Klarinet Archive - Posting 000556.txt from 1995/03

From: Dannene Joy Kulp <drummon4@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Mouthpiece prices??
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 1995 13:23:39 -0500

Hi,
My teacher, Elsa Verdehr, recently scared the death out of me when I handed
her my only mouthpiece and she said,"Gee, I hope I don't drop this mouthpiece!
What would you do then?" A week or two later I was in Buffalo getting a copy
of my mouthpiece made. If you like your mouthpiece, you should get a copy
made just in case. Actually, I liked the copy better and now play on it.
Regarding prices, I pay 70$ for my Johnston mouthpiece. I went to his house,
and he worked on 7 mouthpiece blanks until he made one just the way I wanted.
I was with him for about 2 hours. 70$ is an incredibly good price for all
that!!!!!! Jimmy Pyne came to my school and met with some people. They tried
the ones he brought, and bought them. 170$!! Personally, I would never go
that crazy unless they made me sound like Buddy Wright!!!!! If you would like
Mr. Johnstons #, write me personally. Dannene

> > The recent talk about custom
and "special" mouthpieces
has made me > curious about how much these coveted objects cost, roughly.
> Say a secondhand Kaspar or a Pyne -- is it just slightly more than
> a stock Vandoren or other widely distributed "name" brand (these seem
> to go for $50-$100 in various stores in Chicago), or is roughly the
> cost of a good used clarinet? In between? How about the cost of
> getting a custom-made mouthpiece?
>
> Speaking of which, what *is* a reasonable price for good used
> "pro-level" A and Bb clarinets, roughly? I have a friend who
> is now enamoured of getting an A (wanted to buy mine! No way!) and
> needs to know if he can afford even thinking about it.
>
> About mouthpieces, I'm speaking on the basis of general interest here --
> people have spoken about it on this list, so I'm curious about the
> general price range. Frankly, for myself at my current level, I still
> think money is better spent on lessons and music than on chasing the
> ideal equipment set-up. But it would be nice to know -- what if I damage
> my mouthpiece and need to get a new one? Are these options I can consider
> at all?
>
> Thanks, Martin
>
> -------------------------------------------------------
> Martin Pergler pergler@-----.edu
> Grad student, Mathematics
> Univ. of Chicago
>