Klarinet Archive - Posting 000058.txt from 1996/10

From: "Fogle, Bill" <bill.fogle@-----.com>
Subj: Re: odd comment (acoustics)
Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 15:07:36 -0400

Jonathan,

I did miss the facing measurements you gave---I didn't scroll "up".

I find a #3 Vandoren reed _way_ too weak. I play double lip,
and a #3 Vandoren V-12 is facial tissue in a week and a half, for me.
I use reeds by rotating about 10 or 12. Your notes are challenging my
essential playing specs! But that's great, and I'm definately learning
something here, or at least getting a new perspective. I don't mind
(I think) admitting that I always thought you needed about a 3.5 or 4
to get a "full" sound. I selected my mouthpiece specs based on my
reed strength choice.

Not long ago, somebody posted the comment that R. Kell (my sound
reference) used a relatively soft reed. You can be sure I'll be doing some
experimenting with the B45 dot tonight.
-----Bill.

-->Bill,
-->
-->Sorry, but the opening is the opening. It is the distance from the plane
-->of the table to the tip. Nothing ambiguous there. And 1.00mm is
-->incredibly closed.
-->
-->As for length of lay, I did mention it in my message (I referred to it as
-->facing, and specified it for each of the mouthpieces I mentioned). With
-->the more open mouthpieces, a longer lay is generally required.
-->
-->The longer the facing (with a given tip opening), the stronger the reed
-->that is required. The greater the tip opening (with a given facing), the
-->softer the reed that is required.
-->
-->By balancing tip opening and facing length, Vandoren made its entire
-->mouthpiece family to play nicely on 3s or 3 1/2s.
-->
-->-------------------
-->Jonathan Cohler
-->cohler@-----.net
-->
-->
-->At 11:01 AM 10/3/96, Fogle, Bill wrote:
-->>Jonathan,
-->>
-->>My tip opening is based on the maker's quote (Clark Fobes,
-->>San Francisco) who himself says his measurements end up smaller
-->>than Matsen's (a standard) guage. Also, I quoted it incorrectly (are
you
-->>reading this, Clark?) It's 1.00, actually. I also play with much delight
a
-->>Gregory Smith facing that I believe is pretty "open" (no tip figures
-->>given).
-->>
-->>I think there's a "center" that many players move toward, whether they
-->>approach that place with soft reed/open mpc, or hard[er] reed/closed.
-->>This applies to tone as well as resistance. In any case, I'm enjoying
-->>your comments on this topic. I confess I like to "push" when playing,
-->>and I also confess that my reading (David Pino comes to mind) has
supported
-->>the vogue for reeds with "heart" and long facing mouthpieces with *rather*
-->>small openings. A question: you haven't said anything about length of lay.
-->>When I was play-testing the Fobes mouthpieces, I found a difference
-->>between his 17 and 18mm facing lengths (all mouthpieces differ, I realize).
-->>Thanks, -----Bill Fogle.
-->>
-->
-->