Clarinet Re-running in a wooden Clarinet

Duck

Member
57
UK
I have taken the plunge and made a decision on 50% of my current instrument needs, and with any luck tomorrow I'll be taking delivery of a second hand Yamaha YCL 650.

Bought from fleabay for £650, a number I'm trying to not think too hard about, it's apparently two years old, but has not been played in the last year. Prior to this I've been playing a plastic Jupiter 631 and not worrying about things like drying out, heat or cold. Elsewhere on the forums I read that wooden Clarinets should have a sort of running in process, I would be very grateful if someone could advise me on this, and also on ways to lessen the impact of temperature changes - it will have to sit in my van all day when I have lessons and that can be awful cold, and less often by far, pretty toasty.

Thanks in advance for any help, now I can turn my full attention to finding the right Tenor Sax, just missed out on a YTS 23 on gumtree :-(
 
Perfect, thank you. I think I'll get it in for a service sooner rather than later, it all seems ok, but once it's warmed up it gets a little bit buzzy, probably needs a once over after sitting for a year.

I'd keep the plastic one for that sort of use. I think you're asking for trouble doing that with an expensive wooden clarinet

Good advice, a gardeners van isn't the ideal habitat for anything really. Not a problem when it's just there and back, but when it will need to sit for several hours that would be dumb. Not that my house is that much warmer.

There is a YTS in the Yard Sale....................................

Seen and lusted after, but out of my budget at the moment, at least until I sell the bike. The YTS 23 was only £300 but I was just too slow.
 
Afik, there are two factors: moisture and heat. Moisture is not too much of an issue if the instrument is properly oiled.

Rapid temperature changes can crack the wood. Wooden instruments can take low temperatures, but only if they change slowly.
 
Afik, there are two factors: moisture and heat. Moisture is not too much of an issue if the instrument is properly oiled.
AFAIK, the benefits of oiling are somewhat controversial. Anything which causes expansion or contraction is a potential problem as you have a tube of significant thickness.
 
AFAIK, the benefits of oiling are somewhat controversial. Anything which causes expansion or contraction is a potential problem as you have a tube of significant thickness.
The techs here all soak wooden instruments in an oil bath for a few days. This keeps the moisture out of the wood and means that kids who don't dry their instruments don't wreck them through neglect. Might not work in drier areas, but it works here.
 
AFAIK, the benefits of oiling are somewhat controversial. Anything which causes expansion or contraction is a potential problem as you have a tube of significant thickness.

Are we still talking about Clarinets here?

Thank you for all the advice, I'm being extremely diligent about swabbing and drying as thoroughly as I can and trying to warm my clarinet gradually. Given that it will only be me using it I think I will not oil it at the moment - it's still a young instrument and I suspect that introducing oil would be unlikely to offer a noticeable benefit.
 

Similar threads... or are they? Maybe not but they could be worth reading anyway 😀

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