 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: S J
Date: 2002-10-01 08:16
Is anyone familiar with the old Lee Springer barrels? The one I have is marked,"Lee Springer- Chicago-Hand Made. Under that,5-7-66+.The reverse side has an "A". What do these markings mean?
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Author: Douglas
Date: 2002-10-01 20:51
The markings you quote are Lee's way of indicating the bore size and the length of the barrel. On a printed sheet Lee gave me concerning the barrels, 5-7 is indicated as the best choice for Buffet clarinets serial number 42,000 and above. This sheet is from the 1950's. The 66+ indicates that the barrel length is 66mm plus a bit more. His barrels were a reverse taper similar to Moennig, but Lee came upon his bore designs independently. Lee made barrels in his repair shop at 184 W. Washington, Chicago to the 60's, stopped making barrels by hand on the lathe when he had problems with his hands, then worked for Samuels Music in Effingham, IL and also for Yamaha (he was sent to Japan to copy clarinet and sax designs with improvements for the first Yamaha woodwind instruments) and then later worked from his home in Bourbonnais, IL until his death. The early barrels, like yours from the 50's, were hard rubber or catalin and the later barrels from Bourbonnais were ABS with a different numbering system.
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Author: Douglas
Date: 2002-10-01 21:03
By the way, Lee Springer barrels are marked: " Lee Springer, Chicago, Custom Made", not 'Hand Made' as stated in the question.
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Author: William
Date: 2002-10-01 23:13
lAlso, I believe the "A" indicates it is meant for the A clarinet.
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Author: SJ
Date: 2002-10-02 08:16
Douglas,thanks for the info. Very informative!
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Author: John J. Moses
Date: 2002-10-02 19:41
Hi S J:
I met Lee toward the end of his life.
He was still very active, so I wanted him to make a special barrel for me. The idea was for him to find a material similar to wood in warmth of sound, yet unaffected by temperature and age.
That is; something I could use in a cold recording studio, or in a warm concert hall. The material he came up with was plastic-like, but it was denser, more wood-like, and from NASA(?) he said, "Used as a new material in the space program."
I was skeptical at first, but he was so good with barrels, that I went along. We used my Moennig-type measurements, a he made a few prototypes. They were fantastic! We worked, by phone & letter for a few years, and he made me a dozen very good barrels. He used my measurements with his Logo, and called them "JJM".
I still use one of those "JJM"s on my Bb, and a "JJM"-1 on my A clarinet.
Many of my students out there have these fine Springer Barrels.
If you ever come across a "JJM", give me a call, and I'll buy it. Or better yet, keep it for yourself and enjoy a really fine piece of clarinet history.
JJM
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