 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: harim0suprem0
Date: 2013-05-15 13:20
Hey everyone,
I have just recently bought two Moba Backun Barrels (cocobolo and grenadilla) and a Moba Bell. As soon as I got them I started practicing with them alot and completely forgot that I had to break in to them, just as if I was breaking into a new clarinet. This is only the second day of having them. Yesterday (first day), I only practiced during the evening for around three hours and today (second day), during the afternoon for three hours. Because I forgot to break into these new barrels and bells, will something bad happen to them? Is it to late now, to start breaking into them?
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2013-05-15 13:33
Do new bells need "breaking in"? They're the part of any clarinet least affected with condensation (although water will run out of them) so I can't understand why a bell will need playing in.
As for barrels, they're the part of the clarinet that will collect the most condensation, so they'll need playing in gently to be sure they don't crack, especially if they're ringless barrels.
Don't play for more than 30 mins in any one sitting, then gradually increase the playing time by 5 minutes over the next few weeks. Always dry the sockets after playing WITH A PIECE OF KITCHEN TOWEL AND NOT WITH YOUR PULLTHROUGH! Pullthroughs are for the bore, not for sockets.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: harim0suprem0
Date: 2013-05-15 13:44
Hey Chris, thank you so much for the helpful advice. So my barrels are fine for the moment? The 6-7 hours of practice wouldn't have done any harm to them? As long as I start doing what you are telling me to do from now on?
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Author: Garth Libre
Date: 2013-05-15 13:53
Shouldn't we also occasionally oil new barrels? I also bought a new Backun barrel (ringless traditional -not Moba or Fatboy), and have been breaking it in slowly for the last two weeks. I was planning on oiling it with a bit of Sweet Almond Oil today actually. My thought was to breathe a little moisture into the wood before oiling which might otherwise prevent the initial moisturizing stage.
Garth, 305-981-4705. garthlibre@yahoo.com
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Author: harim0suprem0
Date: 2013-05-15 13:59
Hey Garth, thanks for your helpful input into this discussion. But can someone please answer my question?! Will these barrels of mine be okay as long as I start to break into them from now on? Even though I've already practiced 6-7 hours on them?
Post Edited (2013-05-15 14:11)
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Author: Taras12
Date: 2013-05-15 14:13
My experience with woodworking tells me that your one time heavy duty playing should not harm either the barrel or the bell. I bought several Backun barrels and started them at 30 min/day for a week and then increased it by 15 min per week until I reached my practice time of 1 1/2 - 2 hours. So far so good. The barrel being the most critical.
Consistancy is the key to keeping the humidity in the wood stable. I would start at 30 min per day for a week and increase by 15 min per day per week. Also try to keep the barrel at the same humidity as your clarinet and avoid large changes in temperature and humidity.
Oiling -- I'm not going there...I don't want to start a war. :-)
Tristan
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Author: harim0suprem0
Date: 2013-05-15 14:26
Whew, that's a relief!! Thanks so much for the help everyone! Now, time to get back to practicing...
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2013-05-15 14:42
Play your new barrel for the limited time, then switch back to your original barrel for the remainder of your daily practice session.
This is the best time of year to buy any new wooden equipment as humidity levels are on the up and temperatures stabilise (well - in theory!), so your barrel will be accustomed to being played by the summer and well in time for autumn and winter set in which is when cracks are most likely to happen as humidity levels drop and the temperature fluctuations are wide.
You needn't worry about the bell - you can use that as long as you like from the word go. If you do find the socket begins to bind, then take it to a reputable tech so they can open it up just enough to prevent binding on the tenon.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: William
Date: 2013-05-15 15:10
As far as I am concerned, all this "breaking in" of clarinets, mouthpieces, etc and now, barrels and bells, is a lot of hogwash. If the piece of wood that your equipement is cut from is destined to crack, it will crack--nothing you can do will prevent this other than avoiding quick temperature change. I have been playing wood clarinets--I own ten plus including A's, Bb's, Eb's. C and low C bass--all professional grade by Buffet, Yamaha and Leblanc--and I have never spent a minute of time worrying about 'break in'. Every clarinet was put to normal use from day 1 and in the 45 yrs I have been playing, not a single crack has occured in any of my wood clarinets. Typical of my practice, the day after buying a (then) $5000 Buffet Prestiege low C bass clarinet, I played it "cold turkey" in an outdoor city band concert. And it is still crack free after many seasons of use. I rest my case..........
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2013-05-15 16:09
I've never "broken in" a bell or barrel, and I've never had one crack yet. I agree with William, if you avoid rapid temperature changes, it won't crack unless it was going to crack anyway.
Tony F.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2013-05-15 16:34
Sometimes you get lucky, but that doesn't mean everyone should treat their clarinets like they're brass instruments.
I know people who keep their clarinets locked in their car in the winter, then play them at rehearsals without warming up, then back in the case in two halves and back in their car until next time and quite honestly why they haven't cracked in all that time is remarkable.
