my tech refuses to work on my malerne alto clarinet

[super20dan]

the alto i bought on ebay for 125$ was so badly repadded my tech refuses to touch it. says he would have to strip it and start from scratch and charge 350-500$. i guess i am going to work on it myself as a learning experience. i have nothing to loose. the left hand section is ok. so mabey it wont be that bad. cant win them all on ebay it seems.

[DaveLeBlanc]

I don't see why any tech would REFUSE to touch something unless they physically can't perform some aspect of the repair. if its just padwork, then it's just like any other day in the office.

[super20dan]

he is 79 and dosnt seem to want to work anymore. the quality of his work has taken a turn for the worse lately also. sadly he is the only game in town. i spent 4 hrs today working on the marlane myself and have it playing. it still needs some work resetting some key heights to eliminate stuffy notes that arnt getting enough venting due to too close height in the key action. while this isnt the best alto i have played its not that bad and deserves to be put back in action.

[super20dan]

well another hr of work and the marlerne is playing like a champ! the key heights were way off making many notes stuffy and muffled. the horn was recently completly rebuilt but must have been by an apprentice and since it was a school horn-nobody cared, classic outcome for an alto clarinet sad to say. blame the insterment for being obsolete and poor desighn. for 125$ and zero spent on repairs (thanks to myself) i have a decent useable alto. this thing sure is mpc picky tho. of all the mpcs i have including top names-it likes the yamaha and the glotin of paris the best. the mpc supplied with it is just terrible. tone like a dying goose!

[windydankoff]

I found an old Vito French hard rubber alto mouthpiece and it sounds excellent on my (Vito) alto.

[super20dan]

yes every once in a while you come across a jewel disguised as a supplied student mpc. these were all done by hand back then . made from good quality rubber . usually from riffault. ?

[DaveLeBlanc]

My best find was a Selmer HS** hard rubber that I sold for $80.

Came in a $20 Bundy or some other plastic clarinet.

[super20dan]

did more work on the key heights and got it playing even better. gone is all stuffy notes and the tone of the whole horn has improved. even the stock mpc that came with the horn now plays great on it. picked up a selmer c* on ebay for it for 25$ . waiting for softer legere reeds to come for the selmer. thought the close facing mpc could use harder reeds but i am wrong. hoping to make this horn my no1 for comunity band and kicks the bundy back to the closet

[super20dan]

more work done and all leaks and key heights corrected. softer legere reeds make all the diff. this baby plays now! its going to band practice this week for its debut. tone is richer than my bundy. the left hand eb/ab will be a welcome addition and is why i bought this horn.

[super20dan]

rehearsal was a ton of fun with the perfected malerne. it kicked butt and more than held its own against the low brass . selmer c* and legere american cut 1.5 reed a winning combo