Author: TomS
Date: 2018-05-21 03:37
This is great information from Ken Lagace.
I'd like to know actually what bores/tapers that Backun uses. Seems to be a secret with most barrel makers, as well.
I just purchased an almost new Backun Alpha. It is in such good condition that we had to check serial numbers to be sure they weren't selling a new one for $499. Apparently, a salesman demo or leased for a while by an adult and hardly played.
In any case, the Alpha's playing characteristics are not reminiscent of my last experience, but I also tried a new instrument, and they are the same ... I was very surprised at it's higher resistance, compactness and warm timbre. It has much more resistance than my R13/Yamaha 650/Libertas, which just gob-smacks me. And, tuning is pretty good, but I performed a few bumper cork adjustments and improved it a bit. A few stuffy notes probably are not correctable, as they would alter the tuning for the worse. In addition, I've gone to a B45 (I never thought I'd admit to that!), just to free up the sound a bit ... and this combo sounds and feels much better in an ensemble than at home ... and is a lot lighter (also has a loop for a neck strap) than my R13/greenline.
But now the question is, looking a general tuning trends, what barrel, and made by whom, should I start with, just to get in the ballpark, and not spend months experimenting with a zillion barrels? The B45 is a standard bore/beak and therefore plays a bit sharp, so a longer barrel is also called for.
Where do you start? It's science, not magic, although many variables are hard to measure. Without more information, it's a crap shoot ...
Tom
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The Clarinet BBoard
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