I've just repaired a cracked Buffet which is around 20 years old and have an 18 month old Prestige in right now, plus another cracked one is on its way.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2013-05-15 18:03
I would suggest as an example for William and Tony that there are plenty of people around who never bother to fasten their seat belts when driving - and are still alive (at present anyway) and who therefore firmly consider seat belts unnecessary.
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Author: Garth Libre
Date: 2013-05-16 02:09
I bought a used R-13 last year. The barrel was cracked when I got it. I bet the previous owner held the same philosophy that if it's going to crack it will, and if it isn't going to crack, it won't. I'm also willing to bet that with different treatment, it wouldn't have cracked.
Garth, 305-981-4705. garthlibre@yahoo.com
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Author: kdk
Date: 2013-05-16 13:19
I want to ask a question of those who insist on the importance of gradually breaking in a barrel: Can you tell about the barrels you've seen (other people's barrels, I assume) that cracked soon after purchase because they were played on too much all at once?
The only actually cracked barrel mentioned in this thread so far is the one Garth bought, which he *assumes* cracked because it wasn't properly broken in, but he doesn't *know* how it was treated or what happened to it.
I did have a barrel crack - only one - but it cracked under the weight of my car when I accidentally backed over my clarinet case one bad day years ago (I was loading several instruments into the back seat and forgot to retrieve the clarinets). I don't ever oil or break in new barrels. The bell also cracked, BTW, the only cracked bell I've actually ever seen.
Like the worries people have about swabbing mouthpieces, I think most of the concern about breaking in new equipment is largely superstition based on theoretical assumptions of what *could* or even *should* happen under certain conditions - in the case of barrels when the wood is suddenly exposed to prolonged warmth and moisture. Maybe I have just been lucky. Or maybe the players who practice such careful prevention as breaking-in and oiling and never have cracked barrels wouldn't have had them anyway.
How do you all *know* that a barrel that hasn't been broken-in and (for some of you) oiled is more like to crack than one that's been thrown into the heat of battle and left to its own tendencies? Are there some anecdotes you can share?
Karl
Post Edited (2013-05-16 13:28)
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Author: Alseg
Date: 2013-05-16 20:05
Aftermarket barrels are ofttimes shipped via express or priority services. They may be subjected to rapid alterations in temperature and humidity, especially in cargo planes, where subzero temperatures can prevail.
Sometimes barrels can sit on the blazing tarmac for days awaiting clearance by customs.
I therefore recommend that the barrel equilibrate 24 hrs after its journey before the recipient uses it.
I use a bore sealant (and I know Morrie does this as well), but we have little control over the vagaries of shipping.
Disclaimer: I make and sell custom barrels.
Former creator of CUSTOM CLARINET TUNING BARRELS by DR. ALLAN SEGAL
-Where the Sound Matters Most(tm)-
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Author: kdk
Date: 2013-05-16 20:19
So, with a bore sealant applied by the maker, is it important (beyond that 24 hour acclimatizing process) to "break in" a new barrel? The sealant should make it impervious to moisture, and once it's warmed up what would be the importance of how long you continue to play on it?
(Disclaimer: I use and like Allan Segal's barrels)
Karl
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2013-05-16 21:39
When I got mine, or any other barrel, I just began using them from day one, nothing ever happened to either.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: Taras12
Date: 2013-05-17 00:01
I'm going to be a bit blunt here, but many of you are talking about a barrel like it was a china doll. Grenadilla, ebony, cocobola, rosewood are all fairly dense pieces of wood. Barrels and bells are not paper thin. They are made from chunks of wood. In the turning and boring process, certain stressors on the grain are released and the wood can crack and warp. I'm sure Dr. Segal might tell you that he chooses blanks from the straightest, most even specimens he has, which minimizes these twists, turns and cracks. The wood is stable. I don't make clarinet barrels, but I do wood turning and make items that are much thinner and delicate. They experience much tougher climate changes and do not crack.
Common sense is the key. Don't abuse the item. Keep it clean. Don't saturate it with water or saliva. Allow it to gradually come to temperature (a "warm up period"). Watch out for drastic changes in temperature and humidity.
Tristan
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Author: kdk
Date: 2013-05-17 00:16
Taras12 wrote:
> Allow it to gradually
> come to temperature (a "warm up period"). Watch out for
> drastic changes in temperature and humidity.
>
As you would the rest of the clarinet.
Karl
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Author: Garth Libre
Date: 2013-05-17 00:45
Somewhere on this board I once read that one should gradually blow warmth and moisture into the barrel, and once it's gone through this stage, it is safe and advisable to oil, thereby sealing in the moisture and stabilizing the piece. Using that theory, if you played the barrel extensively and it didn't crack, you essentially broke it in and it would be safe to oil the bore (I oil the outside, the bore and the sockets too). I think cracking is largely an issue of sudden temperature changes, overly dry wood and mechanical abuse or innate defect.
Garth, 305-981-4705. garthlibre@yahoo.com
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Author: kdk
Date: 2013-05-17 01:13
If Morrie Backun seals the bores of his barrels as Allan Segal has suggested he does, I'm not sure what the point of oiling it would be.
