Roll out the barrels!

Dear Mr. Friedland:

Could you please give me a recommendation as to what type of barrel you would consider using on both a Selmer Centered Tone and LeBlanc Dynamique Clarinet. The fact that these are large bore instruments to the DEG barrels etc. work well on them or should I stay with the barrels that came with them?Thank you for your time,ML

Hello ML:

My information is that the Accubore is made for Buffet clarinets, though only that recommendation can be found, no reason at all.
I think that aluminum is a good stable alternative to wood, but ebonite or hard rubber may as good or better. That being said, the best judge of which barrel is best is you, and your reaction to the barrel, its response and of course, its pitch.

Regardless of the small difference in the bore of the Dynamic or the CT clarinet, no one barrel is better than another. The final judge is the player. The addition of the rings to take up the space is a good idea, however the cost is also a factor. The barrel, made by Ridenour clarinet products is as good as any and less expensive. There are all sorts of things out there at even more sorts of prices, but one must remember, in order the compare a barrel, one must listen and play more than one at a time, an impossibility. The time it takes top change barrels is enough to obliterate ones recent memory for reponse and/or pitch.

Here is the description for accubore:
AccuBore Clarinet Tuning barrels replace your existing tuning barrel and improves intonation and sound. Machined from aluminum alloy with a distinctive and acoustically beneficial fluted design which provides a stable bore unaffected by temperature or moisture changes. Each barrel is supplied with 3 bore matched tuning rings, 0.5mm, 1mm, and 2mm.Your Choice – Please SpecifyB Series – (For Buffet Clarinets) Measured in Millimeters – B60, B62, B64, B65, B66, B67M Series – (Moennig Bore, Professional Clarinets) Measured in Millimeters – M64, M65, M66, M67C Series – (Reverse Taper Bore, For Leblanc, Selmer, and Yamaha Clarinets) Measured in Millimeters – C62, C64, C65, C66, C67S Series – (For Student & Intermediate Clarinets) Millimeters – S62, S64Specially designed for Buffet clarinets, these barrels will add more tonal focus and even intonation to your playing. The aluminum construction makes it very stable in environmental changes.

There is a huge “group thought” that the two clarinets are big bore, meaning as part of the group thought, they are best for jazz, wrong, wrong wrong.
Many of Bennies recordings were made on clarinets other than the CT, nothwithstanding the legend, and the original advertisement for the Centered Tone Selmer he made so many years ago, and virtually all of my classical symphonic playing was done on a pair of Centered Tone Selmers clarinets, so the CT is not a particular instrument for a specific type of music.

Good luck, and play well.

sherman

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