 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Jono
Date: 1999-08-31 02:52
Are the Opperman barrels consistently good? Are there any years that they are outstanding or poor?
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Author: Daniel
Date: 1999-08-31 03:10
Kal Opperman only makes matching barrels and mouthpieces for his students Each combination is made for a particular student and matched and adjustd to suit their playing style.
I currently have two that i acquired from a friend who acquired them from someone else. One of them is grenadilla, one is rosewood (looks like some idiot varnished the rosewood one and in the bore too). The grenadilla one plays well (still trying to decide how i like it compared to my Fobes barrel), but the rosewood with the varnish in the bore plays alright.
I know there is one Opperman barrel on eBay. But having dealt with the seller, his minimum bid is probably in the upper 100's. Like i said, they are made for a certain mouthpiece and horn and player in mind and will probably be more variant than a current Chaddash or Fobes barrel (and the other barrel makers i didn't list, yet highly respect).
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 1999-08-31 14:55
Jono wrote:
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Are the Opperman barrels consistently good? Are there any years that they are outstanding or poor?
Jono -
Opperman barrels are consistently outstanding. The newer ones are better than ever.
As Daniel says, you go to his workshop, where he makes a barrel to fit your mouthpiece (preferably one of his), instrument, embouchure and playing style. Still, it would be well worth trying whatever you can find, which will be a lot better than a stock barrel.
His current barrels are made of aged rosewood, with a small mother-of-pearl dot inlaid at the front. You can see it on Richard Stoltzman's recent CDs, where he's playing on one made out of some space-age white plastic. I play on two of his rosewood barrels, one for my Bb and the other for my A. Either one plays well on the other instrument, but much better on the instrument they were made for.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Daniel
Date: 1999-08-31 19:09
I thought Opperman only made mouthpieces and barrels for students of his. And last i heard he was no longer taking students. (or so i thought).
As to the mother-of-pearl dot: wasn't that placed to line up with another dot inlaid on the upper joint or with the logo or something after he tested the barrel in almost every possible position around to find the best resonance?
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 1999-08-31 22:32
Daniel wrote:
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I thought Opperman only made mouthpieces and barrels for students of his. And last i heard he was no longer taking students. (or so i thought).
As to the mother-of-pearl dot: wasn't that placed to line up with another dot inlaid on the upper joint or with the logo or something after he tested the barrel in almost every possible position around to find the best resonance?
Daniel -
I studied with him for a while, and we have remained friends. He's over 80 and not in the best of health, and has more work than he can handle, but I think he will still make a mouthpiece or a barrel if you get to meet him and impress him as a serious player.
The mother-of-pearl dot is to position the barrel properly. Line it up with the trademark on the upper joint. He checks the position carefully and puts the dot at the position where the barrel plays best. It's not a gigantic difference, but clearly audible. If PBS reruns the show on the Mpingo (grenadilla) tree, you will see the same thing happening at the Buffet factory, where a well known player (Michel Arrignon, I think) matches up the bottom joint and the position of the bell for the Elite model, and the trademark is then stamped on to show the correct position. I don't think it's done with the R-13s, or maybe any instrument other than the Elite. Several years ago, Leon Russianoff gave a lecture-demonstration at the beginning of his master class at the Clarinet Congress, where he rotated his barrel slightly, and there was definitely a point where it played best. He said to mark it with White-out on the barrel and upper joint. I did mine (this was before I got the rosewood barrels) by using a small triangular file to make a (very) tiny nick in the wood of the upper joint and inside the bottom socket on the barrel. Timid people could scratch a mark on the outside of the barrel just above the ring, lined up with the register key. Couldn't hurt....
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Greg
Date: 1999-08-31 22:52
Hi all,
These discussions on barrels and mouthpieces have always interested me. I have a few questions that I hope some of you might be able to answer, either in theory or actual experiences.
If somebody has a very good (or bad) grade student clarinet made of plastic, in good working order, and wishes to "improve" either or both tone and playability, without the added expense of purchasing
a complete new (or old) better grade of instrument, can he use one of these exceptional barrels (and/or mouthpieces) to obtain such inprovement. I often wondered and thought such can be done, but I need the advice of those out there who have already done this or know someone who has. Of course, the additional investment should not exceed the cost of a better grade outfit. Thanks to all in advance.
Greg
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 1999-08-31 23:48
Greg wrote:
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[snip]
In general, a higher quality mouthpiece makes a world of difference. I buy clarinets via mail-order for beginners often and _always_ purchase a good mouthpiece for them (a Hite or Fobes). They're plastic, but perform very well for their price.
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 1999-09-01 15:22
Greg wrote:
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Hi all,
These discussions on barrels and mouthpieces have always interested me. I have a few questions that I hope some of you might be able to answer, either in theory or actual experiences.
If somebody has a very good (or bad) grade student clarinet made of plastic, in good working order, and wishes to "improve" either or both tone and playability, without the added expense of purchasing a complete new (or old) better grade of instrument, can he use one of these exceptional barrels (and/or mouthpieces) to obtain such improvement. I often wondered and thought such can be done, but I need the advice of those out there who have already done this or know someone who has. Of course, the additional investment should not exceed the cost of a better grade outfit. Thanks to all in advance.
Greg
Greg -
Absolutely. My nephew started clarinet in the 6th grade and had the usual beginner's setup - a Bundy, as I remember. I put my Opperman mouthpiece and barrel on it, and I was amazed at how well it played. It felt awful in my hands, but the sound and response were excellent. Not as good as my R-13, of course, but miles ahead of where it had been with the stock mouthpiece and barrel.
If I had the choice of paying a concert on my mouthpiece and barrel and a Bundy body, or playing on a Bundy mouthpiece and barrel and my R-13 body, I'd choose the first combination in an instant.
The rule is that the higher up you go on the instrument, the more important it gets. Your mind and conception of the instrument make the biggest difference, followed by your breath, tongue, embouchure, reed, mouthpiece, barrel, and on down.
Many people who have studied with important players have said that those players could take the student's setup and make it sound great no matter what it was. On the other hand, a beginner needs to have the reed and mouthpiece just right to sound good. I got my nephew a nice Yamaha stock mouthpiece ($17) and carefully set up a Vandoren reed for it, and he sounded excellent.
A high grade mouthpiece and barrel combination is not cheap. Expect to pay at least $100 for the mouthpiece and nearly as much for the barrel. Also, the result will be noticeably better if you go to the maker's studio and have the two adjusted to one another, to your particular instrument, and to your particular embouchure and sound concept. The total cost may well be more than the value of the rest of the instrument, but the improvement will be immeasurably more than buying even the finest new instrument with its stock mouthpiece and barrel.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Kathy
Date: 1999-10-23 23:37
What other mouthpiece currently available is similar to
the Opperman? And is the Opperman considered a very open
mouthpiece?
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