Clarinet tone holes are something many players and technicians overlook entirely. Wood is not a stable or consistent material – the natural grain affects the quality of your tone holes, and over time, shifts from humidity and temperature changes can alter the tone hole surface. Add to that the fact that manufacturers don’t always surface and profile tone holes to a high standard during production, and it becomes easy to see how even a brand new clarinet can have problematic tone holes.
The consequences are straightforward: a bad tone hole means a bad pad seal, and a bad pad seal means poor performance – additionally, if your tonehole isn’t profiled well or even, it changes the venting which impacts tone and pitch. Regardless of how good your pads are or how well the clarinet is setup – if you have a bad tonehole you will have negatively impacted performance.
Before & After
The photos below are from a real clarinet we serviced. We won’t name the manufacturer since this problem can affect any brand. What is worth noting is that this was not a used instrument – it was a brand new professional clarinet that sold for over $3,000.
In the first photo, you can clearly see a chattered tone hole edge running from the 12 o’clock to the 2 o’clock position. In addition, there was no clear defined profile to the tonehole which made the note play exceptionally stuffy. The second photo shows the same tone hole after we leveled and re-profiled the edge – clean, defined, and ready for a proper pad seal and proper air flow.
What’s Included
Professional tone hole filing is included at no additional charge with our Pro Shop Overhaul service. Intermediate wood overhaul services include up to two tone holes at no extra cost – any additional tone holes are quoted after we inspect the clarinet.
If you’re not sure whether your clarinet’s tone holes need attention, bring it in or send it to us and we’ll assess it as part of our standard evaluation. You might be surprised at the difference it makes.
Interested in our full overhaul service? Read about the Pro Shop Overhaul here, which includes tone hole filing as a standard step.
Questions? Get in touch and we’ll walk you through what your clarinet needs.