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Clarinet Repairs at Dawkes Music

The Dawkes Music Instrument Repair Workshop is open by appointment from Monday-Saturday 9.30am-5.30pm. We repair all Woodwind Instruments, not just Clarinets. We work on Bb Clarinets, A Clarinets, Alto Clarinets and Bass Clarinets. To keep your Clarinet in good working order, we recommend that you have it maintained and serviced at regular intervals. Clarinets purchased from us qualify for a 10% discount on all Woodwind Repairs (subject to verification). This does not affect the standard 12-month guarantee.

Repair Appointments:

Please Note: This is not a courier collection booking for remote repair assistance. If you have an instrument to send to us for quote/repair we suggest using the Royal Mail Home Collection service. You can purchase the postage on their site and then arrange for Royal Mail to collect the item directly from your home, or you can take it to a local post office. More details and booking can be found on the Royal Mail Collection Site. Please contact us before sending in any instruments so we can advise on current waiting times.

Meet the Clarinet Repair Workshop

Do you feel your clarinet isn't playing as it should or as well as you remember from when you first received it? Below, our clarinet repairers explain some of the issues that may affect your instrument now or in the future. If you’d like to book a drop-off or repair slot with our team, please contact us

On the spot clarinet repairs

If you have a minor problem with your clarinet we have a team of repairers available to perform clarinet repairs whilst you wait. Our on the spot service is intended for quick adjustments and minor repairs which can take up to 30 minutes. We also do our best to accommodate any emergency repairs as we understand how important it is to have your clarinet working at its best should you have an upcoming performance or exam.

Clarinet Check-Down

Here we check your clarinet fully but without dismantling the instrument. Having this done every year ensures that you are getting the best out of your clarinet. One method for checking that your clarinet is air-tight is by performing a suction test on the top and bottom joints of your instrument, it gives a fair indication of whether your clarinet is working as well as it could. You can attempt this yourself by following these instructions.

Clarinet Suction Test

• 1. Take the top or bottom joint and make sure all the keys are closed with your regular fingering.
• 2. Place the palm of your free hand at the bottom of the joint sealing the bore.
• 3. Place the top of the joint to your lips and suck the air from the instrument.
• 4. Finally release the keys.

If you don't get a pronounced pop as you release the keys you may need to visit our shop. It may be that we will need to replace any worn or missing corks and make sure your clarinet is regulated (where one key goes down with another). Basically it means we get your clarinet working without doing too much cleaning!

Clarinet Blow Test

Same as points 1 and 2 above but this time blow down the top or bottom joint of your clarinet. If you hear air escaping from either joint then it's possible that the springs of your clarinet are not functioning properly or key-work regulation is not as it should be.

Clarinet Re-Pad's and Services

There are other specialist repairs we can perform such as repairing broken tenons, customising key-work, silver plating or gold plating key-work, re-facing mouthpieces and filling cracked clarinets. This presentation shows you exactly what we do on every standard clarinet service or re-pad.

Our workshop keep a very high standard when it comes to performing clarinet servicing and follow a checklist with each service or re-pad. This presentation shows you exacttly what we do on every standard clarinet service or re-pad. To navigate, either click the side buttons or swipe the page if you have a touch screen device.

• 1.The Clarinet is dismantled
• 2.Joints and tone-holes are checked for imperfections or cracks
• 3.Pillars are checked to ensure none are loose or turning
• 4.Each spring is checked to make sure none are rusty, loose or broken
• 5.Any old pads are removed and shellac or glue removed from the pad cup

• 6.The speaker tube is cleaned
• 7.We check for any loose tenon rings
• 8.We Clean inside and outside, top joint, bottom joint, bell and barrel joints with
  Professor Weinberg's Bore Oil
• 9.Each tone-hole is checked for chipped surfaces
• 10.Any worn tenon corks are replaced (re-pad only - charged extra on a service)
• 11.Each key is hand polished using Merard super fine polishing paste

• 12.Old oil is removed from each rod and hinge tube
• 13.Key corks are replaced for either felt, teflon or synthetic cork where required or as requested
• 14.Pads are replaced using premium deluxe pads (Option of cork, leather or Gore-Tex)
• 15.Amber shellac is used to fix the pad into the pad cup

• 16.Pads are replaced using premium deluxe pads (Option of cork, leather or Gore-Tex as requested)

• 17.Old oil is removed from each rod and hinge tube
• 18.Key corks are replaced for either felt, teflon or synthetic cork where required or as requested
• 19.Amber shellac is used to fix the pad to back of the new pad
• 20.Each skin pad is side pricked with a needle spring to stop bloating at a later date

• 21.Each key is re-assembled and re-lubricated
• 22.Mechanical play is removed from key-work
• 23.Each pad is seated as required
• 24.Bumper corks are adjusted as required
• 25.Spring tensions are adjusted
• 26.Tenon corks are adjusted
• 27.Key-work regulation is adjusted

• 28.Venting (pad height) is checked on all key-work
• 29.Double action is removed on keywork
• 30.Spring tension is tested by blocking end of top and bottom joint to check that no keys are lifting.
• 31.The balance of the key-work is checked
• 32.The E/B lever action is checked across joints

• 33.The height of the rings is checked
• 34.Thumb-rest position is checked
• 35.We fully blow test the full range of the instrument
• 36.The customer's mouthpiece is checked and cleaned
• 37.Mouthpiece tenon corks are replaced if required (extra cost on service)
• 38.The inside and outside of the case is cleaned
• 39.Final polish and put-away