Klarinet Archive - Posting 001134.txt from 1998/01

From: Shouryu Nohe <jnohe@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: Another question...barrels
Date: Tue, 27 Jan 1998 00:34:51 -0500

Chris, what kind of barrel you need is greatly determined by your mouth
piece, and of course, your natural tendency. As for natural tendency,
everyone has their own. If I'm playing on a slightly soft reed, or if I
haven't had my caffiene, my natural tendency is to be sharp (I used to be
sharp all the time, until I replaced my Vito with a Buffet R13
Greenline...coincindence? I think not...). So you need a length and
material that will solidify your tuning.

Your mouthpiece, on the other hand, will most likely dictate the need for
a particular bore. While I am not COMPLETELY versed all in bores
(Moenning, Chadash, etc), I do know the diff between polycylindricals and
reverse conical bores. AFAIK, most clarinets either come with a 'Buffet'
bore or a polycylindrical bore barrel (they may be the same, I think).

Now, you're playing on a Gennusa, right? Well, a Gennusa really just a
copy of the old Chedevilles that everyone sings praises about. Vandie
M13's, some Selmers, and Pornoys (I think) are basically copies of the old
Chedevilles and Kaspars. However, from what I've heard, been told, and
have experienced, these mouthpieces also throw the tuning of some notes in
the chalameau off a bit. It varies from person to person, but I have
about a five cent drop in pitch in the F, E, and D, and the low E is about
two cents sharp. I play on a Gennusa GE and absolutely love it; sound is
great, and the discrepancies can be lipped up or down accordingly.
However, reverse conical bore barrels will take care of this problem. I
have discovered this through advisement of both my prof., Dr. LaRoy
Borchert, and Phil Muncy. I tried it, and voila! All the pitches were
suddenly within half a cent of being right on.

I theorize that your Gennusa may have the same problem. My advice: get a
reverse conical barrel. While there are a lot of different ones out
there, my general advisement is to get a Scott. They are made of nylon,
which surprisingly, can sometimes give you a better tone than a wooden
barrel, and have the reverse conical bore...or at least the ones I have
do. You may be able to get them in several bores, so check aroune...maybe
I should check on that myself...anyways, Scotts are nice, and much cheaper
than other replacement barrels. Muncy has 'em for $35!

Shouryu Nohe
http://web.nmsu.edu/~jnohe
ICQ: 6771552
New Mexico State Univ.
REMEMBER: Four out of five cats blink when hit on the head with a ball
peen hammer.

   
     Copyright © Woodwind.Org, Inc. All Rights Reserved    Privacy Policy    Contact charette@woodwind.org