by Howard Fosdick © FolkFluteWorld.com

This is your complete "fix it" guide for the recorder. We'll cover every common problem and tell you how to fix it.

We'll also explain how to maintain your recorder. Whether your instrument is plastic or wood, it needs a certain amount of care to stay in top playable condition. Proper maintenance prevents many problems from developing.

Before we start, here are the parts of a recorder:

Recorder Plays for Awhile Then Doesn't Sound Right

Here's a common problem everyone faces. You play your recorder for a while and it sounds fine.

But sometime during your session, notes suddenly become muffled or muted; they don't sound true. Perhaps they warble or are unstable.

This problem usually means that your recorder has wetted out. The moisture from your breath has collected inside the instrument and clogged it up.

The solution is simple. Just take your instrument apart. Give a couple very hard blows through the mouthpiece to blow out the moisture.

Then swab out the moisture from all the recorder's components with a cleaning swab. Reassemble your instrument and you're ready to play again.

Most recorders come complete with a cleaning swab. If not, you can buy one. Just make sure it's the right size for your instrument.

Alternatively, many people use a cleaning rod to which they attach a cloth.

If your instrument wets out while you're performing and you can't disassemble the instrument, give it a quick hard suck to remove mouthpiece moisture.

How to Take Apart a Recorder with Stuck Joints

I got a great deal on a used recorder from the web. But I discovered that I couldn't disassemble it!

Maybe it hadn't been played for a long time. Maybe it was stored in an attic. Maybe it was exposed to widely varying temperatures and humidity, or maybe it had never been cleaned.

Ultimately, the cause doesn't matter. If you can't get the parts unstuck, you can't clean the insides or keep it free of moisture. And, you definitely want to be able to swab your instrument out after a session.

Here are some solutions:

1. Put on some inexpensive latex or nitrile gloves. These are the thin disposable gloves that they use in hospitals. These give you much better grip on the instrument, especially if it's plastic. Now try twisting.

2. Instead of twisting in one direction, try a series of short, quick, snap twists in opposite directions. Repeated back-and-forth attempts may loosen the joint.

3. You may need to try to break the seal that is adhering the joint. The sealant could be solidified spit or cork grease mixed with dirt or dust, or some other adhering material. Or it could be a vacuum seal.

4. Nod the joint. Instead of twisting, hold one piece of the recorder steady while you try to nod the other piece back and forth. Don't twist it, nod it just like you nod your head to indicate "yes". This will sometimes break the seal, then you can twist apart the pieces.

5. Sit down and place the instrument over your thigh. Now apply very gentle pressure to break the seal. A very slight amount of pressure is all you want, just enough to break the seal.

6. For a plastic recorder only, try placing it under warm running water. Not too hot! This could expand the outer part of the material faster than the inner, and then allow you to twist apart the joint. This is the exact same technique you've used to open stuck jars from the grocery.

7. Another trick for plastic recorders: pop it in the refrigerator for awhile. Cold shrinks the material and also may reduce the adhesiveness of the grease.

Once you've fixed the problem and have taken your recorder apart, be sure to clean it thoroughly. Then lubricate the joints properly before re-assembling it.

Going forward, keep the instrument in a clean environment with stable temperature and humidity. Don't expose it to environmental extremes. Keep it clean and lubricated.

If it's a wood instrument, follow the maker's instructions about whether, when, and how to oil it.

With proper maintenance, you'll never have to face the problem of a stuck joint again!

How to Fix Loose Joints -- Pieces Don't Fit Snuggly

The male part of two pieces of a recorder that fit together is called the tenon. On a wood recorder, this is the piece that has the cork. Or it might consist of wrapped string on an older wood recorder.

To fix a loose joint, your goal is to thicken the tenon, thereby creating a snugger fit. Don't overdo it by making the fit too tight. Otherwise, it will be difficult to disassemble your recorder.

Plastic Recorders

Tenons on plastic recorders are bare: they don't have cork or string. The pieces fit together by very precise fit. Often they have a bit of cork grease on them to make them easier to slide apart and reconnect.

