Klarinet Archive - Posting 000110.txt from 1997/08

From: GTGallant@-----.com
Subj: mouthpiece and reed freaks
Date: Tue, 5 Aug 1997 13:50:16 -0400

If I read another article or hear about people who make their own reeds or
"reface" mouthpieces I may throw up! The best mouthpieces already exist. Do
you want to know the secret? They are less expensive than nearly all
professionl models on the market today. Since the suspense is killing you at
this point I'll divulge my wisdom upon thine now. VANDOREN (preferably the
B45 series). Wow, does'nt it feel great to put all those mouthpiece refacers
and makers out of business! Never buy a silly $150 mouthpiece just because
some idiot rubbed it across a sheet of sandpaper a few times. They are
ripping you off! It's all bore design, baby! When was the last time you
heard an actual discussion on the instrumant itself? Probably once, in a far
away place in a dark alley. This is why clarinets (all brands except maybe
Rossi) are inferior to other wind instruments because nobody seems concerned
with their construction. Mass production manufactures keep producing garbage
that professionals accept as "top of the line" and they seem perfectly
comfortable with that notion. My humble opinion is that most players are
afraid to turn a screw without consulting a repairman first. Fellow
clarinetists, the instrument is not a mystical object, bound by magic and
prayed over, but a piece of wood with metal attached to it. I'm getting off
track a little bit, sorry! I am preparing a manifesto regarding the new
direction in clarinet technology that some of you may find interesting. Does
anyone feel the same?

Comments are indeed encouraged. P.S - What's up with repairmen? Big
deal.