Klarinet Archive - Posting 000274.txt from 1994/12

From: CLARK FOBES <reedman@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: Mouthpieces
Date: Wed, 14 Dec 1994 02:31:55 -0500

You wrote:

>
>Ralph,
>
If he ever gets through his backlog of orders, I also hope to
>try a few of Clark Fobes' mouthpieces, which he says he patterns after
the
>Kaspar blank, if I remember correctly. Either way, I'll hold onto my
>Borbeck as a backup, at the very least, or sell it to a student when
the time
>is right.
>
>Neil Leupold.
>
I would like to make a clarification. I have never claimed to
make Kaspar copies or Chedeville copies. Neil did not say this, but I
wanted to set the record perfectly straight. What I will say is that I
played an old Chicago Kaspar (that I refaced)for about 5 years before
designing the blanks that I use. My concept of sound is best produced
with the style of curved baffle that was present in that particular
Kaspar.

Those who know me well and have worked with me know that I own
about 5 different carbide reamers that I use to make the bore of each
mouthpiece. I have been on a quest for the best bore configuration for
my blank since the inception. I do not try to copy either the Kaspar
style bore or the Chedeville bore. I am using the Fobes bore. Tuning has
always been the highest priority on my mouthpieces and this is
controlled primarily by the bore. My work at this point is aimed at
making the best mouthpiece I can based on my own experience and
performance needs. I'm an identical twin. My whole life has been an
effort to be an individual. I don't desire to be like anyone else.

I aknowledge a great deal of debt to both the Franks Kaspar and
their wonderful legacy. This is the type of art that has so few true
practitioners that a great deal of knowledge must be gleaned and
inferred from the work of past masters. But the true artist looks
forward while embracing his past and trusts his unique vision.