So first, wipe off any cork grease to ensure you're working with a perfectly clean plastic joint.

One simple solution to a loose fit is to cut paper to suit, wrap it around the tenon, and secure it with scotch tape. You can select a thickness of paper to match your needs. Be sure to leave some room for the tape to contact the tenon itself to secure it.

The photo shows how to do this. It's simple, quick, cheap, and it works. But you'll have to redo it now and then. This solution doesn't last forever, but it's easy to repeat as needed.

Another approach is to thicken the tenon solely with tape -- no paper. Any of several kinds of tape could work, including plumber's tape or thin electrical tape. Experiment a little to see what might work best for you before applying it in final form.

Don't use glue. You could stick your joints together permanently!

Wood Recorders

Wood recorder tenons have either cork or wrapped string. You might need to fix them because this material has become too compressed to be useful. Or perhaps it's damaged or rotted away.

Your first task is to determine whether you can leave the existing cork or string in place. Is it still useable such that you can add a thickening material on top? Or is it so damaged that you need to remove it first, and start from a bare tenon?

In most cases, you're best off removing the cork or string entirely and starting fresh. That way you have a clean slate to work with and can ensure your repair will work.

Sometimes you can fix loose joints with the same taping techniques we described above for plastic recorders. Tape fixes may need to be reapplied every now and then, but they often work just fine.

An alternative is to thread the joint with string. First, apply some sort of removeable adhesive to the bare tenon. Examples are lacquer or nail polish. (Glues like super glue are not good choices as they are hard to remove the next time you need to do a repair.)

Then single-thread around the joint. Finish by cross-threading over the top. This ensures the thread won't move. And finally, take a needle and thread it under the fix to tie it tight.

The photo shows how this looks when you're done. This short video walks you through the process.

The other approach is to recork the tenon. In this case, you'll probably want to remove any existing cork or string before you start. Make sure the tenon is bare and clean.

You'll need to cut a thin piece of cork of the right size to wrap around the tenon. Then you apply adhesive to the bare tenon. Finally, wrap the thin piece of cork around the tenon and seal it into position. This Youtube video shows you how to do this.

How to Fix Broken Keys

The keys on tenor and bass recorders are at risk because they're fragile and stick out. There may come a time when you need to fix a broken key.

If it's a plastic key that's snapped, super glue works miracles. Since super glue actually melts plastic parts together, it can bind broken keys with the strength required for their use.

Regular "plastics glue" may not be strong enough to work, because when you depress a key, you're applying direct pressure to a very small plastic part.

Be very careful that you only apply super glue where it's needed! You don't want to permanently seal a key in position, or mar the finish of your instrument.

(If you do end up in a situation where you need to remove glue, hot water can unbind many kinds of glues. We recommend thoroughly researching the problem on the web before you try anything.)

This photo shows a vintage 1970s recorder restored by super glue. The key was broken in two places. Now it works like new.

You can see why super glue is required. These parts are so small there is not enough surface area to apply much glue, so only a glue that actually melts the plastic parts together will give you sufficient bonding strength.

The fix is visible in close up, but it's not noticeable at a distance.

No replacement keys are available for this vintage instrument, so without this fix it would be in the trash.

Other problems you may have with keys are when they no longer open or shut, don't close fully, or develop bad pads.

Read the next two sections for how to fix these problems.

Fixing Keys and Reducing Key Noise

When playing tenor or bass, you might notice that your keys click when they are either depressed or released. Whether this noise is bothersome depends on two factors: your instrument's design and the manner in which you play it.

If you're bothered by audible keys, one solution is to learn how to develop a "touch" that results in quieter keys.

Test a noisy key to see whether it ticks when it is depressed, or when it's released. Now you'll know if you need to depress a key gently instead of "slapping" it down. Or maybe you need to release a key in a fluid motion rather than "popping it" all at once. Good playing technique can often reduce or eliminate key noises.

