Klarinet Archive - Posting 001024.txt from 1999/05

From: "Kevin Fay (LCA)" <kevinfay@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Materials
Date: Fri, 21 May 1999 12:29:20 -0400

In a couple of recent posts, we find that (a) Roger doesn't like plastic
mouthpieces as much as hard rubber and (b) Yamaha is producing brass (!)
barrels. Wow.

With one caveat, I don't share Roger's disdain for plastic. It's cheap, and
acoustically OK. In fact, my preferred alto mouthpiece for "commercial"
work is a Brilhart 5*, which cost me a total of about 30 bucks--too bad I
didn't try it prior to buying all the other ones in the drawer! ;-(

Because you can bite through one in about an hour, though (OK, just make
tooth marks very quickly), you MUST use a mouthpiece patch. For me, this is
not a problem--I always do. For the price, though, I think the Hite Premier
is pretty OK.

As to the brass barrels--Don Getzen (of the brass instrument family of the
same name) has been making aluminum ones (DEGs) for years. If my memory of
high school science is correct, brass is much heavier than aluminum. So I
have to ask--do they sound good, and how much weight training do you have to
do prior to using one?

There have been lots of posts and cheerful argument over the benefits of
wood clarinets--it's one of our favorite things to bicker about. If you buy
a plastic mouthpiece and a brass barrel, though, the first 1/3 of your
instrument won't be wood--what effect "wood" this have?

(Sorry--couldn't resist)

kjf

kjf

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