Klarinet Archive - Posting 000058.txt from 2005/04

From: Georg K=?ISO-8859-1?B?/A==?=hner <520045578938-0001@-----.de>
Subj: Re: [kl] Wurlitzer Mouthpieces
Date: Mon, 04 Apr 2005 13:14:50 -0400

Mr Zinner also makes mouthpieces out different sorts of material.

Regards Georg

BTW You only tried the more open German mouthpieces. Nrext time I would
recommend You also to try the M2*, M3, ...

Am 04.04.2005 17:16 Uhr schrieb "Tom.Henson@-----.com" unter
<Tom.Henson@-----.com>:

> Well this is a very good question that Michele asks because I also asked
> myself this same one.
>
> I was just at the Wurlitzer workshop on March 24th to pick up my new
> Reform-Boehm clarinet and I saw no evidence of them having any of the hard
> rubber ones available. At least they did not give me a choice and I would
> definitely have wanted to try them out and compare if I suspected that they
> had any. It may be possible that they do have a few old stock ones left and
> that if pressed they would look for some, but I did not press the point. The
> mouthpieces that I tried worked so well that I saw little reason to.
>
> The current mouthpieces that they offer are indeed made out of some form of
> plastic and are molded. I actually did not realize this at first when I was
> upstairs trying out my clarinet and deciding which model mouthpieces I
> wanted to take with me for a longer test.
>
> Bernd brought my clarinet into the testing room and told me that Ulrich
> (Herbert Wurlitzer's son) had picked out a mouthpiece that he felt worked
> well with my clarinet. It was a K4 with a Vandoren White Master 2 1/2 reed
> tied off with the string. This mouthpiece was solid black in color and
> looked just like a hard rubber one.
>
> It did work very well and ended up being one of the ones that I took with me
> for a longer test. I did ask Bernd if I could try out some of the other
> models while I was there. It was not until he brought in another K4, K4*,
> M5, and M5+ that I realized that some of the mouthpiece were a dark
> grey/black or charcoal color and if held up to the light you could see
> through them. It was then that I realized they were plastic.
>
> I have to say that I was a little surprised at this, but in my testing I
> honestly could find no fault with them. I took 5 home with me and am still
> testing them now. They all play just as well as any hard rubber mouthpiece
> that I own. The facing is of course machined and there is some hand work
> around the tip, but the inside of the mouthpiece does not have any tool
> marks that I can see. This leads me to believe that they have a very exact
> molding process. I do see evidence that the chamber is molded with different
> internal dimensions, so there was a lot of work that went into producing the
> mold for each model blank I suspect to get it just right. With Wurlitzer's
> reputation for excellence, I would not expect that they are supplying
> plastic mouthpieces as a cost saving factor. Nothing I saw in their workshop
> led me to believe that they cut any corners anywhere in their manufacturing
> process. Every aspect of their work is of the highest known quality and
> skill. I have to believe that if they are supplying plastic moutpieces it is
> because they feel they are just as good as the hard rubber ones they have
> supplied in the past, maybe superior. It is possible that the high tech
> plastic that they use is less suspectable to shrinkage when cooling in a
> mold and thus produces a more exact blank to the master.
>
> I also wonder if the plastic resin that they use will hold up as well as
> rubber does. My limited knowledge of plastic resin leads me to believe that
> if they used a resin with the right properties (UV and heat resistant for
> one) that they will last just as long as a rubber one. They might even be
> less suspectible to warping if the resin is molecuraly more stable than hard
> rubber. I also see no reason why they could not be refaced if needed just
> like any rubber mouthpiece. There seems to be enough material there to work
> with.
>
> Now, the fact that they are using plastic instead of rubber brings up an
> inevitable point. Does the traditional hard rubber have any inherent
> properties that would allow it to produce a superior sound from the plastic?
> That is a very good question and it sounds like Michele may feel perhaps
> that it does, but I will not put words into her mouth.
>
> It also could be that the older Wurlitzer mouthpieces used the more
> traditional German design that requires you to use a harder reed. It has
> been mentioned on this list that the current German mouthpiece design favors
> a softer reed such as a 2 1/2 to 3. I can concur that this is true, as I
> tried using a 3 1/2 Vandoren White Master on all of the Wurlitzer
> mouthpieces that I have and it just does not work well at all, at least for
> myself. I got very poor results. I have not tried any other brand of German
> mouthpiece at this time, but may do so in the future.
>
> I also was able to stop by Hans Zinner's workshop in Marktrodach and spend
> some time with him and his son Carsten. I was looking for a French
> mouthpiece that I could use with the Reform-Boehm Wurlitzer that I had just
> picked up. I had a set of barrels made that will allow me to use a French
> mouthpiece. The main difference is in the socket diameter and depth.
> Wurlitzer does not advertise that they have these barrels available, but if
> asked, they will acknowledge that they have them and you can buy them. Bernd
> claimed, that with the right French mouthpiece, you could play their
> Reform-Boehm clarinets just as well as with a German mouthpiece.
>
> Hans Zinner measured the barrel that I had and then brought me some
> mouthpieces to try. I found one that worked extemely well. I have not tested
> it enough yet to draw any final conclusions, but it does seems to work well.
> Using a French mouthpiece on a Wurlitzer does affect the sound that you get
> to some degree, so this may not be what I end up using full time.
> Cooincidentally, the Zinner mouthpiece also works great on my Buffet Tosca.
>
> I would suggest to Michele that if she is unable to obtain one of the older
> model Wurlitzer mouthpieces from them, to contact Hans Zinner. They make a
> full line of German moutphieces and their model numbers correspond almost
> exactly like that of the Wurlitzer's. So if she plays on an M3, the Zinner
> equivalent is a 3M. They can then match the tip opening and length of the
> window to either a K (short), M (medium), or L (long) just like the
> Wurlitzer's.
>
> I do regret that when I was at Hans Zinner's workshop that I had another
> appointment that I had to make and did not have more time to spend with
> them. I did not take the opportunity to try some of their German moutphieces
> and wish now that I had. I would then be in a better position to know if
> there is any real benefit to be gained from using a hard rubber mouthpiece
> vs. the plastic Wurlitzer's. My feeling is that the sound difference will be
> minimal, if at all. I think the benefit that could be gained would be in the
> fact that the Zinner mouthpiece would be a hand made product which can be
> fine tuned beyond that of just a molded plastic one, and perhaps this is
> what Michele is wanting.
>
> Tom Henson
>
>
>
> << Jim Lytthans wrote:
>
> Michele Zukovsky sent me this e-mail today. I thought I'd post it here to
> see if anyone could help.
>
> <Hi Jim,
>
> If you ever are on e-bay, I am looking for older German mouthpieces from
> Wurlitzer from 1970- 1985 when they were made from rubber, not plexiglass.
> (?...Jim)
> I would pay you a comission if you found a good one. I like the M3 style.
>
> spater,
>
> Michele> >
>
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