
ASSEMBLING YOUR CLARINET
To make assembling the upper and lower joint easier, there is a marking on the thumb rest, which should be in line with the point of the upper joint.
With instruments fitted with a low e-f mechanism you must make sure that the connection mechanism from the lower joint to the bell is positioned exactly.
To make this easier, a B or an A stamp has been printed on the bell, which should be in line with the pillar of the lower joint.
The length marking (58/59/60/61/62) engraved on the rear side of the barrel should be on the rear side.
You can prevent unwanted distortion of the mechanism by assembling your GEROLD CLARINET with a gentle rotating movement, as shown in Figures 1 to 3. (Please take note of the hand positions!)
THUMB REST & LOW E/F MECHANISM
Your GEROLD CLARINET has an adjustable, agronomical thumb rest.
By turning the clamp screw anti-clockwise to release it, using the screwdriver provided with the accessories, you can adjust the thumb rest to the position you find most comfortable.
By releasing the clamp screw you can set the key finger button of the low e/f mechanism to the exact position you require.
To ensure that the low e/f mechanism is completely open, a small space must be left between the key finger button and the clarinet body (without bell) when the mechanism is pressed.
BREAKING IN YOUR NEW CLARINET
In order to protect the grenadilla wood of your GEROLD CLARINET from cracking and to accustom it gradually to the warmth and moisture produced while playing, you should play it in an uninterrupted session for no longer than half an hour to one hour maximum during the first two to three weeks.
To allow your GEROLD CLARINET to adjust to your individual vibrancies or your personal tone, it is advisable in the first few weeks to play long notes, from pianissimo to forte and back.
This exercise speeds up and improves the breaking-in process and allows you to become accustomed more quickly to your GEROLD CLARINET.
To avoid saliva channels forming in the inner bore, which can have the undesirable result that fluid escapes through the tone holes, we strongly recommend that you wipe dry the inner bore frequently during the breaking-in period.
During relatively long pauses in playing you should place your GEROLD CLARINET on a clarinet stand. (Never lay the instrument flat on a horizontal surface when the inner bore is damp!)
INTONATION
Your GEROLD CLARINET has been intonated with a pitch of 443 Hertz at 21° Celsius, 40% - 60% relative humidity (barrel-joint length 60 mm). Please consider that a change in temperature of 2° Celsius alters the intonation by about 1 Hertz!
For a best possible, balanced intonation of your GEROLD CLARINET, a precisely fitting inner bore of your mouthpiece is essential.
With the help of a special tool, the inner bore can be adjusted on all common clarinet mouthpieces (except glass mouthpieces).
In order to make it easier for you to reach a pitch of 443 Hertz even before you have warmed up your clarinet, in our intonation techniques we have considered a 'barrel-joint extension' of approximately 1 mm in the warm condition.
That is to say, you will be able to reach a pitch of 443 Hertz even in the cold state and then in the warm state pull out the barrel joint in this position your GEROLD CLARINET will also attain the best possible, most balanced intonation!
If necessary, individual intonation corrections should only be carried out after at least one year of breaking-in and familiarization.
CARE
Clean the keywork of your GEROLD CLARINET regularly with the microfiber cloth provided.
To prevent dust settling in the spaces in the mechanism, these areas should be cleaned regularly with the bristle brush provided.
All the rod screws on your GEROLD CLARINET are greased with a premium quality bearing grease, which forms a long-lasting lubricant layer between the areas of friction.
For this reason the rod screws need to be re-greased once a year.
To prevent noise from the keys, the black glass fibre rolls for the little finger of the right or left hand should be greased about once every 6 months with the lubricating grease. (Syringe)
To do this, put the dispensing nozzle into the small hole in the centre of the roll and squeeze a little lubricating grease between the screw and the roll. (Take care to remove any superfluous grease!)
This lubricating grease can also be used to lubricate the mechanism.
STORAGE
After each use the inner bore and the tenon connections should be dried with the clarinet swab provided.
To prevent the silver from tarnishing, and to allow moisture to drain away, we recommend that you store the clarinet after use in the open instrument case.
Warning! Never store new hard rubber mouthpieces in a closed instrument case!
To prevent cracks developing in the wooden corpus, the clarinet must never be stored in close proximity to heat sources! We recommend that you store your clarinet in relative humidity of between 40% and 70%.
In addition, you should avoid exposing your GEROLD CLARINET to extremes of cold or heat, to direct sunlight for a prolonged period or to large fluctuations in temperature.
In particular in very cold spaces the upper section of the clarinet in the area of the speaker hole should be warmed with the hands before playing the clarinet, to avoid cracking of the wood.
REGULATION SCREWS
The regulation screws on your GEROLD CLARINET make it simple to re-adjust the keywork.
In order to prevent unwanted distortion all the regulation screws are secured with Loctite screwlock.
These regulation screws can be adjusted in the positive and negative range.
To do this, use only the screwdriver provided for this purpose.
You need to be aware that even minimal rotation of the screws can have a considerable effect on the adjustment of the mechanism.
Major re-adjustments must be carried out only by a specialist.
TENON CORKS
Every time you assemble your GEROLD CLARINET, you should grease all the tenon corks with the cork grease provided.
To keep the tenon cork clean during greasing spread some cork grease sparingly over the edge of the tenon and with your thumb or index finger spread the cork grease evenly over the tenon cork.
Before the corpus parts of the clarinet are completely assembled, they should be taken apart again to remove any spilled, superfluous cork grease from the edge of the object.
To preserve the elasticity of the tenon cork, you should avoid storing your GEROLD CLARINET for long periods in its assembled state.
ACCESSORIES
- Clarinet swab
- Microfiber cloth
- Cork grease
- Screwdriver
- Bristle brush
- Wood care oil
- Hagerty silver cloth
- Tenon protection sleeve
GUARANTEE
Your GEROLD CLARINET includes a two year guarantee.
This guarantee applies only in conjunction with the original invoice (duration with effect from date of invoice) and a carried out Check-up service (est. 3 months after delivery date).
Individual customizations or intonation adjustments based on personal preferences or playing habits, as well as the use of incompatible mouthpieces, are not covered by the guarantee.
We cannot give any guarantee for default or damage, which has occurred as a result of inappropriate treatment of the clarinet, failure to comply with the Instructions for Use, failure to observe a duty of care or repairs carried out other than by us.
SERVICING RECOMMENDATIONS
- Check-up service (after approx. 3 months)
- Repadding (after approx. 2 years)
- General overhaul (after approx. 4 years)
- Repadding (after approx. 6 years )
- General overhaul (after approx. 8 years )
- Repadding (after approx. 10 years )