Backun Traditional Clarinet Bell

The Backun Traditional Clarinet Bell is available in 2 different woods: Grenadilla & Cocobolo. There are many differing opinions on which is best and even differing opinions on what the wood does to the sound. So here are the personal opinions of Dave Kessler in regards to these woods:

Grenadilla Wood
Grenadilla is the same wood that most clarinets are made out of. Backun uses a premium quality, unstained Grenadilla for the Backun Traditional clarinet bell. I find that the Grenadilla will produce a more tonally centered and deeper tone that the audience will hear as darker and richer. Personally, I always prefer the way that customers sound on the Grenadilla as I listen to them. However, the effect of the wood “behind” the clarinet will make the player perceive the Grenadilla as a bit brighter and more focused than the Cocobolo wood.

Cocobolo Wood
Cocobolo is a very dense wood and like the Grenadilla, Backun uses a premium quality, unstained Cocobolo for the Backun Traditional clarinet bell. I find that the Cocobolo gives a broader and sweeter tone that is more open that the audience will hear as brighter and lighter. However, the player “behind” the clarinet will generally perceive the Cocobolo as the richer of the two because they are “hearing more” from the clarinet than they do with the Grenadilla.

The Backun Traditional Clarinet Bell is available either with or without Backun’s “Voicing Groove”. Many players wonder what this is all about. Here is Dave Kessler’s take on it:

Voicing Groove
The voicing groove in itself is not a completely new concept. Many clarinet makers have experimented with similar concepts in the past to varying degrees of success. My personal favorite was an older Leblanc France clarinet called the “Ambiance” model that used an “egg shaped” groove.

The point of the groove is to force a higher rate of compression to the air column in the clarinet. This increased compression will force more air out of the open toneholes of the clarinet thus improving the response and tonal clarity of the clarinet, especially above the break. The downside is that this compression can create a stuffiness in the lower end of the clarinet. The Backun Traditional clarinet bell employs a voicing groove design that maximizes the performance benefits and minimizes the potential negatives.

In the end, I feel that the bell WITH the voicing groove is simply superior all around and as a result, we only stock models with the voicing groove, but will special order them without if a customer prefers.

Kessler & Sons Music offers a 3 day trial / return policy by default on any in stock Backun Traditional Clarinet Bell. There are no cleaning fees or restocking fees (assuming that the item is returned in proper condition).

Before we ship any new Backun Traditional clarinet bell, we actually inspect the bell in the shop to ensure proper fit. We own full sets of Backun factory made reamers to check the tenon fits. This ensures that the bell should fit your clarinet. The bell might be a hair loose compared to your bell since your cork has likely compressed over time to your bell. However, you can generally still test the bell without much issue. If you do have any issues with fit, you can use a Teflon tape (also called Plumber’s tape) to wrap your cork to help provide a more snug fit of the bell while not impacting the fit of your stock bell. This Teflon tape can usually be purchased at your local hardware store for a very low cost.

Please read our terms & conditions (link at the bottom of the page) for full details on this policy.