Klarinet Archive - Posting 000039.txt from 2009/03

From: Susan Kundert <ohsuzan@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Mouthpiece-Inspired Madness
Date: Mon, 09 Mar 2009 13:03:49 -0400

Dear Bechi,

The free-est blowing mouthpiece I have ever tried is the Clark Fobes
CF line. You can pay anywhere from a little (the Debut) to a lot (the
San Francisco). Each price point increase results in a more refined
sound, but the basic character of the mouthpiece is the same.

I thought I would never like a mouthpiece better than the Fobes SF,
until I tried the mouthpieces made by Greg Smith.
http://www.gregory-smith.com/
These are custom mouthpieces. He will send you several different
facings to try on "for size," and then several of the model you
choose. I can't say enough good things about both the mouthpiece and
the maker. It absolutely transformed my husband's tone and intonation,
and it was a very pleasant process getting there.

If you've got a few bucks to put into this, I believe you would do
well to try Greg.

Susan

2009/3/9 Bechi <bechi@-----.net>
>
> I've been wanting to buy a new mouthpiece for quite some time now. =A0Hel=
l! =A0Maybe even TWO new mouthpieces just for the sheer joy of it! =A0My pr=
oblem is that I'm just completely and utterly intimidated by the prospect o=
f finding one, let alone two! =A0I've been playing for about 2 years now af=
ter a 20 year hiatus so I think my embouchure has more or less reasonable "=
settled", although I'm sure that it's always a work in progress.
>
> My current set up is a Selmer 10S with the HS* mouthpiece my high school =
band director's wife insisted I play, Legere Quebec-cut (3=BC) and Vandoren=
56 Rue Lepic (3=BD) reeds, Rovner Eddie Daniels and Bois Delrin ligatures.=
=A0I'm not 100% sure what I'm talking about when using lingo, but I believ=
e I'm looking for a mouthpiece that is free and easy blowing (I tend to COM=
PLETELY lose my embouchure after a few hours of playing) and that can help =
tune the A & B just under the altissimo register which are horrifically sha=
rp for me even when almost everything else is moderately in tune.
>
> So far, so good. =A0Here's the part where I want to pull the covers over =
my head and hide - there's only a bazillion mouthpieces out there, each one=
coming in multiple flavors, and from what I hear, further variations betwe=
en each individual representative of each flavor! =A0I'm prepared to taste-=
test a dozen or so candidates to find *the one* (or two!), but just finding=
a reasonable sample to start with seems impossible! =A0My latest thought i=
s perhaps limiting myself to a few samples from Walter Grabner's and Morrie=
Backun's offerings; my rationale being that being hand crafted, there will=
be no "klunkers" per se, each mouthpiece either works with me and my horn =
or it doesn't (chances are it's not just a bad representative of that parti=
cular mouthpiece). =A0Does that make sense? =A0If so, would test-driving on=
e of each model I'm interested in be sufficient to start? =A0Would it then =
be necessary to try 2 or 3 additional samples of each "finalist"?
>
> Help!
>
> Thanks,
>
> Bechi
>
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