Klarinet Archive - Posting 000380.txt from 2003/02

From: CBA <clarinet10001@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] mouthpiece recomendations
Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2003 08:39:44 -0500

Mike,

If money is less of an object, you have entered the realm of no
return...mouthpiece hell. LOL! Money is sometimes a GREAT
limiting factor, as I have recently found out from 5 of the last
6 mouthpieces I have bought and used. One was under $60, and the
other 5 were all between $130 and $200. Mouthpieces are very
personal, and the more $ you spend on mouthpieces, the more
particular they become, it seems, although not always.

What are you playing on now? How long have you been playing?
These influence whether a $100+ mouthpiece is even necessary for
you.

Regardless of the amount of time you have been playing, you will
have to try a LOT of mouthpieces before you find the one that is
right for you, in my opinion. Here is a list of mouthpiece
makers I know from personal experience to be good, or people on
the list have raved about them...their prices for different
models vary, so I won't even attempt to do a price comparison.

These are NOT in any order for preference.

Clark Fobes (from the Klarinet list here)

Walter Grabner (from the Klarinet list here)

Gregory Smith (from the Klarinet list here)

Chris Hill (from the Klarinet list here)

Roger Garrett (was on the Klarinet list...not sure if he still
subscribes)

Vandoren (obvious reference)

Charles Bay (maker not on the Klarinet list)

James Pyne (was on the Klarinet list...not sure if he still
subscribes)

Richard Hawkins (don't think he is on the Klarinet list)

John Weigand (don't think he is on the Klarinet list)

This seems like a lot of makers, and it is. The downside of this
is that most makers have a variety of styles and facings of
mouthpieces, so some models of each maker might be good for you,
and others not. LOT'S of choices.

Where are you located? This would help in putting you in contact
with the most of these mouthpieces and makers in your area so
you could try out multiple styles to compare, rather than just
trying one type.

Places to go to try out LOTS of mouthpieces would be Muncy Winds
in Boone NC, International Musical Suppliers in Chicago,
Woodwind and Brasswind in South Bend Indiana, and Frederick
Weiner Music in Mineola (Long Island), NY. Some of these makers
above don't sell to suppliers, but you could try more
mouthpieces in general at these places and narrow down what TYPE
of mouthpiece you like before contacting anyone else. You might
end up with more than one mouthpiece that you use for different
things, like one for chamber works, and one for orchestral, and
one for jazz.

There are other mouthpiece makers I have use in the past (not on
the above list) that are acceptable...I wouldn't generally
recommend them over any of the ones on the list above though. I
may have left out one or two that I didn't remember, so no
flames if I left out someone's favorite mouthpiece.

I WOULD recommend getting a hard rubber mouthpiece as opposed to
a plastic or crystal one. Plastic ones are not usually
professional grade mouthpieces. A REALLY GOOD crystal mouthpiece
is a find, but most of them are so inconsistent that it would be
hard to compare them and hard to find one you like. Also, the
crystal mouthpieces are VERY fragile,and when it is broken, you
will never find another one REMOTELY like that one. Hard Rubber
ones that are at least produced in minor numbers ( like all the
above listed makers) can be reproduced to an extent by the
manufacturer in the same style and facing, although it will be a
little different each time. The trick is that you can find one
similar, where it is really hard to find a similar crystal
mouthpiece once you break the one you have. Then you are stuck
starting the whole process of finding a mouthpiece all over
again...ICK!

Do try many mouthpieces...don't take the first one you try
either. Plan to spend 3 months or more to find a mouthpiece of
this calibre if you have never looked for a truly professional
mouthpiece before. You may be using that mouthpiece for the next
20-30 years, if you make the right choice. You may be throwing
away $200 in a mouthpiece if you decide a month later that is
wasn't what you really needed.

If you need more info, drop me a line. You might want to query
the mouthpiece makers on the list to find out the selling points
of their mouthpieces (good staccato, smooth legato register
transitions, projection, compact or wide sound, edgy or smooth
tone, etc...) Every mouthpiece will have pros and cons depending
on your playing.

Good luck!

Kelly Abraham
Woodwinds - New York City
--- Michael Cudahy <mcudahy@-----.net> wrote:
> Kelly and others,
>
> I'm a new reader on this list, but all of the discussion of
> mouthpieces
> I've seen so far are
> (understandably) concerned with keeping costs to a minimum.
> But I was
> just curious
> what mouthpieces people consider to be the very best when
> price is not an
> object. Not that I have
> unlimited resources, but the mouthpiece seems so important to
> me that I
> could imagine spending $300 (or whatever) for one that sounds
> and plays
> better, considering what I spent on my clarinet.

Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Shopping - Send Flowers for Valentine's Day
http://shopping.yahoo.com

---------------------------------------------------------------------