Klarinet Archive - Posting 000797.txt from 2000/10

From: "Clark W Fobes" <reedman@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Guck on the inside (and outside) of your mouthpiece
Date: Sat, 14 Oct 2000 12:19:37 -0400

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Most of you know that I repaired instruments for most of my adult life. =
I won't sicken you with some of the stories of dirty mouthpieces I have =
seen!

Students need to be reminded to clean their mouthpieces. Warm soapy =
water and a swabbing do a world of good every week to two weeks.

Acryllic mouthpieces clean up more easily than hard rubber. I suspect =
there is a reaction with one or several of the components in hard rubber =
that cause the build up we see on hard rubber mouthpieces.

BG makes a very nice mouthpiece swab that does the trick without undo =
pressure inside the mouthpiece. I think occasional washing with warm =
soapy water and then swabbing is fine. Repetitive swabbing (every day) =
for many years will polish the inside of the mouthpiece and affect the =
interior dimensions slightly. Over many years there would also be a =
degradation of the tip baffle area and the tip rail. Never swab a =
mouthpiece with a swab that has an exposed metal weight. Never clean a =
mouthpiece with one of those small bristle mouthpiece brushes. They have =
exposed metal wrapping the bristles.

Mouthpieces must be cleaned regularly to avoid the build up of salts and =
plaque? on the rails and just inside the tip rail. I see mouthpieces =
fairly often that have so much of this whitish build up on the rails =
that the mouthpiece can not be playing to its original specs. I also see =
mouthpieces that have this build up iin the tip baffle area. As this is =
one of the most important components in mouthpice design it is important =
to keep this area free of
build up.

Out of habit, I wipe off the facing of my mouthpiece after every =
playing. A soft swab across the facing is fine.

If the build up is really severe it is rather difficult to remove. I =
know some people have used products such as "efferdent" to remove this. =
I suggest soaking the mothpiece in warm water with a mild soap like a =
liquid hand soap. Let it soak for about 15 minutes. Then wipe it clean. =
Never go after the stubborn residue with a sharp object (obviously!) =
Sometimes light pressure with your thumbnail will remove build up, but I =
would do this only to the outside of the mouthpiece.

Ocassionally this build up also settles in the cornes of the mouthpiece =
where the baffle and the side walls meet. I use the butt end of a reed =
to clean this out.

People who use bad language regularly seem to have the worst problem. =
Dirty mouth, dirty mouthpiece. ;-)

Clark W Fobes

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