Klarinet Archive - Posting 001028.txt from 1999/05

From: Richard Bush <rbushidioglot@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Materials
Date: Fri, 21 May 1999 13:02:13 -0400

Kevin Fay (LCA) wrote:
>
> In a couple of recent posts, we find that (a) Roger doesn't like plastic
> mouthpieces as much as hard rubber and (b) Yamaha is producing brass (!)
> barrels. Wow.
>
> With one caveat, I don't share Roger's disdain for plastic. It's cheap, and
> acoustically OK. In fact, my preferred alto mouthpiece for "commercial"
> work is a Brilhart 5*, which cost me a total of about 30 bucks--too bad I
> didn't try it prior to buying all the other ones in the drawer! ;-(
>
> Because you can bite through one in about an hour, though (OK, just make
> tooth marks very quickly), you MUST use a mouthpiece patch. For me, this is
> not a problem--I always do. For the price, though, I think the Hite Premier
> is pretty OK.
>
> As to the brass barrels--Don Getzen (of the brass instrument family of the
> same name) has been making aluminum ones (DEGs) for years. If my memory of
> high school science is correct, brass is much heavier than aluminum. So I
> have to ask--do they sound good, and how much weight training do you have to
> do prior to using one?
>
> There have been lots of posts and cheerful argument over the benefits of
> wood clarinets--it's one of our favorite things to bicker about. If you buy
> a plastic mouthpiece and a brass barrel, though, the first 1/3 of your
> instrument won't be wood--what effect "wood" this have?
>
> (Sorry--couldn't resist)
>
> kjf

Kevin,

It is my understanding that DEG barrels are aluminum but with some bronze
mixed into the formula. The material used is heavier that if it were just
aluminum. One distinct advantage of barrels made of materials other than wood,
is that the great amount of moisture they are subjected to does not cause
dimensional changes.

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