Klarinet Archive - Posting 000160.txt from 2000/06

From: Kenneth Wolman <kwolman@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Re: Mouthpiece mismatch
Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 16:12:50 -0400

At 03:50 PM 6/6/00 -0400, you wrote:
>Your reed does need to fit the mouthpiece at the tip and along the rails.
>The whistling means air is escaping where it should not. I would try a
>different brand of reed - Oliveri might work nicely if you need a reed that
>is somewhat narrower; Mitchell Luries or Grand Concerts if you need a wider
>reed (you said you were using Vandorens?)

I have never run into this problem with soprano or bass clarinet
mouthpieces, or even with alto sax MPs. However, it is a plague among my
soprano sax mouthpieces. The horn itself may be cheap, but the mouthpieces
are anything but. All the same, the reeds do not necessarily line up with
the rails (too wide or too narrow--it feels like life with the Three
Bears), and there is often a noticeable lack of alignment between the reed
and mouthpiece tips. I think ONE mouthpiece--a Dukoff #7--aligns correctly
with the reed. The others--including an Otto Link, Vandoren, Yanigasawa,
and 2 Selmer metal classical mps--have a nasty tendency to seem more or
less mismatched. I hate to think I'd have to start screwing around with
making my own reeds (I'm a WAY non-professional and I wonder if the effort
is worth the aggravation and learning curve), but it may yet come to that.

Is there really that much difference in reed dimensions among the various
manufacturerers? I would figure they'd be cutting cane for mouthpieces of
known, fixed sizes.

Ken <being naive again>

--------------------------------------------------------
Kenneth Wolman kwolman@-----.com
11 Broadway, New York, NY 10004 212-425-4200, x. 363

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