From Michael Galvan, Professor of Music (Clarinet), Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY:

"Some questions have been asked about Guy Chadash and his barrels. Students, collegues and I have been playing around with these barrels for a year or so now and have found some very favorable results. He just spent two days here at Ithaca College with Rene Lesieux from Buffet Crampon, giving a very interesting presentation on clarinet design and manufacture, including barrels. If I can manage to paraphrase some of the basic information, I might help with an answer or two.

The Chadash barrel is the first time since Moenig's barrel was introduced that Buffet has allowed someone to put their name on Buffet barrels. Buffet sends Chadash barrel "blanks" which he then reams in his design and sends back to Buffet for distribution. He also keeps a certain number to sell himself. All have the Buffet Crampon insignia. The design of the bore is a reverse taper, much like the Moenig concept, the difference being the size and shape of the taper. It is apparently one straight taper, not an "hourglass" double taper as in some designs.

In playing them I felt in my own playing and in listening to the many students who were testing them that there was a good control of the intonation, plus a nice centering and warming of the sound. Some barrels would sound stuffy, some would be more even in the sound of the overall scale than others, but there was definately something worth investigating in the overall concept throughout the group of barrels. We played 65, 66, and 67's. On my Buffet A I love the center I'm able to find, and although they don't generally fit on the tenon of my Concerto, the barrel he had on his instrument did. It lent a wonderful "ping" to sound. As I often say, no piece of equipment is magic, and I have found value in certain Moenig, Scott, and Springer barrels, but so far they have certainly been worth the try for me and for my students.

Barrel Manufacturers: ( indicates a www.woodwind.org sponsor)

Albert Alphin Wind Instruments, Inc
590 South St
Box B
Needham,MA 02492 USA
Email: aawinds@comcast.net
Tel: 781-449-4197
Fax: 781-449-2029
Clarinets, Barrels, Mouthpieces, Accessories, Repair
Free Catalogue on request

Backun Musical Services
3612 East Hastings Street
Vancouver,BC V5K 2A9 Canada
Email: info@BackunMusical.com
Tel: 604 205 5770
Fax: 604 205 5775
Service, Barrels, Accessories
Morrie Backun's shop

Bay-Gale Woodwind Products
Charles Bay
PO Box 3935-C
Westlake Village,CA 91359 USA
Email: cbay@baywoodwind.com
Tel: (805) 497-8161
Fax: 805-497-8208
Barrels, Ligatures, Mouthpieces, Accessories

Chadash Clarinet
440 W. 41st Suite 3-A
New York,NY 10036 USA
Email: gchadash@chadashclarinet.com
Tel: (212) 239-7187
Fax: (212) 239-0572
Barrels, Clarinets

The Clarinet Center (Peter Spriggs)
(Peter Spriggs)
P.O Box 159
Penticton,BC V2A 6K3 Canada
Email: peter@pspriggs.com
Tel: (250) 497-8200
Fax: (250) 497-8200
Barrels, Clarinets, Ligatures

Clarinetconcepts: Barrels by Dr. Allan Segal
17 Lindsay Dr.
Beaver Falls,Pennsylvania 15010 United States
Email: info@clarinetconcepts.com
Tel: 412 889 8202
Barrels
Handcrafted clarinet tuning barrels

DEG Music Products, Inc.
PO Box 968
Lake Geneva,WI 53147 USA
Email: info@degmusic.com
Tel: (414) 248-8314 (800) 558-9416
Fax: (414) 248-7953
Barrels
Maker of the Accubore

Clark W. Fobes Clarinet Products
130 Beverly
San Francisco,CA 94132 USA
Email: reedman@ix.netcom.com
Tel: (415) 585-0636
Fax: (415) 585-0636
Barrels, Mouthpieces, Repair

Chris Jepperson
806 Miller #3
Ann Arbor,MI 48103 USA
Email: chris_jepperson@yahoo.com
Repair, Barrels
Custom Barrels and Repair services

James Pyne/Clarion
1672 Rushing Way
Columbus,OH 43235 USA
Email: info@pyne-clarion.com
Tel: (800) JPYNE 440 614 766 7878
Barrels, Mouthpieces, Ligatures

Gregory Smith Mouthpieces
2737 Hurd Avenue
Evanston,IL 60201-1209 USA
Email: gregory@gregory-smith.com
Tel: 847-866-8331
Fax: 847-866-9551
Mouthpieces,Barrels,Shapers

Vaccaro and Stevens Woodwinds
P. O. Box 7991
Long Beach,CA 90807 USA
Email: mike@mikevaccaro.com
Tel: 800.449.8975 562.424.4958
Fax: 562.424.2512
Barrels, Mouthpieces
Hand made, hand tuned, and hand voiced clarinet barrels and bells. Clarinet and saxophone mouthpieces.

Pascal Véraquin, Inc.
1656 ave. Laurier east
Montréal,Quebec H2J 1J2 Canada
Email: pvi@colba.net
Tel: (514) 528-9974
Fax: (514) 526-2360
Barrels, Clarinets, Repair