If the problem is key clicks that show up in recordings, use audio editing software to reduce or eliminate them. Free programs like Audacity or Ocenaudio make it pretty easy to reduce errant ticks.

Different instruments and keys produce different levels of clicking. Some simply can't be played without causing key distraction. That can happen with new instruments where the vendor hasn't bothered about key noise, and with older instruments where the keys have degraded over time.

In the next sections we'll show you how to tune or fix keys. The approach you use depends on their design. There are several different types of key action.

But first, a warning. Key operation is very delicate and you don't want to make it worse. Only attempt these changes after you've read this entire section and are confident you will succeed.  !!! Make any changes at your own risk! !!!

1. Exposed Needle Spring Design

This first photo shows an old style key with a metal needle spring (the thin rod pointed to by the arrow). This key design is popular on wood recorders.

Bending or straightening a needle spring affects the force of "pop" in key action. You can do this with a set of pliers. Be very careful: a minute alteration causes big changes in key action.

Sometimes removing the screw and cleaning it out will help restore key action on an older instrument. Use only a tool that fits your screw head to remove it, otherwise you could damage it.

If resetting the screw and key don't do the job, you can apply an incredibly small amount of plastic-safe lubricant for plastic recorders. This fixes the case of a squeaky key.

The two red arrows at top point to where the screw attaches the key to the instrument. The bottom photo points it out more clearly.

This last photo gives you a better view of the exposed needle spring on a wood instrument.

2. Hidden Flat Springs Design

This second photo shows the "hidden spring" design popular with plastic recorders. The two red arrows at the sides point to where the two screws attach the keys to the instrument. You must remove these to dismantle the keys and rebuild them to alter the key action.

Inside, the spring differs from the needle spring of the above example. Instead it's flat spring, a very thin bendable metal piece. They're located directly beneath the keys. Sometimes these become fatigued and can benefit from adjustment or replacement.

These next two photos provide more detail. They're key replacement sets for Yamaha bass recorders. They're typical of the plastic keys with hidden springs used by most vendors.

You can see that each key consists of two parts that connect in the middle with a screw or pin. One side of the key is the part your press with your finger.

The other side covers the tone hole on the instrument. The side that covers the tone hole includes the very thin, bendable metal spring. It's that spring that pops the key off the tone hole when you release the key from your finger.

If replacement key sets are available for your instrument, it often makes more sense to replace the keys and their springs rather than fiddlying around trying to adjust them. But replacement parts are often unavailable. Hence, we've given you the whole story here so that you can either adjust or replace keys, as needed.

Replacement key sets such as these from Yamaha usually cost somewhere around $10 to $20 USD.

Bad Pads

The pads beneath keys harden as they age. Sometimes this causes them to become noisy when they hit the tone hole. They may even become brittle and deteriorate or break apart.

The solution is simply to replace the pads. If you can buy new keys from the manufacturer, they will include the pads. Otherwise check at an instrument repair or recorder repair shop. Pads for other instruments will sometimes fit recorder keys.

Replacing a pad is easy. Most pry off with a pen knife. Secure the new pad with a tiny drop of glue.

If you can't locate recorder or other suitable instrument pads, you can fashion your own.

Foam sheets are sold by many crafts and hardware stores, including Amazon. You can look around and judge which foam sheets are most similar to your pad in terms of hardness, springiness, etc. Measure the thickness of your pad, then buy a foam sheet of the same thickness.

Cut the other dimensions to fit with a sharp, small knife, such as those commonly referred to as "exacto knives". You must be very precise because you're cutting a round pad that must fit the key and also fully cover the tone hole.

To ensure good fit, place your new pad into position by pressure. Test it out. If it works well, glue it in for permanent use.

How to Fix Cracks

It's difficult to fix a cracked wood recorder. How you proceed all depends on the location and size of the crack. If you have an expensive wood recorder, your best bet may be to send your instrument to a professional repairer.

