Assembly

davetee

I'm new to Clarinet..or any woodwind for that matter. I just wanted to know...is it ok to leave my clarinet assembled if I'm not taking it out of the house? Does it cause any problem with grease drying or cork sticking?
 
While I'm sure a real tech will come by and give you his opinion, I'm willing to bet that it'll start with, "It depends ..." Number one thing that it'd depend on would be the material your clarinet is made out of: wood, metal, plastic, or hard rubber. Wood can dry out and could crack, which isn't a good thing. The other materials don't really have that problem. Answering the specific question of "cork sticking," the answer is "yes." I've had a couple instruments where that happened. However, they might have been stuck together for years, so time will make a difference. Same could be said for pads drying out and falling off. Or molding.

You didn't mention one obvious thing: if the horn's left out, it's more prone to being accidentally broken. You really don't want to hear, "Ooops. Just tripped over your clarinet."

You should disassemble the horn, clean it with a swab, and put it in its case. It doesn't take that long.
 
pete said:
While I'm sure a real tech will come by and give you his opinion, I'm willing to bet that it'll start with, "It depends ..." Number one thing that it'd depend on would be the material your clarinet is made out of: wood, metal, plastic, or hard rubber. Wood can dry out and could crack, which isn't a good thing. The other materials don't really have that problem. Answering the specific question of "cork sticking," the answer is "yes." I've had a couple instruments where that happened. However, they might have been stuck together for years, so time will make a difference. Same could be said for pads drying out and falling off. Or molding.

You didn't mention one obvious thing: if the horn's left out, it's more prone to being accidentally broken. You really don't want to hear, "Ooops. Just tripped over your clarinet."

You should disassemble the horn, clean it with a swab, and put it in its case. It doesn't take that long.
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It's Hard Rubber and a student Clarinet...I have a stand for it and somewhere safe to place it. I was just thinking of leaving it out while I'm learning, as I'm more likely to keep picking it up...putting it down throughout the day. I was thinking maybe I could clean and put away just at the end of the day.
 
davetee said:
It's Hard Rubber and a student Clarinet...I have a stand for it and somewhere safe to place it. I was just thinking of leaving it out while I'm learning, as I'm more likely to keep picking it up...putting it down throughout the day. I was thinking maybe I could clean and put away just at the end of the day.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't recommend leaving it assembled for days or weeks at a time, but I leave mine assembled during the day and put it away at night with no problems. As you say, it's far more likely that you'll play it if its immediately available. If you leave it assembled for long periods then there's always the temptation to skip regular cleaning, and you'd be amazed at what can grow in a wet joint if left for long enough.
 
I've left mine out for a couple days at a time. No real damage.
Just don't have it sitting in the sun or next to a heat vent.

The only thing that can happen (excluding sun and heat exposure) is the corks get compressed more and may not rebound, or someone knocks it over in a stand.
 
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