Hand Made, Hand Tuned, Hand Voiced Clarinet Barrels and Bells

We are very proud that these great professional
musicians use and endorse our barrels:

"I own and play on three Vaccaro/Stevens clarinet barrels. I find the tone to be rich and centered and even through all the registers. I also find the pitch to be very accurate, with little need to adjust for individual notes. I highly recommend them to any serious performer".~ Bob Crosby

"I'm extremely happy with the Vaccaro/Stevens clarinet barrel. The throat tones are stable, lower register is more in tune, third or high octave is more stable and the overall sound is consistent throughout the clarinet. I found that I had to work less to produce the desired sound I require, i.e. it's easy on the chops! I highly recommend the Vaccaro/Stevens clarinet barrel to any serious musician." ~Richard Mitchell

"The Vaccaro & Stevens barrel gives me more tonal colors than I have ever had at my disposal. Suddenly intonation problems that were there are minimized or eliminated. Besides looking beautiful they have a great sound and feel." ~Rory Mazzela

"Your barrel is fabulous! I used it for all three shows today. Very centered and very stable. I only used the blackwood barrel as I plan to break in the cocobolo more slowly per your advice. Many thanks ... what a difference!" ~ Geoff Nudell

"I use a Vaccaro & Stevens blackwood barrel on my Buffet clarinet and it's fabulous! It gives me that 'ping' in the sound that I've always been looking for and it's the only barrel I've played that has ease and consistency in all of the registers. It gives me a rich and creamy sound that's smooth like chocolate to the ears. These barrels are a 'must have' for every clarinet player."~Don Markese

"These barrels are incredible! Smooth and amazingly even from top to bottom with a rich, warm sound. My Vaccaro/Stevens African blackwood barrel has been a huge help for me in the studio and on live performances. Thanks Mike and Bill, well done!"~Jeff Driskill

"I have been using another aftermarket barrel for 8 years, and have been very happy with it. When Mike and Bill brought 10 barrels for me to try, I liked every one of them BETTER than the one I had been using. With great difficulty, I narrowed my choice down to one "perfect" barrel, which matches my Buffet Prestige beautifully. The sound is much bigger, but DARKER. It plays with a focused evenness from low E to double D, at all volumes." ~Rusty Higgins

"After trying the Vaccaro/Stevens barrels for the first time, I was immediately impressed with the sound and feel of these products. Since purchasing three barrels, I've had the opportunity to utilize them in various live settings, including solo recitals, chamber and orchestral performances. As a result, I'm extremely pleased with the results and highly recommend them to all clarinetists. Congratulations to Mike Vaccaro and Bill Stevens for developing an exceptional new line of clarinet barrels!"~Clarence Padilla

Your clarinet barrel is wonderful. It creates a focus to the sound that really improves intonation and articulation in all registers of the clarinet. ~John Mitchell

These barrels have a dark, liquid sound throughout the instrument’s range, and at all dynamic levels, and they beautifully center the tone. I’ve been using various barrels on my R-13 for years, but once my Blackwood Vaccaro & Stevens barrel went on I haven’t gone back to them. In both live and recording situations my clarinet feels wonderful with this design. And they look beautiful too!! Congratulations on a fine product that is a pleasure to play and use. ~Jay Mason

The Vaccaro & Stevens cocobolo barrel that I recently purchased made an instant positive difference in my clarinet playing. The evenness of tone quality throughout the registers and the stable intonation, especially up high, is the sort of thing I’ve been trying to find for a long time. The barrel really helped remove that edge and buzz from my sound and allowed the richer and fuller tone qualities to come through. Hey, I’m even finding more reeds that work! ~Joe Stone