Sometimes you can sand down and glue very small cracks to fix them. Glue can sometimes fix larger cracks but it may not adhere well to a recorder that has a history of being oiled. In this case it functions more as a sealant than an adhesive.

Wood putty functions the same way. It can't stop a crack from widening, but it can improve the ascetic look of the instrument.

Since cracks can be hard to fix, the best solution is to prevent them from happening. Avoid these situations that cause cracking:

• Wood totally dries out
• Exposure to extremes in temperature or humidity
• Exposure to quick, drastic changes in temperature
• Storage in an inappropriate environment (like a hot attic or wet basement, or inside your car in summer)

Cracking is not normally a concern with plastic recorders. If one should crack, plastic glue should allow you to fix it.

Recorder Squeaks or Squawks

If you're a new to playing recorder, you're likely causing this problem. Squeaks are typically caused because you haven't covered one of the tone holes completely with your finger. Squawks are typically caused by incorrect breath pressure.

It only takes a little practice and you'll quickly learn to eliminate these errors.

If you're an experienced player and the squeaks or squawks have suddenly appeared, ask yourself if your instrument could have been damaged in some way. Read the rest of this guide to determine the problem and how to fix it. A careful visual inspection and a deep cleaning are often the logical place to start.

Poor Tone or Out of Tune

There are many possible causes to this problem.

First, make sure your recorder is in tune. Pull the mouthpiece out to lower the tone, or push it in to raise the tone. You can always use an online tuner like those at Musicca or Tuner Ninja to tune your instrument.

Next, check to see if the issue is that your recorder has recorder wetted out. In this case, disassemble the instrument and thoroughly dry it out. Blow hard into the detached mouthpiece to air it out, and use the swab to clean the bore of the instrument.

Carefully inspect the mouthpiece and windway. Sometimes dried spit and dirt can clog the mouthpiece so as to change the tone of the instrument, or to bend it out of tune.

With plastic recorders, you can clean them by dipping the mouthpiece in warm water and swishing it around. Use mild soap if you like.

With a wood recorder you want to be more delicate. Inspect all parts of the mouthpiece to see if you identify the clogging or dirt. You can use a moist Q-tip and other small swabs or soft tools to manually clean out the grit.

Your visual inspection may indicate that there is a physical problem in the mouthpiece. Perhaps the labium or sound edge has been damaged. Or maybe there's a crack or some other malformation. In cases such as these, you may have to go to a professional repair service and have them fix or re-voice your recorder.

It's also possible that there has been some deterioration of the bore or finger holes.

The photo shows how a worn-out thumb hole has been repaired. You can see that unless you have experience woodworking, this operation will be beyond you. Worn out or chipped tone holes mean that most of us will send the instrument in to a professional repair service.

For inexpensive wood recorders, it often makes more sense to buy a new replacement instead of repairing.

For plastic, replacement is the common remedy for instruments that break or become damaged. The exception might be for a few tweaks, such as repairing or adjusting keys, as discussed here.

Caring for Your Recorder -- Maintenance

Follow the Manufacturer's Care Instructions

If you have care instructions from the maker of your recorder, we advise you to follow them.

If you don't have those instructions, try to find them on the vendor's website.

This guide is not maker-specific, so we can only give you generic instructions. Specific instructions from the manufacturer of your recorder should always take precedence.

In general, as you'll read here, wood recorders require much more care than plastic ones.

How to Break in Your New Recorder

New wood recorders need to be broken in gradually -- or conditioned. If you play a brand new recorder for a long session right off, the instrument might swell through water absorption (from your moist breath). This could alter, warp, or even crack the instrument.

So limit your first session to ten minutes. Swab out the recorder carefully afterward. Don't play the recorder again until you know it's fully dried out.

Increase the length of each playing session by several minutes. Remember that the purpose of this conditioning is to get the recorder used to the moisture of your breath. So you can judge how long to play it before it gets "tired."

After several weeks of this regimen, the instrument should be fully conditioned and ready for regular play.

