Klarinet Archive - Posting 000876.txt from 2003/03

From: GrabnerWG@-----.com
Subj: Re: [kl] Walter's new barrel; was, "Useless messages" (was Rossini)
Date: Sat, 22 Mar 2003 11:35:00 -0500

In a message dated 3/22/2003 9:25:04 AM Eastern Standard Time, patricia@-----.net writes:

> Anyhow, Walter! I'd like to give your new barrels a shot, if you decide to go into the barrel business! ....... I STILL love your mouthpiece and a companion barrel would be just the thing if it suits.>>

Pat -

I've been in the "barrel business", rather quietly, for about a year and a half. To see more about my barrels see:

www.clarinetxpress.com/#barrels

Now I do want to say a few things about barrels. First, the best barrel for a clarinet is usually the one that came with it. The manufacturers do know what they are doing generally, and the barrel that comes with your clarinet SHOULD, and usually does, match what is going on in the bore of the rest of the clarinet.

A barrel is not just a "tube" of a given length. The bore can have many different diameters, and sometimes will be tapered.

A barrel that plays great on one clarinet, can be a disaster on another clarinet.

Why should one consider a replacement barrel:

1. Wear - on an older clarinet, the barrel may have had too much moisture, swabbing, etc., to the point that the original dimensions have been compromised. Sometimes a replacement barrel can bring the clarinet back to "life".

2. Mis-manufacture - I had a student come visit me this week, referred by his teacher. An obviously bright, and talented kid, he was having trouble with clear tone production. When I checked out his equipment, I found he had a barrel that measured wider than 15 mm diameter!!!! When I played on it, the throat tones were 20 to 25 cents FLAT. He was biting like crazy to hold the pitch - and didn't know any better. That barrel HAD to go.

3. Intonation faults - I originally got into barrel manufacture to correct unacceptable sharpness in "above the staff" B and C on my A clarinet. Nothing else would drop these notes into place without ruining the rest of the scale on my clarinet. I came up with a reverse dual taper bore that, on my A clarinet, did the trick. Doesn't necessarily work on everyone else's clarinet, unfortunately.

4. Response - I'm still working on this, and I am still not sure of what factors make the biggest difference. Some barrels improve the response of a given instrument. This goes beyond internal measurements and seems to have much to do with "finishing", such as the amount of polish in the bore, the amount of "rounding" on the otherwise sharp edges at the top and bottom of the bore, etc.

More thought later....

Walter Grabner
www.clarinetxpress.com
mouthpieces, repairs, and yes, some barrels

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