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Aftermarket Barrels: Impressions, Experiences, and Opinions

Author: lagatitalila
Date: 2016-04-20 23:28

So I've been digging around these forums, reading various topics on barrels, but I've yet to find a thread that compiles opinions on the many types of aftermarket barrels out there.

As a student musician, poverty and firm satisfaction with my kit kept me from exploring barrels. I only did the mouthpiece thing long enough to find my perfect mouthpiece, which is an original model Richard Hawkins.

But these days, I'm very curious about barrels. Basically, I'd like to know what you play and why you play it. What have you tried, how long did you stick with it, and why did you move on? I'm also curious about any passing impressions on barrels you've trialled but not purchased, how large a sample you trialled, and how big a difference you felt between different barrels of the same model. Do you find certain brands to be more consistent than others?

How many of you rate intonation over tone production? Tone production over ease of playing? Would you rather play a barrel that feels slightly off as long as it played perfectly in tune, or would you rather play a barrel that feels comfortable but has a few discrepancies intonation-wise?

And finally, sweet spots: Do you find that all barrels you've played have an obvious sweet spot? Have you ever played on something that sounded/felt unsatisfactory only to find the sweet spot and change how you felt about the barrel completely?

Thanks in advance.

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