Klarinet Archive - Posting 000345.txt from 2006/04

From: "Don" <dhatfield310@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Arnold Brilhart
Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2006 17:59:29 -0400

>Jim Lytthans said - I had a black Brilhart mouthpiece many years ago, with
>a round wooden inlaid teeth patch. This was my favorite polka, big band and
>jazz dates mouthpiece, since it gave me a HUGE sound and lots of
>flexibility.<

There is the alternative, too. Brilhart made some really nice hard rubber
mouthpieces as well. I have one of his hard rubber tenor sax mouthpiece that
plays like my Otto Link mouthpieces. I also have two hard rubber clarinet
mouthpieces, one Brilhart 'Symphony' model, and one that says simply
'Brilhart Hard Rubber 4*'. The Symphony compares well to my old faithful
Cicero Kaspar, and the other is a great jazz mouthpiece that works well with
my old Selmer BT when doubling.

The older Tonalin models can be quite good with some professional
adjustment. The prices you pay for them depend a lot on when and where
Arnold was located when they were made, Great Neck, NY or Carlsbad, CA. I
have a black Tonalin that was actually stuffed in the case lining when I
bought me old BT, and if you take a little time to match reeds to it and
adjust to the facing which tends to be shorter than normal on most of them,
they are great polka/klezmer/plain old big honking-type sound mouthpieces,
as Jim said.

Don Hatfield

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