Klarinet Archive - Posting 000197.txt from 1996/02

From: Everett J Austin <BrendaA624@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: Chedeville replica by Glotin
Date: Thu, 8 Feb 1996 01:58:02 -0500

Dear Brad and Bill:

I was quite fascinated by your Chedeville-related mouthpiece comments. It
seems that Bill and I are dealing with the same make of mouthpiece and same
price range (quite a bit to pay for some thing unusable!) I have been
looking for some thing similar to the real Chedeville for a few years, partly
because my teacher Don Carroll of the SF Sym is enthusiastic about them and
because I knew that is what Harold Wright played and there are many things I
like about his sound, as well as just liking French things. I played a
Mitchell Lurie M4 since about 1968, until damaged irreparably, which to look
at it now has many Chedeville features, unlike the current Luries. I bought
two Glotin Chedevilles about three years ago and found the material fairly
hard and to produce a somewhat "glassy" tone but facings were uneven and
crude (poor response, squeaks) and the tip has a convex roll over near it.
The pitch on one was ca 440, the other ca 442. I was determined to see what
they were capable of and refaced them (brownish-orange dust) with pretty good
results. However, they were not up to my Morgans or to the recently
purchased Gregory Smith/Zinner Chedeville copy I have and ended back on the
shelf again with the other orphans. The Glotins I have have very slightly
out of parallel side walls and the wind way is much narrower than the
Morgans, Genussas and Smith/Zinners. I bothered Charles Bay for a long time
to send me his "old Chedeville copy", but despite many promises to send it in
"two weeks" it never materialised and remains a myth in his catalog as far as
I am concerned (he calls it his H2 model). I tried Genussa's (chedeville
style) and even refaced them but they seem to lack ring and vibrancy. The
Vandoren V13 and M13 were also rather disappointing to me. I have an old
Sumner mpc that I think will be good but I am waiting until I acquire more
finesse befor meddling. Of note, I have never been tempted to touch a Morgan
mouthpiece, which is a tribute to their craftsmanship I believe!
Unfortunately, I do not own a Charles or Henri Chedeville mouthpiece myself.

I have learned something of refacing through reading Eric Brand, Ralph Morgan
and a lesson with Clark Fobes, using a myriad of feeler gauges, fine sand
paper, Swiss files and good light. One has to know what measurements to
achieve-so this is a very exacting business. Ralph Morgan has a whole seires
of articles on mouthpieces in the Saxophone Journal over the years. There is
much more to it than I know at present, but I still find it fascinating and
plan to study more when I have time. Eventually I'll turn each of the mpcs
on my shelf into something as good as it can be. Bigger mouthpieces like
saxophone are easier than small ones like soprano and Eflat clarinet, which
need fine tolerances. Making a bad mouthpiece better is not too hard but
making a realy fine mouthpiece is something else and the facing is only a
small though critical part of it. Many people who really know their business
(esp for close facings) seem to have studied with Everett Matson in New
Jersey. I imagine Ralph Morgan would give lessons too, though I have not
asked him.
You might talk to Gregory Smith. He seems very knowledgable, is actively
involved in researching new designs with Zinner and is making very responsive
good sounding mouthpieces, albeit with very close facings which may take a
little getting used to. The Zinner blanks can be gotten also from a supplier
in Illinois but I do not know the price.
Brad, where did you learn your mouthpiece tinkering skills?
Sincerely,

Everett Austin
Fairfax, CA
BrendaA624@-----.com