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Intonation on Selmer Centered Tone

8K views 46 replies 17 participants last post by  jgreiner 
#1 ·
I recently acquired a full Boehm Selmer Centered Tone in need for some care.
The clarinet has sit unused for a number of years but otherwise is not in bad shape. The most "disturbing" thing is that the barrel is not original and it's from a Series 10 clarinet (by the way: who, in Europe, is able to make a barrel with the correct bore diameter? Or where to buy it?)

I was able to play some notes, after oiling the bore. No more than a couple of minutes to avoid cracking the instrument, but I found something quite strange.

The S10 barrel is 67mm long, whereas most reports I can read on internet speak of very short barrels to reach a good intonation with the Centerer Tone (62mm is a dimension that's often cited). Nevertheless I had to pull it out around 5mm to play in tune. At that point the instrument was pretty much in tune throughout the registers...

I refuse to think that it needs a 72mm barrel and I'm prone to think that the gap between the barrel and the upper joint compensated for the lack of volume in the narrow-bore barrel.
Could it be possible?
 
#3 ·
The taper of the S10 barrel (from a poly-cylindrical clarinet, as opposed to the cylindrical CT) may play a big part in this anomaly. A smaller internal volume in the barrel could flatten the instrument (if the difference is enough).
I also wonder that if you have a lot of leaks all over the instrument that the pitch would go sharper?
I've experienced this before in 2 of my own clarinets (played sharp before overhaul, but not enough to be able to make a firm statement about it.
It might be worth contacting clarinets direct in the UK for info about barrel lengths and whether he has a spare he could sell you.
 
#4 ·
I would try to find an original barrel. I'm not certain but it may be similar or the same as a Series 9. The original is 66mm and has a slight reverse taper. Until I found an original for my Series 9, the intonation was a little funky. Experts please correct me if I'm incorrect here.
 
#5 ·
Before you have an extra-lomng barrel made, I'd suggest having a tech go over the clarinet. If it has been unplayed for years, it's likely, at the very least, that pads aren't sealing, and the increased resistance will drive pitch up. Then, spend a month or so practicing on the horn. In addition to the barrel, your mouthpiece may be driving the pitch up. If the pitch is still quite high after a tech check and practice, there's a barrel maker who frequently comments on the Clarinet BBoard, Dr. Alan Segal, who would likely be willing to make a barrel of any sort for you. International postage for a barrel can't be that much.
 
#6 ·
Based on my experience, a small bore barrel is going to mess up intonation on a series 9 or any large bore instrument a noticeable bit.
A Backun is also going to mess it up intonationally, based on experience with a single one.
My S9 is usually in tune with a 67 mm barrel + a bit of warming it up.
It probably would be helpful for me to get a 66 or 65 mm one for when I need to play sharper, though.
 
#7 ·
Also note that the Series 10 bore was smaller than the Centered Tone. If your clarinet was sitting around for years in a dry environment, wood shrinks. I wonder what the bore is now on yours?
 
#12 ·
I'd rule it out: I've never seen an instrument sold in Italy that was high pitch... it was mostly an American need, as far as I know.

Beside that, the scale of the instrument is pretty much spot on over the entire range, when I pull out he barrel.
 
#14 ·
If you've got a mouthpiece/barrel/ligature/reed combination which plays in tune, then quit worrying, and thank your lucky stars.

Dudes who disappear into the abyss which is the infinitely many combinations of mouthpiece, barrel, ligature & reed, in search of some sort of intonation nirvana, tend to never be seen again.

Unless you go looking for them in the locked-down ward of the psychiatric hospital.
 
#15 ·
If you do decide to go the route of a custom barrel, I have two CTs (one an enhanced Boehm but no Eb and the other ordinary). I have carefully measured the barrels and they are identical. I can supply those measurements if you PM me.
 
#16 ·
After reading this post, I have a suggestion that others have not mentioned. Turn the clarinet into a lamp for about ten dollars of supplies at the local hardware, wax the body and keys up, and sell it on eBay for about $300.00, then buy a newer, better clarinet. Instruments that have sat for long periods of time without all their original parts tend to be money pits that never play well once "finished." I think once you spend a hundred dollars or more on getting the clarinet re-padded, another 100 on a new barrel, and then say another 100 on a new mouthpiece, you are three hundred in for an instrument that you more than likely will be replacing in a year or 18 months. For $500.00, you could get a much better clarinet without the headaches of this closet find. Turn it in a lamp, sell it, make a profit, and get a newer clarinet that you won't worry will crack, or play in tune, or fall apart.
 
#17 ·
and get a newer clarinet that you won't worry will crack, or play in tune, or fall apart.
So you think newer clarinets won't crack? I disagree. You think all new clarinets play in tune? I disagree. What makes you think old clarinets will fall apart because it's old?
 
#22 ·
cheers....
i have just been trying to find out and google got me this link.....

http://capionlarsen.com/history-pitch/

interesting....

i do know for fact that there are more saxophones made in high-pitch in australia than USA...
and the australian affiliation with england,i thought a bunch of these came from england to live in australia....
i see them here on a regular basis....

that website has some good information...
cheers,philip
 
#33 ·
I read on another thread that the factory taper on a CT barrel was 15.35mm down to 15.15mm at the bottom end. So I assumed that was the taper on my CT barrel (Q-series instrument), and when I had found a shorter barrel that worked with my Link Reso Chamber mouthpiece (large bore and longer in length than other mpcs), I had Meridian Winds ream that shorter barrel. I told him about the 15.35/15.15 spec, and he simply reamed it from both ends, with the same reamer, of some mild taper, until each end is now at about 15.3mm. He said not to sweat that detail. I'm no top pro clarinetist, but I will say that the instrument sounds very good now and plays well in tune for me. This no-name wood barrel is stamped "6mm S" and is about 61mm in length as I recall.
I think the Link mouthpieces from that era were of a bore to go with these "large bore" clarinets. I measured mine and it is larger than any other clarinet mpc I own, though I can't recall the exact measurement. Close to 15.3mm as I recall. Anyway, it seems a good match for this instrument. Steve Sklar said it was on clarinetperfection.com, which is why I got it.
 
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