Klarinet Archive - Posting 000725.txt from 1999/05

From: Neil Leupold <nleupold@-----.edu>
Subj: RE: [kl] Marcellus M-13
Date: Sun, 16 May 1999 02:05:58 -0400

On Sat, 15 May 1999, Benjamin A. Maas wrote:

> > First of all, an M13 is not a Marcellus mouthpiece
>
> The Marcellus M13 is an old mouthpiece that was made by the woodwind
> company. The Vandoren of more recent times is what you are thinking of, but
> yes there WAS a Marcellus M13.

Well, that doesn't really clarify the issue, does it? Or has
somebody already revealed what "M" in the current M13 stands for?
If so, forgive my redundancy. If nobody has come forward, then
I'll fill in the more important piece of the puzzle, which is
that the "M" in the current Vandoren M13 mouthpiece is attrib-
uted Donald Montanaro of the Philadelphia Orchestra. I may not
have the story quite right, but I seem to remember that Montanaro
and others worked with Vandoren to design a mouthpiece in emulation
of the famed Ann Arbor Kaspar mouthpieces. The prototype of this
new mouthpiece, released 6 or 7 years ago (?), was indeed a remark-
able design feat. David Neuman (2nd Clar, San Francisco Symphony
at the time, presently Associate Principal in Cincinnati), was a
student of Montanaro's at the Curtis Institute, and obtained sev-
eral of the new M13 mouthpiece prototype when it was first produced.
He kept the best of the these prototypes for himself and gave/sold
the rest of them to students of his. The mass-produced version of
the M13 is not to be confused or equated with the prototype. Mass
production was not able to preserve whatever remarkable qualities
were present in the hand-crafted originals, which is not to say that
the mass-produced M13 is a bad mouthpiece. It's actually pretty
good in the realm of pro-quality hard rubber mouthpieces. It has
a fairly close facing, takes a 3.5 or 4-strength Vandoren reed,
and helps with pitch problems for those whose tuner needles tend
to ride high. Given a well-developed and relaxed embouchure, along
with a highly focused air stream, the mouthpiece is capable of pro-
ducing a crystal clear tone which is absent many of the high harmonics
associated with a "bright" or "edgy" sound. It does this without
sacrificing projection or breadth of sound, which is the right kind
of compromise for many players. I prefer a David Hite myself, but
I keep my old M13 as a backup.

-- Neil

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