Klarinet Archive - Posting 000341.txt from 2003/12

From: "Gene Nibbelin" <gnibbelin@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] Copying Kaspar - Hard Rubber Mpc. Deterioration
Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2003 17:40:11 -0500

Don -
I have a circa 1940 Goldbeck which was not used for about 40 years. I
discovered that I still had it in 1998 and have used it exclusively since
then. For me, it is a perfect mouthpiece. My teacher and I can tell little
difference between it and his Kaspar. Measured roughly, my Goldbeck has a
1.02 mm tip opening.
My question concerns deterioration of hard rubber. Educate me, please.
This is of interest to me because recently I noticed an almost microscopic
"slit" on the facing side of the tip (which is quite thin). It looks like a
very tiny "de-lamination" as it follows the curve of the tip, although I
doubt that the hard rubber is laminated. As an old mouthpiece, it is made
of pre-EPA (ugh) hard rubber.
Maybe this is the deterioration of which you speak. Of course, the tip,
which is very thin, takes a lot of "punishment" from the vibration of the
reed and from tonguing. I have not noticed any change in the mouthpiece's
characteristics so far. But that may happen.
Do you have a price on your Goldbeck? I might be interested if the tip
opening is comparable to mine.
I don't know if the above makes sense, but if you or any of the mouthpiece
experts can enlighten me concerning what may be happening to my Goldbeck, I
will appreciate it.
Regard,
Gene Nibbelin

-----Original Message-----
From: Don Hatfield [mailto:dhatfield@-----.org]
Sent: Friday, December 12, 2003 9:11 AM
To: klarinet@-----.org
Subject: Re: [kl] Copying Kaspar

Just to add two cents-worth of opinion after reading these recent posts -
I am fortunate to have three Ann Arbor Kaspars and a Cicero Kaspar that I
can attest to as "original", as they came directly from Ann Arbor when I was
a junior high schooler, through my private instructor who had been a student
at UM in the late fifties/early sixties, and had remained close to Mr.
Kaspar. The only adjustment to any of them was by Kaspar himself when we
sent a couple back for 'tweaking'.
My view - I love the mouthpieces, and have used them sparingly over the
years except for the Cicero, which was my staple until I quit playing
regularly about eight years ago. I have started the search for replacements
this year as I am returning to playing and teaching again, and because I
know the Cicero will eventually give up the ghost (and likely is as I write,
considering the stability of the hard rubber after all these years) and
after dusting off the Kaspars it is clear they need some refacing and
adjusting, which I can't see doing to a mouthpiece that old now, I'd rather
put the money in new mouthpieces.
Also, as mentioned here, things are continually changing - instruments,
halls, reeds, etc. So I am planning to search until I find what I need and
am happy with, knowing that the search may take some time. It's funny (to me
at least) that the two mouthpieces so far that I've found in my collection
that come close to the Cicero are an old Brilhart hard rubber #3...it's
actually an awesome mouthpiece in its own right...and an ooooold -
surprise - Goldbeck that I have also kept squirreled away for thirty years.
Neither is just like it (the Goldbeck IS very close, for obvious reasons),
but I don't expect to find that ideal in whatever I settle on anyway, I may
end up with a different sort of setup than I would have considered when I
first started this search. I will have to keep a journal of my findings and
progress, because I have never played a Fobes, a Pyne, a Smith, a Grabner,
and a couple others on my prospect list. It means shelling out some bucks,
but it's worth it to me in the long run to put the pressure on my budget.

Don

> Greg makes an important point here. It is rare now to find Kaspars that
have
> not been adjusted (or ruined) by other makers.
> I believe the prevalence of refaced Kaspars is a further indication that
> needs in mouthpieces are changing from what the players used during the
long period of production by the Kaspars (about 1920 - 1975).

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