• DINKLES Shoes HOLD Prices for 2009
• Dead Stock Blowout – Yamaha Bari Sax Mouthpiece
• Flute/Clarinet Repair Clinic Recap
• Contrabass French Horn Video
• Repair Tip –  Clarinet/Sax  Mouthpiece Nicks
• Repair Tool of the Week  – Leak Lights

 

DINKLES Shoes HOLD Prices for 2009

For those of you using the Vanguard, the Glide, or the Formal, Dinkles is holding price levels for 2009 at the same level as 2008, so Salisbury Music will hold prices on these shoes as well.

DINKLES are currently being used by :

• The Holy Name Cadets
• The Blue Coats
• The Crossman
• Spirit of JSU
• University of Maryland
• Westchester University
• Plus Many More

 

Dead Stock Blowout – Yamaha Bari Sax Mouthpiece

Retail Price = $59.95

Normal BD Price = $47.95

BLOWOUT PRICE = $39.99

Only One Available & MP Only

 

 

 

Flute/Clarinet Repair Clinic Recap

As I told you last week, I was invited to speak to the Instrument Methods Class at Salisbury University last week.  I talked with the students about many aspects of repairing flutes and clarinets. At point’s I covered other instruments, but kept the talk mostly to the upper woodwinds. Below is the hand out I gave out. Feel free to download. It is a PDF file.

Contrabass French Horn Video

YIKES! 5 Valves no less!

 

Repair Tip – Clarinet/Sax Mouthpiece Nicks

Ever have a clarinet or sax play GREAT one day, then almost totally not play the next day?  One of the things I always check on clarinets and saxes is the condition of the tip of the mouthpiece. It is amazing how a small nick or chip in the tip of the mouthpiece can dramatically change the playing characteristics of an instrument. Mouthpieces get dropped, and often the result is a chipped or nicked mouthpiece tip. Chips or nicks in the rail(s), the flat sides running down to where the reed clamps on, can also have an effect, but not nearly as much as a nick in the tip. Solution? Unfortunately, replacement of the MP.

 

Repair Tool of the Week

– Leak Lights

My collection of Leak Lights

Leak lights are used in woodwind repair to detect pad coverage problems. The light is inserted into the instrument, so that we can see where the pad is not properly covering the tone hole. Where light is leaking out, air will also leak out

Leak Lights

• Top 2 – Blue Neon bulbs used for flutes and piccolos. The light intensity is dramatically less than fluorescent bulbs, which can bleed through white flute pads. These neon bulbs are actually under-dash car neon bulbs used in high-end car audio customizing shops.  The repair guys at Music & Arts clued me into these.
• Middle – 12 Inch Fluorescent saxophone leak light. This is the staple of the industry.  They also come in 6” & 20” versions.
• Bottom 2 – Old School incandescent bulbs. I still use these for bari saxes (bari’s have no access at the top to insert a long bulb)