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Re: Aftermarket Bell

Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2018-03-03 19:04

What do mean by "doesn't speak well?" If you mean that it doesn't always play - doesn't respond immediately - I don't think that a bell will improve it. That's more likely to be a leak or poor adjustment that doesn't close the B and C pads equally. Or it may be poor finger coverage, especially if it happens as you go up from the throat register to the B. Try playing D5 very softly and lightly pressing either (R or L) B key without pressing C with your other pinky. If B doesn't speak, I'd look carefully (or have a tech look) for a leak, especially from either of the two pads that go down for B and C. I imagine MOBAs have an adjusting screw to correctly adjust the B and C keys (on older clarinets you have to bend or build up the crow's foot under the RH B and C# keys).

If you mean the note doesn't resonate well, how does the long B sound with the original MOBA barrel instead of the Behn you're using? Reeds can also affect the sound of B4 (long B). If your reeds aren't fully resonant (too hard, unbalanced) the effect on B4 may be dullness even beyond the rest of the scale. Do you have a private teacher? What does he or she say about your B4? When the teacher plays your clarinet with his/her reed and mouthpiece, does the problem, whatever it is, persist?

If the problem is response, I'd say (to repeat) to look for leaks. If the problem is lack of resonance, I'd be skeptical that a 3rd party bell would work better on a MOBA than the original bell would. I'm surprised that the Behn barrel improves anything - not that Brad Behn doesn't make excellent barrels, but that the MOBA is a new enough design by a skilled enough designer that the whole system should work at its best with its original parts.

Karl

Post Edited (2018-03-04 03:15)

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Aftermarket Bell new

jonathan.wallaceadams

2018-03-03 17:26