Klarinet Archive - Posting 000007.txt from 2001/06

From: "Tony Wakefield" <tony-wakefield@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Mouthpiece table
Date: Fri, 1 Jun 2001 11:09:05 -0400

Walter,
Maybe if it`s an old m/p as you say, it`s original machining was just plain
inaccurate without too much quality control.
Tony W.

----- Original Message -----
From: <GrabnerWG@-----.com>
Subject: [kl] Mouthpiece table

> 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

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