The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: clarinet60
Date: 2013-11-20 16:34
Just curious if the Backun clarinets are considered large bore or small bore?
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2013-11-20 21:14
My MoBa certainly isn't an English bore if that's what your referring to? Being a long time player of wide bore I had to get a "French" bore mouthpiece.
Peter Cigleris
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Author: SteveG_CT
Date: 2013-11-21 01:39
clarinet60 wrote:
> Just curious if the Backun clarinets are considered large bore
> or small bore?
The current Backun offerings would be considered "small bore" under the typical definition. The bore diameter on common Bb clarinets typically ranges from ~14.3mm (Selmer Recital) to ~15.2mm (B&H 1010, Eaton Elite, large bore Rossi's, a few others). Most modern clarinets have bore diameters in the 14.5-14.7mm range and are quite frequently poly-cylindrical (multiple bore sizes used at different points along the length of the instrument).
When most people say "large bore" they mean a bore diameter of 15mm or greater. "Small bore" has commonly come to mean any bore diameter less than 15mm.
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Author: John Peacock
Date: 2013-11-21 09:15
When talking about bore dimensions, it helps to be clear about where you are measuring it. If given without qualification, I believe a bore diameter refers to the value at the bottom of the upper joint. But the value at the top can be quite different, depending on maker. For a modern Buffet R13, the top-to-bottom taper is about 15.0mm to 14.75mm. The biggest taper I know is in the Howarth S2, which goes from 15.2 to the same 14.75 as Buffet.
In contrast, B+H instruments were much more nearly cylindrical, with upper and lower diameters consistent to much less than 0.1mm: about 15.05mm for the Imperial 926 and about 15.35mm for the 1010. Does anyone know if modern wide-bore makers like Eaton or Rossi are cylindrical? This tapering seems to be connected with achieving better tuning of the 12ths.
A further complication is that the barrel bore dimensions can be very different to the main part of the instrument. The Howarth S2 has a barrel that seems very close to Buffet dimensions, so there is a huge expansion in going from barrel to top of top joint. The result is that the Howarth plays in tune with a standard mouthpiece. But the sound has a distinct element of 'big-bore' character. Hard to know if this reflects the large top-of-joint diameter, or another element like undercutting.
Peter: never mind the numbers. Does the MoBa sound or feel big-bore to you in any way?
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2013-11-21 15:49
Hi John,
It feels very big bore to me. It's what convinced me to change though the instrument does take on the character of the player. I really like the depth in the tone on the MoBa and can't wait to get the A sometime soon.
Peter Cigleris
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2013-11-21 16:28
John to best of my info the wide bore Rossi does have a significant reverse cone at top of top joint. Unfortunately haven't had one come in for quite a few years to properly measure.
I think the Eaton Elite is purely cylindrical but the International model (approx 14.8mm) does have a small cone.
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