 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: A Brady
Date: 2010-05-10 05:03
Does anyone have experience with these custom barrels?
http://www.lesnicholas.com/pages/custom-clarinet-barrels.php
I am currently corresponding with Mr Nicholas about this; he has you measure the dimensions of your Mouthpiece/Instrument, and he will make a custom barrel for your particular set up with a hard rubber bore in the barrel which will not warp or change over time.
With my beautifully rebored (by Guy Chadash) instruments, this intrigues me greatly, and I was wondering if someone did this work, when I came across Mr Nicholas' Website. I couldn't find any mention of this with the search function here, so this may be a fairly recent development.
Thanks for any information or experiences in advance.
AB
AB
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Author: Ed
Date: 2010-05-10 12:10
I don't have experience with him, but do have experience with other lined barrels. Those I have played have worked well. My current A barrel is one that Guy lined and rebored for me.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2010-05-10 13:07
As Ed says, Guy Chadash makes his own barrels, optionally with a lining. On the other hand, Les Nicholas sounds very good in the short excerpt on his site.
Ken Shaw
Post Edited (2010-05-10 13:09)
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2010-05-10 15:24
No doubt, the barrels on your Chadash clarinets were matched to the newly bored horns. Why would you want to mix Guy's integrated work on your horns with a different barrel?
Bob Phillips
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2010-05-10 15:34
Chadash rebored AB's instruments, they are not Chadash clarinets.
James
Gnothi Seauton
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Author: A Brady
Date: 2010-05-10 16:41
Yes, my instruments are vintage (1967 B-Flat and 1974 A) R-13s, rebored by Guy with hard rubber to proper dimensions.
My desire is to match barrels to particular mouthpieces and my particular instruments, with bores that will not deteriorate over time, and not need to be replaced every few years.
I am going to have Mr Nicholas make a custom barrel for my Chicago Kaspar. He has an excellent background (see his Website), and I look forward to working with him.
AB
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2010-05-10 20:52
I'm also impressed how great Les sounds in his audio clip.
Freelance woodwind performer
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Author: Ed
Date: 2010-05-16 12:44
Let us know what the results are when you get it
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Author: A Brady
Date: 2010-06-02 15:06
I have had two barrels that Les sent me for a couple of weeks now, and they are very good. One is more resistant than the other, but is still a really great barrel, especially when turned to the "sweet spot" (turning the logo to find the optimal tone/response.)
The intonation is very good with my Chicago Kaspar on this 66 mm barrel, just what I was hoping for, as my other barrels play very high with this mouthpiece even in longer lengths. Les sent me plugs for me to mark, getting the dimensions of my mouthpiece, top tenon of the upper joint, and top tenon of the lower joint; he used these measurements, along with his own Kaspars, to create the proper dimensions.
I'm achieving a very focused and resonant sound, with much improved pitch on this barrel, and it should never change or crack, as the bore is hard rubber reamed to exact dimensions.
I'm probably going to have Les make a custom barrel for my A clarinet next. Definitely far preferable to the "barrel roulette" of trying numerous inconsistent barrels to find just the right one, that will warp in a few years and need to be replaced.
Highly recommended.
AB
AB
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Author: donald
Date: 2011-01-17 06:01
At the end of the 2010 concert season (here Summer starts in November) I started using a pair of barrels that Les Nicholas had made for me. They are standard Buffet design with hard rubber inserts, and with a bore/taper designed to work the with acoustic dimensions of my clarinets (as is explained on his website).
When i first played these barrels i noticed an immediate improvement in the intonation. On the B flat clarinet the scale is now greatly improved to the point that it is the most "in tune" clarinet I've owned, and on the A clarinet there was a huge improvement in evenness of timbre and response- with the existing intonation problems not solved, but significantly improved.
Currently I am getting back into shape after xmas/summer holidays, and this has included rehearsals with a Flute/Clarinet/Bassoon trio. My colleagues in this group are both excellent players with international experience/cred (including being finalists in auditions for orchestra in Europe), and it has been most gratifying to hear from them that my intonation improvement is not just in my imagination... they also have (unprompted) noticed an improvement in my A clarinet playing in particular.
Having played various custom barrels (buffet Moennig/Chadash, Lomax/Zinner, Yan, Wenchia, Backun, Reviol) I'd say that my current set up is a little more resistant than the other barrels in my "quiver", and i was at first concerned that my dynamic range felt "compressed". However, after todays rehearsal I can say that while the initial feeling was that I'd lost some "vibrancy" compared to my ringless barrels, in fact the more compact sound/feeling is easier to control at the louder dynamics. i believe this is the characteristic that Brad Behn refers to as "hold" when he's talking mouthpieces...
Anyway, Les did a fabulous job for me here, and these are the barrels that I intend to use on a daily basis. Of course, as is mentioned often on this forum, everyone will have a different preference/experience, but I have found these barrels excellent and look forward to performances in 2011 with no urge to look for something better...
dn
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Author: donald
Date: 2011-08-26 08:31
Hi Ken- sorry not to reply to your question, i actually can't remember how much they cost, i think that with a "trade in" barrel they cost around $200 each.
I must add that i was at Clarinetfest in LA and tried a number of different barrel options- and while i found some i liked, nothing i tried had better intonation characteristics than the barrels Les made for me, and my colleagues all agreed that i didn't sound "better" on any of them... I did buy a 65mm barrel to use as a "winter barrel" on my Bflat clarinet from Schwenk und Seggelke (I often have to play in poorly heated venues) and will comment on this in another post.
I've been using these Les Nicholas barrels for nearly a year and see no need to change.
dn
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