Klarinet Archive - Posting 000379.txt from 2003/12

From: "Ken Wolman" <kwolman@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] kaspar mouthpiece collection on ebay
Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 09:08:52 -0500

mginesi@-----.net wrote:

> they are looking for a $2000 minimum...
>
> michael

I have a bad feeling I'm really going to hate myself for asking this....

What is it about the original Kaspars that makes them so valuable? I
know of originals that have gone for over $500 on eBay, and I gather
that's what people pay in the real world, too.

Why? What separates an original Frank Kaspar from a good copy that can
set you back two hundred bucks? The seller describes these as the Holy
Grail of clarinet mouthpieces. One more time: Why? What makes an
original Kaspar special? I wonder if this is not the same intangible
that separates original Strads and Guarneri from even their best
copies--they did SOMEthing in building those instruments that could not
and cannot be reproduced even by master luthiers of any generation since.

I know part of the answer: "Play it and find out." It's the rest that
escapes me.

I suppose the same questions might be asked about Chedevilles and their
generations. Here I know some of the history, courtesy of:
http://www.sterkel.org/clarinet/chedeville_mouthpiece.htm. Does the
clarinet mouthpiece world divide between these two styles? ARE they two
styles? What makes one preferable to the other? I know, I might as
well ask Why is the sky blue?

Ken
--
Kenneth Wolman
Proposal Development Department
Room SW334
Sarnoff Corporation
609-734-2538

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