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Re: Synthetic Barrels

Author: HANGARDUDE
Date: 2022-03-19 17:41

I haven't tried either Wes Rice's delrin barrels(but have tried his grenadilla barrel which was alright) or any of Brad Behn's EVO barrels, but I HAVE tried(and in fact own) Clark Fobes' Delrin aka HDP barrels as well as his more popular grenadilla/blackwood versions(both ringed & ringless, so a good comparison can be made.

The most obvious pro is that these synthetic barrels won't warp, and with some makers they are cheaper than their wood versions(such as Clark Fobes).

The possible downside is that the delrin material is less compatible with some instruments in terms of tone and response(less complex overtones and an altered feel).

That said, I mentioned "possible" because it isn't always the case- some are equally compatible with certain instruments as their wood versions, and for some the delrin versions actually sound better. When I was still playing on Buffet RC Prestiges I greatly preferred the grenadilla versions of Clark Fobes' barrels, but since I've switched to Selmer Présences I've found that his delrin version sounded noticeably better and felt more comfortable than his wood versions on these Selmer horns(not sure if the same is true for the Privilege which also takes same barrel lengths as the Présence as well as Buffet clarinets). In other words, YMMV.

Josh

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