Some websites offer very specific guidance for a conditioning regimen. They say to start by playing 10 or 15 minutes maximum for the first week. Then, increase by 5 minutes per week until you get up to a full hour of play. When you reach this point, you're done with the break-in period.

Plastic recorders do not require conditioning. They're ready for sustained play the moment you get them.

Preparing for Play

Always let your recorder adjust to room temperature before you play. This is especially important with wood instruments. For example, don't bring a recorder inside from a freezing cold winter's day and play it immediately. Let it warm up to room temperature first.

Brushing your teeth and gargling before a session ensures you won't introduce bacteria into the instrument. That could encourage mold growth in the mouthpiece.

Clean hands ensure you won't darken the key holes with your fingers. Dirty fingertips show up on the tone holes of unfinished wood recorders rather quickly.

Cleaning and Maintenance

After you've played your recorder for a while in a session, you might notice that it becomes muted or muffled. Your recorder is wetting out.

Moisture from your breath has collected inside. That is now blocking proper operation.

If you're performing and can't stop playing, give the instrument a quick, hard suck on the mouthpiece to remove moisture.

If you can stop, disassemble your recorder. Give a hard blow on the detached mouthpiece to blow out moisture. Clean out the instrument with a cleaning swab. Ensure you've eliminated all the moisture.

Regardless of how short your playing session is, always clean the instrument when you're finished. Make sure it's dry inside before you put it away. You might also wipe it down with a microfiber cleaning cloth.

After you clean, if the instrument is plastic, ensure that the joints have the right amount of recorder cream. The pieces should fit together snuggly but not too tightly. Don't overdo the cream or it will overflow the joints.

Apply cork grease to the joints of wood recorders. Use the grease recommended by the manufacturer. (Some greases are based upon the same chemicals that hold the cork in place. This could cause the cork to absorb the grease and the solvent and reduce its adhesive.)

Deep Cleaning

You want to keep your recorder clean because a clean instrument:

• Ensures the best tone
• Prolongs the useful life of the instrument
• Prevents germs, bacteria, or even mold from building up inside the instrument

Keep your recorder clean by swabbing out the moisture after every playing session. Wipe it down with a microfiber cloth to keep the outside clean.

For deep cleaning, visually inspect the outside and inside to see if any clogging or dirt is present.

For plastic recorders, you can dissemble and clean the pieces in warm water. Soap is optional. They goal is to remove any solidified spit or dirt.

Of course, if the recorder has keys (like a tenor or bass) do not expose them to water! Clean around them without getting them wet.

Wood recorders require more delicacy. You can remove dirt and clean the instrument with your swab, and Q-tips or other soft tools. It's generally not a good idea to submerge your wood recorder in water, like you would with a plastic one.

Should you oil your wood instrument? Follow the manufacturer's instructions. Some require oiling while others do not.

If you don't have the manufacturer's instructions, download them from the vendor's website. If all else fails, our section on "Oiling" gives you generic rules of thumb to follow.

You can find links to care sheets for many manufacturers in this article by the American Recorder Society.

This video by Sarah Jeffery shows in detail how to clean and oil your recorder.

Where Do You Keep Your Recorder?

It matters where you keep your recorder when you're not playing. Don't expose it to direct sunlight or high temperatures.

For example, don't leave in inside a car or on the dashboard on a summer's day. Don't store it in an attic, a hot room, or on top of a radiator.

Excessive heat can dry out and crack a wood recorder. It can warp a plastic one.

Similarly, avoid exposing your recorder to low winter temperatures for extended periods. Leaving it in an unheated room in the winter is not a good idea.

The rule of thumb is: if you wouldn't like sitting in some location for an extended time, neither will your recorder.

Always allow your recorder enough time to come to room temperature before you play it.

High humidity hurts wood recorders. Only leave your recorder -- in its protective case -- in rooms with normal humidity. A moist basement or excessively dry attic is not a good storage location.

Maintaining Joints

Joints on a plastic recorder should fit snuggly but not overly tight. It's helpful to apply a very small amount of recorder cream to them to keep them fluid. Don't apply too much as it might overflow the snug fit.

