 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2020-07-22 22:53
So I happened to stop in to see one of the country's best clarinet repair people the other day while in Louisville and it turns out Jonathan Copeland now offers his own designed barrel courtesy of Wesley Rice.
https://betterclarinets.com/custom-barrels/
Naturally I was curious about it and gave several a "test drive." I gravitated to the wood for the first test. The wood versions of various companies have become my prejudice for ringless barrels because they resonate beautifully (Weir Euro, Martin Freres, Dr. Alan Segal). My first impression is that it is a really good performer but I didn't think it was as loud as I'd like (yes, loud is very important to me). Then I tried the delrin version and POW!!!! There was even more focus and power than I had ever thought about.
Jonathan showed me a cross section design drawing that illustrated how he came to the odd looking external look. He had noticed that the standard barrel design (flare at the bottom) though intuitively normal looking on the outside left the socket at the top with significantly less material around it than the bottom socket (may explain why some manufacturers have cracking problems with ringless designs). His first test samples sounded really promising and that led to this final product.
Interestingly both he and a friend played "blind tests" for each other (as listener) to hear if either material sounded better; and both of them picked the delrin as well.
I need a custom size so I don't have mine yet but I wanted to share and I will post an update down the road.
....................Paul Aviles
Post Edited (2020-07-23 02:32)
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Author: Ed
Date: 2020-07-23 18:50
I think the Delrin is better because the plastic resonates better with the Legere/Luyben combination!
(sorry, I couldn't resist! LOL)
It is great that there are some good choices out there for barrels, although it can drive one nuts. It seems that choosing the right material can be just like choosing different sets ups of mouthpiece/reed/ligature. It all depends on what works or fits your needs. One big plus to the Delrin or hard rubber barrels out there is that they won't change. It can be frustrating to find that you begin to have issues with intonation or resistance and find that the bore has changed.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2020-07-23 20:54
Yeah Ed, I knew the Legere thing would come up. In fact yes, I did try it with a trusty Luyben and European Signature combo (can't help that....it's what I use). Of course Jonathan and his friend used their own set-ups and I assume cane was involved.
The other part of that to which I can attest is that the Copeland barrel clearly played better than my Greenline (Greenline R13 used in trial) barrel. Once home I went back to a delrin barrel I own from another manufacturer (don't want to bash, but well known) and that one is much less impressive than the Greenline barrel that came with my horn and I used in the test.
For the record, I did NOT play up to pitch on either because the lengths of both the Greenline barrel that came with my horn and the Copeland barrel are only standard at a 66mm length. So I was only evaluating resonance, response and dynamic volume.
I also wanted to say that I did NOT read the link I put above until now, I just wanted to show the barrel. I don't know for sure if the Delrin is only prototype right now. Also, the wood version was good (and the difference may be another example of what one player may prefer over another player). But I personally I was more fond of the delrin result. I guess you'd have to ask Jonathan if they are yet available for purchase.
...............Paul Aviles
Post Edited (2020-07-23 21:05)
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Author: ruben
Date: 2020-07-23 23:07
Paul: looking forward to your update! question: is delrin really a plastic?
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2020-07-23 23:38
My Google machine calls delrin an acetal homo polymer. The barrel I have currently made from this material is quite dense and is just a hair less hefty than a comparable African Blackwood barrel (and that difference may be because the African Blackwood barrel has the obligatory silver plated rings).
...............Paul Aviles
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Author: ruben
Date: 2020-07-23 23:52
Paul! yes, I have heard Delrin is denser, thus heavier than African blackwood. I played with an oboist that had a delrin oboe made by Lorée. I found her tone was less flexible than on her African blackwood oboe, but here we are talking about a WHOLE instrument.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2020-07-24 00:23
I've used Delrin (a Dupont trade name by the way) for several projects, not all of them musical, and I can tell you it's a good engineering material. It is most definitely a plastic (acetal resin as Paul wrote), it is somewhat denser than wood, and best of all it machines easily and cleanly. You can drill (and tap) very smooth and accurately-sized holes in it, for example. I made a low-C extension for bass clarinet out of the stuff, turned out nicely.
