Klarinet Archive - Posting 000160.txt from 1996/10

From: Nick Shackleton <njs5%cam.ac.uk@-----.BITNET>
Subj: Re: tip openings (acoustics)
Date: Tue, 8 Oct 1996 15:28:39 -0400

>On Thu, 3 Oct 1996, Jonathan
>Cohler wrote:
>
>> 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.
1.00 mm may be incredibly closed by American standards but that's not a
universal truth- for example Karl Leister's reputation was built on a 0.65mm
tip opening and that is not a minimum.
Also I should perhaps say that the tip opening is not quite so easy to
measure as Jonathan implies. The tip rail is curved and has a finite width
front-to-back whose surface follows the shape put on the lay. The result is
that the number you get depends on exactly how you measure it (it is easier
if the tip rail is narrow as is the case for most modern good-quality
mouthpieces).
>> 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.
Again I can't comment in American terms, but that is not correct as a
universal generalisation; the German lay with a small tip opening will
typically be very long (at least 22 mm) by US standards.
Nick