus a micro air leak thus affecting response and tonality. Normally this occurs about 10 minutes into playing, and then when cools can disappear until 10 more minutes of continually playing. Thus the reason and instrument can "come and go" in problems.

[@degriottier]

@@gottalovetheknowledge4749 Correct, regarding the bore, it is probably not micro-cracks, but I had the impression that clarinets that have been played a lot had a surface condition modification, showing indeed more deep wood grain. It is difficult to compare though, not having see the clarinet when it was new... But I was wondering if bore surface condition could affect sound (in te same way many mouthpiece refacers affirm that baffle surface roughness and texture change the sound of a mouthpiece used intensely).

[@gottalovetheknowledge4749]

When you play one introduces breathe and water to the bore. This water displaces oil in the wood. This can lead to the wood shrinking a bit causes surface texture changes. Swabbing also very slightly (especially when done a lot) can "polish" and remove very micro surface layers over years of swabbing. Oiling is important to prevent water absorption in to the wood especially in the barrel and barrel sockets and upper part of the upper bore. I mention this elsewhere. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qqWYoYCoeNCff7c

[@gottalovetheknowledge4749]

And in regards to texture. Yes I believe texture can surface affect tone. I have a video coming in regards to that. I'll be mentioning past tests and instruments such as Cannonball's original Big Bell Global Series that came with 2 necks, one had the internals all roughened up. This lead me to experiment myself back then. I noticed my Selmer sax necks all had texture in them, and cheaper water forms necks were all smooth. So I took a smooth internal neck and roughened it up ... but I need to redo that test and also redo it with barrels. Plastic mpcs tend to be nice and shiny too. This all in regards to high down to low frequencies of sound and how those bounce around or are absorbed by texture or material buildup.

[@AUsableUsername_]

So, I’m currently experiencing that my wooden clarinet is getting a much different sound than my plastic one. My plastic clarinet definitely needs repairs, but I almost prefer using it because, while my wooden clarinet seems to have nothing wrong with it, I seem to squeak a lot on it in higher registers in particular, and I’ve tried to so much to fix this and it won’t go away. I don’t know if it’s just a me issue or if it’s my clarinet, but I do know that my clarinet was used before me and I honestly have no clue how long it was used for. It’s a buffet e12 clarinet, I don’t know if e12F and e12 are the same, but my clarinet does look like it has some age and the fact it was like half the price of the original price when I bought it

[@gottalovetheknowledge4749]

If you play well on your B12 or other plastic clarinet and you use the same mouthpiece on your E12 and you squeak, I'm going to guess you have a leak somewhere. I thought I had a video about how to check for leaks at home, but I never finished it a couple years ago. If you take just the upper joint (of you plastic one first), use your right hand to close the ring keys, and your other hand to "plug" the bottom. Lightly blow in to it. The clarinet should stop your breath pressure (keep it light). If you increase your pressure you should be able to overcome a spring or two and the clarinet key(s) will leak. You can then compare this to your e12 and it should feel the same. Otherwise there is a leak somewhere. I'm going to have to finish or redo that one video I have of that. Though you'll be kinda doing the same thing in this video just without the machine. You'll have to pay close attention to how the pressure in your mouth is as you compare back and forth between the two clarinets. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iWiqlHlorpeGr7M

[@AUsableUsername_]

@@gottalovetheknowledge4749 alright, thank you, and I have a feeling I might have a leak, but I’m not entirely sure, so I’ll make sure to check, but the thing that got me very suspicious of this was because it was always the same notes that will squeak, such as Eb in the staff and C# in the staff, sometimes A, Ab, and G but those were mostly fixed with fixing my voicing and stuff

[@RatPfink66]

I always believed blowout was a psychic phenomenon, but a powerful one. If new pads often fix it, as you say, that suggests its not intrinsic to the instrument...unless/until the chimneys become porous and bleed air. And that doesn't always happen, even on very old instruments. I play 1930s/40s clarinets and they have held their sound beautifully during the time I've owned them. Years ago, when clarinet tone wasn't so standardized as now, there wasn't so much talk of blowout. So maybe it just affects the ease of creating that exact pure, neoclassical tone. And have you ever heard of a harmony clarinet blowing out? Eb, alto, bass? I haven't either! Hmmm!

[@boomsplotion]

Any comments, I need help, so im a beginner 6th grader clarinet player I just started in August. So my clarinet is super hard to blow to make high notes like "A" and it's no noise comes out from the note "D" and all the way to a low "G" , is there anyway to fix it?

[@gottalovetheknowledge4749]

It is best to give it to a Clarinet Technician or at least initially to a teacher to evaluate. There are so many possible issues from if you bought it new or used, high quality vs low quality to your techniques/knowledge as a player. One cannot really diagnose issues over the internet.

[@boomsplotion]

@@gottalovetheknowledge4749 ok thanks, will do!