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Barrells- two new options

Author: donald
Date: 2005-06-24 09:39

kia ora
while at the OU Symposium i was able to try out two new synthetic barrel options and compare them to my hand-picked Moennig and Chadash barrells. i will quickly describe my impression of the barrels i played, although i am aware that such descriptions are subjective.....
The new barrel made by Tom Ridenour (from hard rubber) played very well. i would describe the sound as "sweet" in that i found it easy to play with a bright tone while maintaining body in the sound. i played both the cylindrical and tapered barrels and found that the tapered barrel definately improved intonation (compared to a stock barrel), though not to the same degree as the Moennig or Chadash barrels i own. This would definately be a good "step up" option for someone looking for the advantages of a synthetic material (ie durability/stability) and/or the more economical price.
Phil Muncy is now making a synthetic barrel that is available at the very reasonable price of $50us. i tried several of these, and encountered some problems with socket/tenon size incompatibility. Playing in a big room (onstage in the Sharp Hall) other musicians noticed a clearer sound with only the slightest loss of "darkness". i found the intonation of this barrels very similar to what i am used to (Moennig taper), and at $50us would consider this "a steal" to be honest.
In both products i experienced some variation between the samples i tried, but less than that i've previously experienced when trying barrels (so, you'd still have look for the "right one", but the "wrong ones" are still pretty good.....). These two new after market barrels are definately worth consideration.
donald

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