I was driving to work recently, and I got this idea I just couldn’t shake. I said, “Make a Bari. You should make a Bari.” I kept thinking about what it would look like, what features it would have. I decided that a Bari would be a cool first horn to make, because the challenges are bigger on a Bari. Making a bow is harder, making a bell is harder, the keys are larger and further apart. The biggest challenge will be physically making and forming the bell. However, one of the benefits of implementing a new key design on a Bari is that there is plenty of room to work in between the posts.Two days after my revelation, I got an email from a customer who had decided to sell his beloved Conn 12M Bari because it doesn’t have a low A and he was getting a lot of calls for Low A gigs. This customer was one of the recipients of the first 12.5M necks to correct intonation issues, which made him love his horn even more but his Bari was one key short of his dream horn.
So, I decided that I’m going to convert one of the 12M Baris
I have in the shop into a Low A Bari. Once I’ve done
that and determined the correct dimensions for the bell and made changes to the key mechanisms, I’ll do the same conversion for my customer. I’ll be referring to this project as the 12.5M Bari so you can follow along.
that and determined the correct dimensions for the bell and made changes to the key mechanisms, I’ll do the same conversion for my customer. I’ll be referring to this project as the 12.5M Bari so you can follow along.Because the 12M is close to my heart, I’ve decided that when I make my own Bari, it is going to be inspired by the 12M. It won’t be a copy exactly, as I’m going to move tone holes to better locations, change many of the key mechanisms, and use the 12.5 neck. The goal throughout the whole process will be to make a horn that has the great tone of a Conn 12M with improved
intonation and more ergonomic and functional key-work.
The first step, however, is making the bell and extension. I started with a cylindrical extension between the bow and the bell. Next, I made a conical extension. Now what I’m doing is re-tapering the bell with the goal of preserving the big low end. Once it is a low A Bari, I’m going to try to make the Low B and Low Bb sound as big as they did before the conversion. I’ll also be implementing design changes to the left hand table as those keys are reconfigured to work with the new bell.-Curt