 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Ben Shaffer
Date: 2018-04-05 01:00
Well, I'm thinking about upgrading my Clarinet with a new barrel and Mouthpiece. I was curious if anyone had any opinions or experience regarding the Clark Fobes Synthetic Barrel and or the D'Addario X25E Mouthpiece.
I play in a Church band and on my own play Etudes and such around the House. I've got a Vito V40 and VanDoren M13 Lyre MP which in combination sound pretty good but I've got a couple of Hundred Bucks burning a hole in my pocket
Ben Shaffer
GSO,NC
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Author: kdk
Date: 2018-04-05 02:50
The question you should always be ready to answer is "What do I want the new equipment to help me do that I can't (easily) do now?" There's really not a point in just changing for change's sake. I'm not sure how much better you're going to get a Vito to sound with any barrel and mouthpiece change.
What does the M13 L prevent you from doing easily? What do you want a different mouthpiece to help you with? Have you tried any other barrels than your original Vito barrel to see if anything changes (except, maybe, pitch)?
In any case, a couple of hundred bucks won't buy much of an improvement in either a mouthpiece or a barrel, much less a combination. If the money is truly burning a hole in your pocket, then get it out of there and start an instrument fund. Meanwhile, make sure the Vito is in optimal mechanical shape and that the reeds you're using are optimal for the M13 Lyre.
Karl
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Author: Dan Shusta
Date: 2018-04-05 03:15
IMHO, going from a plastic barrel to either a wooden or hard rubber barrel should make a world of difference as to tonal quality and also perhaps the tuning the the 12ths at the upper end. (This depends upon the design of the barrel.)
This is why you don't play on a plastic mouthpiece. You play on an M13 L because it is made of hard rubber.
I believe you should notice a difference in sound quality with a Ridenour hard rubber barrel and that you will definitely notice a difference with Brad Behn's EVO hard rubber barrel.
Just my opinions...
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Author: Ben Shaffer
Date: 2018-04-05 03:16
Hey Karl
Thanks for your opinion on my current equipment, but as I mentioned in my post, I'm looking for information on the 2 items I asked about .
"There's really not a point in just changing for change's sake."
Not necessarily Karl
"I'm not sure how much better you're going to get a Vito to sound with any barrel and mouthpiece change."
If you've never played a Vito V40 you are not in any position to make that statement
Post Edited (2018-04-05 03:22)
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Author: Ken Lagace
Date: 2018-04-05 17:28
And you didn't answer why you want to change? We can help better if we know why. Changing something might change something but possibly for the worse.
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Author: jdbassplayer
Date: 2018-04-05 18:02
Actually I have both a Fobes Cocobolo barrel along with a Fobes synthetic barrel. Contrary to what you would expect, the plastic one is far better than the Cocobolo barrel IMHO (both are new by the way). The Cocobolo one is just too resistant for my liking. I also enjoy the Fobes barrel more than any Backun product I've ever tried. Wait for a sale on WWBW, you can get them for $80 shipped.
-Jdbassplayer
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Author: Dan Shusta
Date: 2018-04-05 20:22
Ken and Karl, with all due respect to both of you, I sense Ben is being pressured to reveal something that maybe he simply doesn't want to talk about. That's why, IMHO, he specifically asked about the Fobes synthetic barrel and the D'Addario 25E mouthpiece. To me, that should suffice.
I believe people make changes simply to find out how the change would affect their sound, response, playability, intonation, etc. In other words, sometimes people make changes simply to see "what happens" and in doing so, they learn something.
Maybe pressuring him is purely unintentional, however, I certainly sense it and, IMHO, Ben is simply under no obligation to explain to anybody why he feels like "upgrading". I sense that both of you are truly wanting to help him, however, it's the method or wordage being used that disturbs me and, perhaps, maybe me alone.
I sense that his non-explanation as to the reason of "why" might be frustrating to both of you, but, again, I simply don't see any reason as to why he has to explain himself.
Just my opinions...
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Author: EaubeauHorn
Date: 2018-04-05 20:27
Is the bore on the cocobolo smaller than the bore on the Fobes? That's the only thing I can think of that would change the resistance. I can't see that the material itself could possibly have any effect.
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Author: Ken Lagace
Date: 2018-04-05 20:44
>>If you've never played a Vito V40 you are not in any position to make that statement
Is what tweaked me,.
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Author: KenJarczyk
Date: 2018-04-05 21:55
Good Afternoon,
I am a big fan of Clark Fobes’ products. His synthetic barrel is very interesting. I use hard-rubber lined cocobola barrel on my Buffet R13, His Grenadilla barrel on my Selmer 10G A, and a Grenadilla barrel on a Selmer Series 10 Bb. I have his synthetic barrel, and actually feel no difference on the Bb Selmer, though my ear tells me there is a slight increase in brightness on the synthetic.
Ken Jarczyk
Woodwinds Specialist
Eb, C, Bb, A & Bass Clarinets
Soprano, Alto, Tenor & Baritone Saxophones
Flute, Alto Flute, Piccolo
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Author: kchan ★2017
Date: 2018-04-05 23:30
"If you've never played a Vito V40 you are not in any position to make that statement."
Well I never played a Vito V40, Clark Fobes Synthetic Barrel, and or the D'Addario X25E Mouthpiece so take whatever I say with a grain of salt, but just on specifications alone the X25E is much more of an open mouthpiece than the M13 Lyre so you can anticipate that you need to change to a lighter, softer reed to match that open of a mouthpiece. They are on the opposite sides of the spectrum in that respect.
You may be able to try one out at a local music store (maybe less so with the barrel you mention). If they don't have the X25E you could try something with a similar amount of open facing to give you a ballpark if that's what you may want.
Typical mouthpiece stats
http://assets.daddario.com/images/mouthpiece_comparison_chart_large.gif
Typical reed strengths
http://assets.daddario.com/images/reed_strength_chart_large.gif
I don't know if pitch is something you want to address (perhaps to match pitch with the rest of the ensemble), but the M13 Lyre lists A=440 and the X25E lists A=442. It's close enough that people can adjust anyway.
The barrel can make a difference in tone, timbre, and certainly intonation but wouldn't require you to make physical adjustments in how you play as would a change of mouthpiece.
Post Edited (2018-04-06 02:56)
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Author: jdbassplayer
Date: 2018-04-06 09:00
EaubeauHorn,
As far as I can tell the dimensions are the same, the delrin barrel just has a smoother bore.
-Jdbassplayer
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