Klarinet Archive - Posting 000026.txt from 1994/10

From: "Dan Leeson: LEESON@-----.EDU>
Subj: Mouthpiece brands
Date: Tue, 4 Oct 1994 20:04:38 -0400

There have been some very excellent postings on mouthpieces over the
last few days and all as a result of a request for information about
Vandoren B45s. Really wonderful suggestions and intelligent postings.
I enjoyed every one.

Threading its way through these postings were mouthpiece brand names
such as the Larry Combs mouthpiece, the Clark Fobes mouthpiece, etc.,
etc. And on this matter some discussion is appropriate.

Anyone who is a big cheese in clarinet playing is going to do one of three
things with respect to mouthpieces. Either he or she will decide to
make mouthpieces and will invest the time, effort, and energy to do
that which includes trying every mouthpiece that is going to carry
their name, personally fixing every one, and keeping their standards
high. Such mouthpieces invariably begin by measuring the key
parameters of that player's own personal mouthpiece and then trying
to duplicate them with accuracy. But because that duplication
technology does not work so well, every mouthpiece has to be tested.
Herb Blayman is such a mouthpiece maker. He gets his blanks from
someone who attempts to keep the dimensions constant, and then he
plays on every one and fixes every one. To whatever extent he is
successful is not for me to answer. That depends on the player who
tries and likes or dislikes his mouthpiece. But Blayman is earnest
in that he tries EVERY mouthpiece, no exceptions.

Then, there is the second situation. That person allows the use of
his or her name, but has nothing whatsoever to do with the manufacturing
or quality control process. It is purely a money making operation for
that person and there is no personal involvement. Such mouthpieces may
be wonderful and the manufacturer keeps high standards of quality
control. Alternatively, quality slips and the mouthpieces become poor.
The person whose name is being used may or may not try and fix the
problem. It is a gamble to buy such a mouthpiece. You may get lucky
and you may not. A big name on a mouthpiece is not, by itself, an
indication that you are going to get a treasure, though you might.

Finally, there is the third situation. A good player will realize the
amount of time needed to do this sort of thing - to say nothing of the
skill involved - and will stay far away from mouthpiece making. He or
she is too honest to tolerate the use of their name without assurance
of absolute high-quality, so they support no mouthpiece manufacturing
process.

I mean no negative attitude with respect to any specific person in my
comments above. I simply want to state that a person's name on a
mouthpiece does not mean that they one you get is going to be anything
like the one that that person plays on.

When Babe Ruth was playing ball there was a bat sold in all the
department stores called "The Babe Ruth Bat." It had the Babe's
picture on it with the statement, "Just like the bat I use."

If you believed that, there is a bridge in Brooklyn that I'd like to
sell to you!

It may or may not be different with mouthpieces. Caveat emptor.

Many of the mouthpieces that one can buy have had a great deal of
work put into them. Others might be the blanks as they come off the
extrusion process with enormous variance in tolerances that can make
one mouthpiece a treasure and the next one a piece of crap.

Unless you have perfect faith in the person whose name is on the
mouthpiece, then I do want to talk to you about a bridge in Brooklyn.

====================================
Dan Leeson, Los Altos, California
(leeson@-----.edu)
(leeson@-----.edu)
(dnl2073@-----.edu)
Any of the above three addresses may be used. Take your pick.
====================================