Karl
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Author: Alseg
Date: 2013-05-17 15:48
See the pictures of the H. Wurlitzer insiders. They have a sealant, too. They burnish theirs for the customer after a year.
My sealant wears off after time....The sockets then become the more critical item. I suggest oiling the sockets after one year IF and only IF they appear to be drying out.
Too much oiling of the bore is counterproductive and deadens the sound.
Former creator of CUSTOM CLARINET TUNING BARRELS by DR. ALLAN SEGAL
-Where the Sound Matters Most(tm)-
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Author: BradC
Date: 2013-05-17 18:08
I have to agree with Taras12. These are big hunks of dense wood. As with all big hunks of dense wood, there is a small chance that they will crack no matter what you do or don't do. I have been playing professionally for 25 years and have owned dozens of barrels and bells with no cracking problems at all. I have never broken in or oiled any wooden instrument, barrel or bell.
My opinion is that if you think you should break in a barrel or bell, then do it. If it gives you extra confidence in your equipment and/or your playing, then it is worth doing. As with any natural product, there are many variable at play as to whether or not a piece of wood will crack. The amount of play, the weather were you live, air conditioning, the grain, the type of wood, the age, the phase of the moon, the lakers making the playoffs, locusts ......... you get the idea.
Do what you feel is right as there is no right or wrong answer here.
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Author: Garth Libre
Date: 2013-05-17 19:20
I personally feel that the magical, almost ceremonial attention to our instruments is valuable for a number of reasons. All practice takes on a religious feel when you give loving attention to your equipment. It is all the more mysterious when we consider that these instruments are wood, come from trees and when I, for example, pick up my horns, I feel this connection to nature. For this reason, I want to honor the sacrifice of the tree and my connection to nature. Oiling the instrument, wiping it down, taking care in the assembly and disassembly is all part of the care I take in my playing. This is what separates my use of my mechanical refrigerator or my bar-b-que grill or my frisbee.
In the foreseeable future, when clarinets are made from space age epoxy and plastics, some of this magic and respect for nature and music in general may disappear. This is one of the reasons that electronic music seems to lack some of the soul of traditional orchestral music or Jazz. Will there be any thrill in playing clarinet synthisizers when the arpegios are done on keyboards and infinitely easier to accomplish without the innate problems of a real wooden clarinet?
I also prefer manual shift cars, hand made steel road bikes, brass double sided razors, sharpening my own high carbon knives, making my own toiletries from essential oils, cooking my food from scratch, growing my own berries and herbs, building my own rabbit cages, my own built in book shelves, cutting my own hair, etc .. etc.
Garth, 305-981-4705. garthlibre@yahoo.com
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Author: kdk
Date: 2013-05-17 20:04
Garth Libre wrote:
> For this reason, I want to honor the
> sacrifice of the tree and my connection to nature. Oiling the
> instrument, wiping it down, taking care in the assembly and
> disassembly is all part of the care I take in my playing.
Garth, there are two issues here.
First, the OP from the sound of his post was in near panic that he had actually done damage by playing on his new barrel and bell for two 3-hour practice sessions before he remembered that someone had told him the new pieces must be broken in before such heavy use. He was asking if he had done irreversible damage. He wasn't asking a metaphysical question about the connection between his music and nature - he thought he had ruined a few hundred dollars of new equipment. The answer, of course, is no permanent (or probably any) damage was done. The discussion quickly morphed into a discussion about whether barrels or bells need to be broken in at all. Clearly, those of us who don't see any use in going through such a process take a less Romantic view of the physical nature of our instruments than you do. That's a personal matter.
Second, with regard specifically to oiling, I haven't read anything here that supports oiling the bore of *new* barrel (or bell or instrument, for that matter). If you want to oil your equipment, that's a personal choice you are free to make, but it's wrong to suggest that oiling a new barrel is essential or even important to prevent cracking - indeed many of us don't use bore oil at all, ever, and don't experience any more cracking than those who oil religiously. In fact, one post from Allan Segal, an experienced custom barrel maker, says that oiling a barrel that doesn't show visible signs of dryness is counterproductive.
Karl
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Author: Garth Libre
Date: 2013-05-17 21:01
Yeah, I scrub down the Weber cast iron grate carefully with a wire brush. I clean out the drip trap and wipe out the bowl. I also re-oil the grate with coconut oil, and do salt grills with fresh rosemary and home made sauce too. When I pick up my clarinet there is a degree of involvement that goes at least two shades deeper than when I grab my tongs or my silicone brush. There are people that put as much thought and effort in their cooking and I can respect that, but I tend to rush over the salad dressing prep while I sweat bullets over the Rose Etudes. That said, most people still prefer my salad and grilled turkey over my clarinet playing. At least I've never seen anyone salivating when I play.
Garth, 305-981-4705. garthlibre@yahoo.com
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2013-05-19 13:51
As I said, I"ve never "broken in" a bell or barrel in my life and none has ever cracked. I"ve probably used ten different barrels in my life, only the Backun Bells I've been using for over a dozen years.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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