Klarinet Archive - Posting 000006.txt from 2001/06

From: GrabnerWG@-----.com
Subj: [kl] Mouthpiece table
Date: Fri, 1 Jun 2001 11:04:45 -0400

I re-faced a mouthpiece yesterday, and I can't stop thinking about it.

It was a bass mouthpiece, from a very reputable maker. If you wanted to buy a similar one new, it would cost $200. It had a fine sound, but the owner had sent it to me because of control and articulation problems.

Before I measured the mouthpiece, I played on it for about 15 minutes. Sure enough, it was unstable, especially in the upper register.

After checking the measurements, I found out why. The table had a convex surface. It was a very, very small deviation from flat. So slight that it defied any attempt I made to confirm it visually. Nevertheless, it was there, and it rendered the mouthpiece almost useless.

After making the table flat once again, and just touching up the facing, the mouthpiece played like new.

But....

How did the concavity get there? That's my concern. I'm sure that it would not have escaped the inspection of the craftsman, for whom I have the greatest respect.

Did the mouthpiece warp? I could tell it was several years old. What makes a mouthpiece warp?

I don't believe the old "too tight ligature theory". I have experimented with that in my own and actually broke screws off ligatures before the mouthpiece would deform.

Was the mouthpiece left in the hot sun? Maybe in a car? Did the hard rubber material just decide to change after X number of years of change?

Things like this really make me wonder. It also made me go back and check all my own mouthpieces!

Walter Grabner
www.clarinetxpress.com

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Unsubscribe from Klarinet, e-mail: klarinet-unsubscribe@-----.org
Subscribe to the Digest: klarinet-digest-subscribe@-----.org
Additional commands: klarinet-help@-----.org
Other problems: klarinet-owner@-----.org