 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Beejell S.
Date: 2004-10-20 08:34
I'm interested in learning more about how specialized barrels affect tone on the clarinet. I've heard some say it makes a tremendous amount of difference, but I've also heard that they are uneccessary and that stock barrels on Buffet clarinets do the job. Can anyone educate me a little more on this subject?
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2004-10-20 11:12
Beejell,
You came to the right place for things about barrels. Since you are new to the BB, check the search function above and use the search words barrel, barrels, Buffet, Chadash, Moennig, difference, or similar words in combination.
You will have a lot of reading to do but after that, rephrase your question in light of what you have read. I'll bet that you get a pretty good answer just using the search. You'll see my name in there as I really think barrels are very important and have some definite views on the topic (which I'll let you find).
Enjoy!
HRL
Post Edited (2004-10-20 21:48)
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Author: GBK
Date: 2004-10-20 13:05
At the high end of the spectrum, the different models of Backun barrels can keep you amused (and confused) for weeks ...GBK
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2004-10-20 17:59
The barrell certain exerts a profound way the clarinet plays and also the way it tunes...I doubt bassoon people or even oboists know it but the clarinet seems to have two components in it's physical make up that either can make or break the player.
Sadly, few students and even numerous pros seem to fault the reed or mouthpiece, where the problems they are having can sometimes be where the way and how the barrell "send" the air throughout the instrument.
Various barrells have different tonal characters, in fact so much so I recommend all students to who are having trouble with intonation or sound to try various barrels...
In the matter of sharpness a BARREL of good quality can set an instrument right,
rather than spending exorbitant amounts of hard earned cash on cosmetic tuning of the bore and tone holes a barrel is one of the primary aspects(determinant) of how a clarinet player tunes....
There are people also like Walter Grabner who have phenomenal amount of expertise who will make a custom barrel for you...this can certain improve the 12ths and not only that improve the RESONANCE of your clarinet...and this includes cheap student model clarinets!
David Dow
Post Edited (2004-10-20 18:03)
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2004-10-20 20:46
"but I've also heard that they are unneccessary and that stock barrels on Buffet clarinets do the job."
----------------------------------------------------
Anybody who subscribes to that theory doesn't know jack about good Clarinet playing.
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2004-10-20 21:01
A little personal research will sort this out...
trust a tuner and your own ear to note discernible differences.
If the tone coming out of your clarinet connected to an aftermarket barrel is execrable, but tunes well - ditch it.
If the stock tuning has a great spread in the 12ths, perhaps a tapered barrel will help.
If the barrel supplied allows you to tune to your satisfaction, and the tone is pleasant - why bother with all of this? It's a distraction that can detract from practice time. Some of the original barrels are just fine, some aren't.
I certainly can't justify spending hundreds of dollars for one, when a trip to the shop is in order for a fraising session...
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2004-10-20 21:02
DavidBlumberg wrote: "Anybody who subscribes to that theory doesn't know jack about good Clarinet playing."
Oh really? I know a few clarinetists that play regular Buffet barrels, and unlike you, I didn't have to come to the clarinet BBoard to hear about them... No offense...
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2004-10-21 01:03
I know very few who play for a living that don't use a tapered barrel.
ps - claribass what the hell is that comment suppose to mean??
Post Edited (2004-10-21 01:04)
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2004-10-21 05:33
I've also found that a barrel can help undertones in those high clarion notes. Also it can significantly change the resistance and amount of backpressure you get back (mine is very high, but I find that it offers me better control).
Alex
US Army Japan Band
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Author: Liquorice
Date: 2004-10-21 05:51
"I know very few who play for a living that don't use a tapered barrel"
I know LOTS of clarinet players (i.e. most professional clarinet players in Europe) who play regular Buffet barrels.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2004-10-21 06:58
But aren't high end buffets supplied with chadash or tapered barrels in the first place?
US Army Japan Band
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2004-10-21 12:07
And have those same players in Europe even ever heard of a tapered barrel or the concept of it?
doubtful
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2004-10-21 12:53
DavidBlumberg wrote:
> And have those same players in Europe even ever heard of a
> tapered barrel or the concept of it?
>
> doubtful
My, we're being parochial today.
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2004-10-21 15:44
;)
There are plenty of great (symphony) players who don't know jack about equipment. They make what they play work, but that doesn't mean that they wouldn't have to work a lot less with better equipment.
Put that one in the myth thread if you wish, but that's what my experience tells me.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2004-10-21 16:42
DavidBlumberg wrote:
> There are plenty of great (symphony) players who don't know
> jack about equipment.
Yup. They just do their - and have a - job. Europe has no monopoly on the equipment "no nothings".
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2004-10-21 17:02
Here's a tangent for your consideration: Paradoxically, sometimes "flaws" in equipment can help define a distinctive sound, to wit:
A) Many jazz sax players have achieved immediately recognizable sounds by playing on 'defective' equipment (or at least what I would consider to be somewhat short of 'perfection') --- examples include Stan Getz (unbalanced mouthpiece facing, probably the cause of his frequent chirps but also contributing to his gorgeous and unique sound), and John Coltrane (out-of tune notes, especially very sharp clarion A and high D on his Selmer Mark VI tenor) which he actually turned to good effect in his playing by emphasizing those notes to get his very individual "keening" quality (like it or not).
B) All those wonderful "old-school" British players who played the large-bore Boosey & Hawkes Symphony 1010 clarinet with its allegedly horrible spread of 12ths --- the best of these players sounded marvelous and had a unique sound which has unfortunately disappeared from the world, as players there now use more standard "French-bore" clarinets, in other words, the British players now sound just like everyone else. Maybe the current players don't have to work as hard to play in tune as Kell and Brymer did, but in my opinion it's a loss to the musical world when changes in equipment result in homogenization of tone quality around the world -- how dull!
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Author: Ed
Date: 2004-10-21 17:22
Regarding David's point A- I remember about 25 years ago as Yamaha was just starting to make it's way into the pro sax market, I was at a music ed conference. I was speaking to the Yamaha rep who told me that some players did not like the Yamaha saxes. His explanation was that they were better in tune and had a better acoustical design, but that the Selmers of the time had a buzz to the sound because of some acoustical deficiencies which many players found to have more character. His point was that the Yamahas were more "pure". It may have been marketing nonsense, but I thought it was an interesting argument.
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Author: Liquorice
Date: 2004-10-21 21:34
"And have those same players in Europe even ever heard of a tapered barrel or the concept of it?"
Chadash and Moennig barrels are readily available in Europe. They just never took off. I find they have a negative effect on tone quality. But then we don't predominantly play R-13 here. I understand that the Chadash barrels work best on R-13s? They certainly don't seem to help much for RC and Festival models.
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