Author: Brad Behn
Date: 2021-01-02 01:06
Hello Everyone! Happy New Year!!!
In reference to kj2008's comments about his Svelte barrel (not to be confused with the adjustable barrel that is being discussed on this thread), he did not mention that he purchased a 65mm barrel for his B-flat clarinet. About two months after his purchase, he contacted me to inform me that he's playing sharp while using the barrel and was hoping that he'd get used to it. I told him that I'd be willing to allow him to exchange it for a 66mm version since that's the standard length for B-flat and that it should improve his tuning issues. However, he declined the exchange and said that he will keep the barrel. I care a great deal about customer satisfaction and take it personally when someone is not happy. I believe I did everything in my power to address kj2008's dissatisfaction.
But this thread isn't about Svelte barrels, it is about Behn HERO mouthpieces and Behn Adjustable Haptic Barrels. So for kj2008 to comment about a completely different product is confusing and irrelevent to this thread. Furthermore, I think it unfortunate that we know nothing of kj2008--tonal concept, reed, mouthpiece, instrument preferences AND level of player.
We must all consider the source when reading reviews. Is kj2008 a professional or a student? Is he a well trained player or an amateur who knows little pedagogy? I'm a professional clarinetist and can assure you that I can indeed play in tune on Behn barrels of all designs, using instruments by all major makers. And I'll add that Principal Clarinetists of the Chicago and Milwaukee symphony orchestras both play on Behn barrels and find their intonation prowess worthy of their purchases. So to suggest that Behn Svelte barrels are out of tune is an opinion by one person who offers little qualification for actionable intel. I assure you he's wrong. Behn barrels play in tune. And yes, if you choose a 65mm barrel for B-flat clarinet, you might play sharp!
On another note, some of you have mentioned on this thread that you cannot find the links to our newer products (adjustable barrel and Brio reeds) on our website. As we are a small business, we wanted to be in full production mode before we offer these to the public at large. However, we've had immense interest in these new products, so we wanted to do a "soft launch" and make them available to our friends on social media and to people that have been on our waiting lists. Our adjustable barrels took 3 years to develop and many aspects of the design are patent-pending. They are also very labor intensive to produce with intricate parts, and all of these details take much time to work out. None of this is "state secret," and the private sale links are more a practical matter than anything. They will soon be available through the main menu of our website.
Since some have inquired, here are the links to our newest products for my woodwind.org friends that may have interest: (My apologies if this is not allowed. Please feel free to remove if this is inappropriate.)
Brio reeds: https://www.clarinetmouthpiece.com/product-page/behn-brio-bb-clarinet-reeds
EVO Haptic adjustable barrels: https://www.clarinetmouthpiece.com/product-page/evo-bb-a-adjustable-barrel-special-pre-sale?fbclid=IwAR1CyWfBmNTMdRVofVF98wInr8r1-zPPddQaJk5QKUsT6FLYvdRrmAB6VyA
Regarding new mouthpiece designs... Yes, there are some BEHN mouthpieces out there that are results of product development. The "HERO" that Eric Bromberg purchased is, in fact, not a true HERO design. It has the outside body of the HERO but the chamber/bore of another experimental mouthpiece design. It ended up being a great mouthpiece, so I made it available to Eric at a discounted price. As a mouthpiece maker, I find it truly exciting (and important) to be able to do these experimentations to fully flesh out the ideas in my head. The Behn S-Curve baffle will be implemented in certain mouthpieces in the future.
Brad Behn
http://www.clarinetmouthpiece.com
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The Clarinet BBoard
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