Hello all. I got a brand new buffet e-11 clarinet the other day and im absoulutley in love! Only thing that bothers/worries me is the cork situation. Will the stiffness in cork just go away? I put it on and massage it in every time but it dosent seem to be doing much. But there is some improvement from first day. Will this go away with time? Thanks alot!

Cork is usually very stiff and very dry on a new instrument. Conventional cork grease is typically worthless. I would highly recommend cork grease from the doctor`s products.

http://www.doctorsprod.com/DrSlick.html

your instrument is probably wood? The wood and cork like suck up the grease, so you probably need to reapply cork grease every time. My instrument is wood and 1.5 years old and its a little better, but I still need to apply grease to it every time,

New corks are usually VERY stiff. Just glob it up with cork grease every day, and the stiffness will go away after a few days

Also, i make a point to wipe the excess grease OFF the wooden parts of the body. Like, im OBSESSIVE about it! Will the grease HARM the wood?? Thanks!

Yes, you should wipe the grease off the instrument....but no need to be obsessive about it....

Usually with hard clarinet corks, I use liquid clarinet lubrication. It`s easier to apply and doesn`t result in a huge mess like the kind in the chapstick-like cases.

The liquid is sucked up easier, but I would definitely think it`s a good way to soften the corks.