When I was a kid some of the better bicycles has derailleur systems made by a French company called "Simplex", which featured control levers made of Delrin. I believe that was one of the first large-scale uses of the material in a consumer product. Those levers were a somewhat flexible compared to the typical metal ones, but were damn near unbreakable.
I remain skeptical that anyone would be able to hear an audible difference between two barrels, one of grenadilla and the other of Delrin, if they had EXACTLY the same lengths and bore dimensions. I'm of the "Arthur Benade School" that believes material composition has no more than a miniscule effect on the tone quality of thick-walled woodwinds (clarinets, oboes and to a lesser extent bassoons).
All that said I use a Robert Scott barrel made of Delrin on my Eb clarinet, not specifically because of the material, but because it just tunes well on my particular instrument.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2020-07-24 01:06
Hey David,
But that's what bothers me about the result. My mind was insistent upon getting a better result out of the wood. Jonathan mentioned the delrin first and wanted me to try that. When I saw the wood model I assumed that would be the clear winner. What I expected was a better resonance (more vibrancy in the sound) than what I have original to the horn (Greenline....neither wood nor plastic). And that is why I was initially, for lack of a better term, disappointed. I just didn't get the expected "bump" in the sound.
I tried the delrin more out of fairness (and friendship), not expecting any difference in result (or perhaps even less color to the sound). That's what made it so weird for me, and a very pleasant surprise. And yes, the dimensions externally and internally were virtually CNC machined identical.
I too believe in the acoustics of the architecture being the prevailing producer of the clarinet sound rather than material. In fact Jonathan and I had a brief discussion about the old silver metal bodied clarinets.
I don't think there's nearly as large a change with barrels as I experienced with plastic ligatues with Legere (that is in a class by itself), but this barrel is certainly worth trying for someone in the market for one.
Further, I have found that a particularly large disparity in dimension from the 66mm adds considerably to the price (you have to redesign several dimensions once you get to that point) but since I need quite short barrels.........I am happy with the added expense.
..................Paul Aviles
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Author: Ed
Date: 2020-07-24 05:25
I am interested in hearing the final results
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2020-09-09 22:39
Attachment: 20200817_150614_resized.jpg (77k)
I've had the new Copeland barrel for several weeks but wanted to really take the time to come to a fair evaluation that made sense.
At first, doing the quick switch between my 62mm Moennig barrel and the delrin Copeland barrel I just found myself a bit confused trying to find one that was clearly "better" than the other. But it wasn't that simple. In fact I couldn't even come up with the right vocabulary to describe the difference at first.
Typically all I had experienced in barrel differences (besides pitch) was whether one added more upper partials or not. Usually the more vibrant barrels were wood and featured either a ringless design or had wooden ring around the top and bottom.
The Copeland delrin barrel does not have the more vibrant sound, HOWEVER it is the loudest of my barrels at top volume. I have come to the conclusion that there is more emphasis of the fundamentals of each note. The emphasis does not come for lack of upper partials but rather that the fundamental itself is noticeably more resonant.
For me the upshot is that it is easier to tune against a source (I used a "track") and seems also more prominent against the source (if you desire).
I do have a delrin barrel by another maker that is just lacking in resonance of any kind any comes off just dull and lifeless compared to the Copeland.
I am now a little curious to know what the wooden Copeland would be like over the course of a lengthy, full assessment, but I might wait a bit to enjoy the one I have.
Now the bottom line is that differences amongst barrels are on the subtle side but if you are in the market for a barrel because you have an issue that needs correcting, this barrel is definitely well worth trying. It offers a unique voice in the barrel market.
...............Paul Aviles
Post Edited (2020-09-14 01:34)
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