 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Ron
Date: 2008-07-25 20:15
Due to an unfortunate accident, the barrel for a friend's old Selmer "A" clarinet was recently cracked. This is an old grenadilla Selmer with an articulated G#. Here are my questions:
1. Can the barrel of a "Bb" clarinet be used with no noticeable effect on the sound and intonation?
2. What effect will a cracked barrel have on the sound an intonation?
Thanks for your responses.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2008-07-25 20:19
Until someone with specific experience rresponds I can only offer my opinion which is that the crack can be repaired with a suitable adhesive (as , for example "superglue") with no significant adverse effect on the sound. It's at least worth a try.
Bob Draznik
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Author: pewd
Date: 2008-07-25 22:07
1. occasionally. try it with a tuner and see what happens. sometimes you get lucky and can use a Bb barrel on an A. usually not however.
2. if air is leaking through the crack in the barrel, lots of tone and tuning problems can result.
a good repairman can fix many cracks, depending on the severity of the crack.
or you can try a custom barrel maker for a replacement. dr. segal's stuff is pretty good - give him a call. http://www.clarinetconcepts.com/
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2008-07-26 03:20
If you have a Bb bell of the same model, it may work.
Not seeing the damage I suggest that the cracked bell not be used until it is properly fixed.
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2008-07-26 19:43
Ron,
I think you might find this thread enlightening:
http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=91458&t=91458
The article quoted by John Moses at the beginning of the thread explains why a Bb barrel (or bell -- your message says barrel but your header says bell) should not work on an A clarinet. Nevertheless, many clarinetists find that they don't really notice any problem using the same barrel for both their Bb and A clarinets.
Note too that using a barrel that is a different length than the one originally designed for the instrument can affect tuning throughout its range while a bell that is a different length than that originally designed for the instrument, can, at the very least, affect tuning of the lower E and clarion B. You pretty much just have to try it out and see.
If the barrel (or bell) is cracked, or even split, along the grain (rather than crushed) the repair is a relatively simple one involving superglue that can be done relatively quickly and inexpensively and usually can be made virtually invisible. In this case, I think it would be far preferable to have the barrel/bell replaced.
Best regards,
jnk
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2008-07-26 20:32
On my Buffet A and Bb my Backun bells and barrels are interchangeable. Although I have separate ones for each I began using the same ones until I decided to purchase a second one of each. One Backun bell has a large crack, I simply super glued to and it works fine. The same thing can be done with the barrel just make sure the crack is closed while the glue dries, put it in a vise and apply a gentle pressure on it when you put the glue in. It should play exactly the same as it did before it cracked. ESP www.peabody.jhu.edu/457 a little Mozart
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