Klarinet Archive - Posting 000345.txt from 2004/10

From: orm1ondtoby@-----.net (Ormondtoby Montoya)
Subj: Re: [kl] Custom made barrels
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2004 15:14:19 -0400

Andy=A0Jablonski wrote:

> I'm just curious, what kinds of issues can be
> addressed with a custom made barrel?

A common statement is that the barrel has more effect on intonation than
it does on timbre. The question is to what degree you can affect
timbre without also destroying intonation and/or responsiveness --- and
therefore which trade-offs you wish to make.

I can tell you this much from my own tinkering: you can certainly mess
*everything* up with the wrong barrel; but I've had several experiences
now wherein, as I make variations for the sake of better intonation, I
drag my sound back towards the same place. This 'place' is perhaps
dictated by my anatomy and instrument and setup and technique, etc.

One reason (besides being much less expensive than buying instruments)
to experiment with barrels, either home-made or purchased, is that you
cannot avoid learning to distinguish between various sounds as you
attempt to judge the results. Also, you cannot avoid facing up to how
much variation there is from day to day in your own playing, and thereby
you will compel yourself (if you have any intellectual honesty) to
retreat from the "It is my instrument's fault" trap.

The same 'It's less expensive while forcing you to listen' idea applies
to experimenting with different mouthpieces --- the difference being
that there are fewer variables in a barrel than in a mouthpiece, and
thus if you want to try creating 'hardware' of your own, trying it with
barrels is less complicated and less demanding.

FWIW and YMMV and so forth.....

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