Klarinet Archive - Posting 000503.txt from 1998/07

From: James Pyne <jpyne@-----.edu>
Subj: [kl] mouthpiece designations
Date: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 13:46:53 -0400

Great to see so many of you at ClarinetFest 1998!!!

I would like to clarify a couple of things about recent posts containing
mouthpiece facing schedules.

a. On most mouthpieces the stamped or scribed markings
(letters/numbers/symbols)
refer to the facing (lay/curve) of that particular mouthpiece. There is no
standardized system (except within a given brand) for doing this that I
know of.

b. This IS NOT the case with Pyne/Clarion signature mouthpieces. The
scribed symbols (Bc, ~M, Jx, Pk, Bn, Bel Canto) DO NOT REFER TO THE FACING
SCHEDULE BUT TO THE INTERNAL DIMENSIONS (bore size/taper and chamber
size/shape). These bore and chamber shapes are machined by Pyne/Clarion and
hand finished. The resultant mouthpiece is not a refaced "blank" but a
mouthpiece with all acoustic dimensions controlled and accomplished at our
manufacturing facility.

c. Facings on Pyne/Clarion mouthpieces are usually, but not always, coded
with one small symbol such as a ~ sign. Even so this is an approximation in
that so much information is needed to record schedules for asymmetrical
facings, an integral feature of nearly all of our mouthpieces.

d. Lastly gauges for measuring the tip opening are notoriously inconsistent
one from the next. This means that a friend who owns a gauge may get
different measurements for the same mouthpiece. A good deal of
misunderstanding has resulted from this problem.

Thanks so much for a fabulous week of ClarinetFest.

Jim Pyne

James Pyne
Clarinet Studio/Research Group
School of Music
The Ohio State University
1866 College Road
Columbus, Ohio 43210
pyne.1@-----.edu
Tel: 614 292 8969
Fax: 614 292 1102
http://www.arts.ohio-state.edu/Music/Clarfest

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