So I've been "doing" that instrument, new pads, new silencers, new oil, regulating and whatnot. Horn's tight, everything is where it is supposed to be, key heights appear to be fine, the action is snappy and well-coordinated.
Now, out of habit I give a thusly "done" instrument the initiation rite in form of a realistic practice session. Just do what a musician does when not drinking or performing. Duh. This instrument sure is, uhm, new. I can basically smell the "new car trunk" odour. Still, it's a bit balky, the finger doesn't land where it should, the instrument is somewhat capricious. So, back to the bench, sand a bit here, replace a noisy cork with UltraSuede, look, test, impersonate the seasoned repair person.
Next day, in the den, aaah, things are better, however, it occasionally squeaks. Tweaked ring heights (my pet peeve), adjust a screw here and there, it's getting where I want it to be. But still, some notes hiss, and I feel I'm not quite there. Why the hiss, why today but not yesterday? Back to the kitchen table, take 2. I replace two (perfectly good and tight) pads with my home made tapered synthetics, soften a spring here, harden one there.
Day three - OMFG! This time I feel I haven't hit a wall but rather a cloud. I think "yes, this is how it should feel and behave."
Now, the obvious question (there's always one, isn't there?) - I assume a repair person doing hundreds of instruments every year probably has seen all, touched all, has the t-shirt and everything. Yet - while technically everything was okay, I did need that time to set it up the way I wanted it. Some things settle after two or three seconds, but some other issues only manifest themselves after an extended period of time, when you find out it's not you but the instrument. Just like a thorough car mechanic doesn't just drive round the block but goes for a half-hour trip which would include highways and bumpy country roads.
Or do you think there's a quick way past tedious stepwise refinement? Sheer experience? Or is it just an expensive and intense way of the "if you don't like it, then your reed's too hard" approach?
(FWIW I know that repairing instruments at 10PM with the impossibility to play-test them on the spot adds quite a bit of latency to the whole experience. But testing each single note is one thing ("static test"), but testing the performance under combat conditions is quite a different thing.)
Anyhow, I know why good repair people take their time to do it right, and why this is more expensive than an off-the-shelf repad.
Now, out of habit I give a thusly "done" instrument the initiation rite in form of a realistic practice session. Just do what a musician does when not drinking or performing. Duh. This instrument sure is, uhm, new. I can basically smell the "new car trunk" odour. Still, it's a bit balky, the finger doesn't land where it should, the instrument is somewhat capricious. So, back to the bench, sand a bit here, replace a noisy cork with UltraSuede, look, test, impersonate the seasoned repair person.
Next day, in the den, aaah, things are better, however, it occasionally squeaks. Tweaked ring heights (my pet peeve), adjust a screw here and there, it's getting where I want it to be. But still, some notes hiss, and I feel I'm not quite there. Why the hiss, why today but not yesterday? Back to the kitchen table, take 2. I replace two (perfectly good and tight) pads with my home made tapered synthetics, soften a spring here, harden one there.
Day three - OMFG! This time I feel I haven't hit a wall but rather a cloud. I think "yes, this is how it should feel and behave."
Now, the obvious question (there's always one, isn't there?) - I assume a repair person doing hundreds of instruments every year probably has seen all, touched all, has the t-shirt and everything. Yet - while technically everything was okay, I did need that time to set it up the way I wanted it. Some things settle after two or three seconds, but some other issues only manifest themselves after an extended period of time, when you find out it's not you but the instrument. Just like a thorough car mechanic doesn't just drive round the block but goes for a half-hour trip which would include highways and bumpy country roads.
Or do you think there's a quick way past tedious stepwise refinement? Sheer experience? Or is it just an expensive and intense way of the "if you don't like it, then your reed's too hard" approach?
(FWIW I know that repairing instruments at 10PM with the impossibility to play-test them on the spot adds quite a bit of latency to the whole experience. But testing each single note is one thing ("static test"), but testing the performance under combat conditions is quite a different thing.)
Anyhow, I know why good repair people take their time to do it right, and why this is more expensive than an off-the-shelf repad.