Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2014-06-29 23:52
as9934 wrote:
"Pertaining to what exactly? The barrel/mouthpiece or my clarinet?"
Both the clarinet and the barrel. I have a W. German E11 that I bought and reconditioned for my daughter when she was in her middle school band. Also, I use Backun barrels and bells. The reason I asked you to e-mail me was that I originally had some suggestions that would have referred to an ongoing online auction. As I think you have already found out, such references violate the policies for this bulletin board.
With regard to the clarinet, I was going to say pretty much the same thing several others have said. The West German made E11s are, IMO, perfectly good clarinets. They are starting to get a little old, which can be a problem but, if yours was well cared for and is in good condition, it is enough clarinet to take you quite a ways. I've played my daughter's a number of times and I'm always impressed at how much it feels, responds and sounds like my R13. BTW, FWIW, I asked my original questions to verify that you have a West German E11 and not an earlier wooden Evette which some people (particularly eBay sellers) also sometimes refer to as E11s.
Buffet pitches the E11 to play at A = 442 out of the box. However, according to Francois Kloc, they do this by giving a relatively short barrel to a clarinet that is otherwise designed to play at A = 440. For students with well-developed embouchures, similar to Paul, many teachers recommend a longer replacement barrel. Depending on how much you have to pull out to play in tune, you might benefit from a replacement barrel but you should be careful not to get one that is too long. In your case, I would not automatically assume that 66 mm is the right length. As far as tone quality is concerned, while you might experience some improvement from one particular barrel or another, in general, from my experience I would say don't expect a lot. If there is any improvement, it is likely to be subtle. I think an anecdote perhaps sums up my point of view. I was in Italy last summer, performing for a month as part of a summer program. A very good Italian clarinetist noticed my Backun barrels and bells and asked what they were for. I responded "mostly intonation, but also perhaps some effect on evenness of scale and tone color" and invited him to try them. He laughed and said, "My teacher (the principal at La Scala, I think) says if everything is OK here (and he pointed to his mouth to indicate embouchure and perhaps mouthpiece and reed) and here (and he pointed at his midsection to indicate air support), I don't need anything else."
I will say that, if you want a longer barrel, the Backun ringless barrels are probably as good as any but why not wait on your teacher, who can actually listen to you play and help you evaluate alternatives -- s/he may even have alternatives for you to try that save you from spending money on something that you aren't happy with.
Best regards,
jnk
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