The Clarinet BBoard

The Clarinet BBoard The C4 standard

New Topic | Go to Top | Go to Topic | Search | Help/Rules | Smileys/Notes | Log In

Previous Message | Next Message

Holes in clarinet barrels (from mics)

Author: fskelley
Date: 2015-09-08 18:24

I've abandoned and disassembled my barrel mics- that's another thread. Now nearly all of my barrels, including 3 I have for sale on "that site", have small holes that I've sealed up with Marine Goop. Cosmetically they mostly look pretty good on the outside- I could work harder and make them perfect- but if the patched side faces the player, who would ever notice?

But... many of you here on BBoard are freakish about the slightest change to the shape of the acoustic space of a clarinet (you know who you are). And some say the barrel is 2nd only to the mouthpiece in importance. So- would you be worried about the effect of a 1/8" hole that (after sealing) is perhaps halfway or more through the barrel wall? If so, I guess it would not matter whether it's sealed with goop, or with a barrel mic- you must think any barrel mic setup is inferior in how it plays. Of course, most of us would be unsure unless we could A/B test identical setups with and without a hole, and even then we probably would not trust our impressions- what with placebo and nocebo effects. So why take a chance?

So perhaps I should do better repairs on my remaining barrels. I was thinking about taping over the hole on the inside, filling the hole with superglue, then removing the tape and sanding it smooth. Sounds like a lot of work, with the potential of an equally imperfect interior when I got done- even if the sanding were perfect (not likely), I would have locally increased the diameter. And if the hole is a big deal, so would be a diameter change.

Any of you think my drilled barrels are candidates for the trash can? Just so I know where I am...

Stan in Orlando

EWI 4000S with modifications

Reply To Message | Avail. Forums | Flat View

Newer Topic | Older Topic

Topics