My new Renard 220 has a really hard time coming apart after i have put it together. Now its not cork but has a red string wrapped joint. According to the manual i am not supposed to use cork grease but some sort of wax. I believe the wax they are talking about is paraffin wax but i`m not positive. Is it paraffin wax you use for the string wrapped tenons on a bassoon.

I have a Fox and it is string wrapped too. I didn`t have really any trouble with my strings over several years, but during the winter or some time i wanted to add on a little to my bell joint, anyway by the time i was done, I accidentally removed ALL of the string! So i just took my string and rewrapped the entire joint, and i think I told my teacher and Its no problem to do that, as long as you don`t do anythign stupid. So you could just pull off all the string and redo it yourself.

Hey - i`ve got a renard as well. The string thing is a real pain. If you can afford it and can find someone to do it, get the string replaced by cork.

Don`t ever use cork grease on the string as it will get clogged up (especially in cold winters - don`t know where you are) and become impossible to put together or take apart.

Bees wax works best but parafin should work. If it`s a new horn, the tenons are usually a little tight and need to be broken in. You can unwrap some of the string for now and as the joint become looser, put the string back on with some new wax. To wax the string, simply pull it accross the side of a wax piece a few times until it has wax coating it. Wrap it onto the tenon and then work it with your hands so that the heat from your body molds the waxed string into the string that was already there. Waxed string is easier to use and easier to fix than cork, which is why many bassoons now come with it on their tenons.