Klarinet Archive - Posting 000475.txt from 1998/03

From: Shouryu Nohe <jnohe@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: Mouthpiece baffles
Date: Sat, 7 Mar 1998 19:13:56 -0500

Jason-

Don't use them unless you need volume. That's all they REALLY do. I've
used one on my stock mpieces - the tone improves a tiny bit, and the
volume level goes through the roof. If you have great control, then go
for it - if you don't I suggest staying away from them.

I had quite a reputation in my sax section as being one of the more
enthusiastic players of the group (my nickname was MEGALOUD). I
originally bought the baffles to improve my tone - after all, I was
playing on a stock mpiece. Well, what I got (and my friends who tried
them) was about twice the dynamic range we had prior to the baffles. We
couldn't get any softer, but boy, could we get louder! It got very hard
to control in the lower dynamic levels, because of how it acts, it tends
to amplify any airstream, even the tiniest, so in my experiece, it takes a
great deal of precise air control to utilize one correctly.

If you don't need more volume (sound level, not fullness of voice), then
don't bother. You'd be just as good off as buying a mouthpiece with a
longer facing - larger dynamic range, but a rock solid embouchure is
necessary.

Shouryu Nohe
Professor of SCSM102, New Mexico State Univ.
http://web.nmsu.edu/~jnohe; ICQ 6771552
Coffee Drinker, Musician, Otaku, Jesus Freak, Admirer of Women
(Not necessarily in that order)
--------------------------------------------------------------
"I wonder if only weirdos are chosen to be Eva pilots." - Suzuhara Toji