Klarinet Archive - Posting 001021.txt from 2000/01

From: Labadorf@-----.com
Subj: Re: [kl] Greg Smith mouthpieces
Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2000 07:54:02 -0500

Dan,

What you request in a mouthpiece posting is quite demanding. Not that I
think it is a bad thing. On the contrary, it would make one actually think
before posting a recommendation about a mouthpiece. I, too, play on a Greg
Smith #1 facing and I like it very much. I will make an attempt at a
thoughtful description which, I hope, would help you. Well, here goes:

Before the Greg Smith, I played on a Gigliotti refaced by Don-Jin Kim which I
liked very much. What I liked most about his facing: Very fluid connection
between notes (It seemed to have a much nicer legato than my previous
mouthpiece (Bill Street)); Tone quality was very consistent between
registers; response was quick; (i.e., fast tonguing seemed to be easier
than previous mouthpieces); and tone quality was ah... er.... dark (or,
should I say, very appealing to my tastes). When I ordered from Don-Jin, he
asked me who's tone I liked best. From the response he was able apply the
appropriate facing for my tastes. (BTW, I told him Tom Martin) For some
reason, my mouthpiece gradually changed and I wasn't able to get that fluid
sound. I called him for another and, alas, he had moved back to his home
country of North Korea.

The Greg Smith mouthpiece is the closest I could find to what I missed on the
Kim, except that it has a different tone quality though I wouldn't say it is
worse. For lack of real scientific language, I would describe it as "bigger"
or a little "less focused." The response is remarkable and it seems a
little easier to blow (less back pressure). I think, because of this, I am
able to get more reeds out of a box of 10 to work on it than any of my
previous mouthpieces, although to get a better "focused sound" I am a bit
more picky about which reeds I use in public performance.

I don't know much about science or mouthpiece making, but I know what I like
to play on. This is the best I can do. I hope it is nearer to what you are
looking for in a description.

BTW, Greg Smith told me he sells a Caspar copy. Has anyone on this list
tried it and what do you think?

In a message dated 1/28/00 4:10:05 PM, klarinet-digest-help@-----.org writes:

>Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2000 10:07:01 -0800
>To: klarinet@-----.org
>From: Daniel Leeson <leeson0@-----.net>
>Subject: Re: [kl] Greg Smith mouthpieces
>Message-ID: <3891DAC5.2618867@-----.net>
>
>This is a very interesting note and central to the FAQ I have been
>trying to develop. I accept what Andy says about Greg Smith's
>mouthpiece to the extent that he is pleased with the one he got.
>There are several directions one can go from here, one of which is
>that Andy is recommending this mouthpiece on the basis of one with
>which he is happy. That presumes that Greg's mouthpieces will all
>produce the same result for you. And if that is true, then I'd like
>to buy some stock in his company, for he is going to be a rich man.
>
>Another direction is that no one else will ever like the Greg Smith
>mouthpieces that they get, a very unlikely scenario and one that
>would be disputed by Andy.
>
>And this leads me to my point, one that I can't yet figure out how
>to say intelligently; i.e., to what extent does one person's happiness
>with his/her mouthpiece mean anything? The variables are damn near
>infinite. First there are those variables involved in the making of
>the mouthpiece, and second the variables of the person who will play
>it, both physical and psychological.
>
>Obviously one cannot dismiss opinion in this arena, both positive
>(as is the case with Andy) and negative. But once stated, what do
>these opinions really mean?
>
>I'm not trying to be negative here. But I must have read 500 messages
>on KLARINET going back to 1995 saying, "the mouthpiece of XXX is ----."
>Fill in the word you wish; i.e., good, bad, great, lousy, magnificent,
>terrible, etc. And if I take all these comments and try to make
>some direction out of them, I wind up in an Orwellian sink hole.
>
>What I am trying to say (and probably not very well), is that there
>doesn't seem to be much real value in such postings. They may make
>the one who posts them happy and they may make the mouthpiece maker
>very happy, but if I were looking for a mouthpiece (which I am not),
>there is not enough meat here to point me in that direction.
>
>Somehow, I come out of this feeling guitly and I have no idea why.
>
>Androyd973@-----.com wrote:
>>
>> hi all, i just wanted to say that i just received one of greg smith's
>> mouthpieces in the mail, and boy does it ever plya nicely!!! I would
>> definetely recommend his mouthpieces to anyone in the market for a high
>> quality mp.
>> thanks
>> andy brown
>>

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