For a wood recorder, the maker's instructions will tell you what to do. Most advise a small amount of cork grease on the joints (or "tenons"). Some people use paraffin instead. They feel that wax is better for the longevity of the cork and is less messy. But follow your manufacturers advice.

Always monitor your joints to ensure they are snug but not too tight. Deteriorating joints is common problem in older instruments and in those that haven't been properly cared for. You want to avoid them if you can. Prevention is the best strategy!

Oiling

Always follow your recorder manufacturer's instructions on whether, how, and with what to oil your recorder. You can find links to care sheets for many manufacturers in this article by the American Recorder Society. That said, our generic advice follows...

Oiling only applies to wood recorders, not plastic ones. And it only applies to certain wood recorders, at that.

Among wood recorders, some are impregnated with paraffin. These do not need to be oiled -- although it won't hurt them if you do oil them. Instruments made of either maple or pearwood tend to be paraffin-infused. Varnished wood also does not require oiling.

All other woods -- rosewood, boxwood, olive, ebony, grenadilla, plumwood -- tend not to be protected, so they will need to be oiled.

The purpose of oiling is to protect the wood. Recorders are subject to the moisture from your breath when you play, and wood reacts to that. You don't want your recorder absorbing all that moisture. It swells the wood and ultimately can distort your instrument.

You typically oil a recorder a few times per year. A rule of thumb is that the inside bore of the recorder should always look just the slightest bit greasy. If it ever appears dull or gray, the instrument requires oiling. Be sure to oil the instrument if it will be placed into storage and not used for some time. Otherwise it could dry out too much.

Sweet canola oil or sweet almond oil work well. They tend to absorb well and do not leave any sticky residue. Or you can buy special "recorder oil" from many shops. Professionals often use linseed oil, but it can be tricky to apply and leave a residue on the wood that is difficult to remove.

Always make sure that your instrument is fully dry before oiling. Use just a few drops of oil and swab it through the bore with your oiling swab. Your "oiling swab" should be different from your normal moisture-cleaning swab, and it should be dedicated to this role.

As this diagram shows, do not oil the block or the windway inside the mouthpiece. This is because the block is intended to absorb moisture from your breath, and it can't perform this function if it's been oiled. So when you oil the bore of the mouthpiece, hold the head joint vertically -- beak up top -- so you don't accidentally get oil on the block or windway.

Keep the oil off your keys (if any). Wood oil can hinder their operation.

After oiling the inside, many like to give a quick swipe to the outside of the instrument as well. This leaves a pleasing shine.

Then give the recorder some time before play to allow it some time to absorb the oil. Leave the parts standing vertically for a couple hours to allow oil to soak in and any excess to drip out.

For a visual guide to oiling your recorder, read this article by professional Margret Löbner.

Don't Share Your Recorder

Medical research has shown that harmful microbes can survive inside a recorder even if it hasn't been played for some time.

We recommend against sharing your recorder with anyone. Share a recorder with someone, and you share their germs.

Repair Services

Both recorder-specific and generalized instrument repair services are available. You can mail in your recorder for service.

Using repair services are a good idea when:

• You have an expensive wood recorder worthy of professional attention
• You face an advanced procedure to repair your recorder, for example, fixing a crack or re-voicing it

Recorder repair services include:

• The Early Music Shop
• Von Huene Workshop
• Saunders Recorders (UK)

Most recorder makers also repair their own brands. Just google the manufacturer to find their repair service.

Conclusion

This article tells you everything you need to know about how to repair and maintain your recorder.

If anyone notices that anything is missing or needs updating, please contact me and I'll update the article as appropriate. Thank you.

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No Warranty

The information in this article is offered without any express or implied warranties, including, without limitation, any implied warranties of merchantibility and fitness for a particular purpose. Use of this website constitutes your agreement to this statement of No Warranty.

==> Any changes you make to your recorder are made at your own risk.