 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Elkwoman46
Date: 2007-02-06 19:11
Greetings to all of you!
I have a question...what kind of Clarinet mouthpiece goes on a metal clarinet? Can it take any of the mouthpieces that one can buy anywhere or is it a special one with a different size? I would imagine that the original mouthpiece was probably metal, but would that have been of the same size as the plastic ones available today? The metal clarinet that I saw is an older item. The top of the clarinet before the mouthpiece area is just a metal cylinder looking part at the top. Were all these clarinets standard-dized ages ago? Or are they quite various? Are there mouthpieces that can adjust to any size if one is not sure?
Any information or links or anything would be so greatly appreciated.
Thank you so very kindly.
God bless you all in Jesus' Name.
Karen MSC
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Author: Alseg
Date: 2007-02-06 19:26
They take the same mouthpiece that today's clarinets take.
In fact, I have purchased some in order to obtain the mouthpieces that were part of the deal.
My best Bettoney hard rubber Ched. blank mouthpieces came with a 3-star and columbia model H. Bettoney metal clarinets.
That doesnt mean that they all come with a good one, nor are the clarinets all playable. But it is nice to speculate and fool around. Worst case scenario....you have the makings of a good table lamp
Former creator of CUSTOM CLARINET TUNING BARRELS by DR. ALLAN SEGAL
-Where the Sound Matters Most(tm)-
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2007-02-06 19:27
On my 1960ish metal clarinet, a standard Bb mouthpiece fits. You might have to sand down or recork, depending on the minor details. What is the "barrel" socket's diameter then? (22.5 mm on mine)
> table lamp
Arrgh!
--
Ben
Post Edited (2007-02-06 19:28)
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Author: Alseg
Date: 2007-02-06 19:44
Attachment: backyard turkey1.jpg (137k)
Looking outside my window today at 5 degrees, I vote for a certain brand of Bourbon as the ideal accompaniment for metal clarinets
Former creator of CUSTOM CLARINET TUNING BARRELS by DR. ALLAN SEGAL
-Where the Sound Matters Most(tm)-
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Author: Elkwoman46
Date: 2007-02-06 19:57
Thank you all so very kindly for your kind messages. I really appreciate it and have been so very helped.
Ben, your website is awesome!
I love your instruments!
You are very blessed, and I am so happy for you!
I am blessed too!
God bless you all!
Thanks bunches.
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Author: mk
Date: 2007-02-08 02:05
the good news....metal clarinets can be recycled at scrap metal yards...can't do that with wood clarinets.....never seen one that hasn't accepted a standard mothpiece but i'm sure someone out there has....
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Author: Kruzi
Date: 2007-02-08 09:26
Well, all those metal clarinets that have lost their barrels don`t accept a standard mouthpiece anymore and finding a replacement barrel usually ends up in a heap of brassy eBay-items that don`t offer a fitting barrel either.
On the other hand, wood clarinets are burning much longer than metal ones plus you get the bonus of being able to melt down a flute using just two wooden clarinets, thus producing eben more scrap metal for the junkyard recycling business.
Seriously said, taking up an old metal clarinet always bears the big risk of making a wrong investment. These old honkers usually are in such a bad shape you have to get them restored first before they are playable again.
Just to find out that you have spend several hundred bucks on a shiny piece of scrap metal that`s constantly out of tune no matter how hard you hit it onto your forehead. This is quite risky, plus the fact that most repairmen refuse to work on those instruments because it is more difficult than repairing a wooden one: when burning in the pads of a metal clarinet it often happens that the soldering joints connecting the tonehole chimneys with the main tube melt and everything gets out of place, resulting in intonation and playability issues that require more work from the repairman to get the instrument back in the originally intended clarinet shape.
Take what you`ve got and make the best of it!
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2007-02-08 09:39
Kruzi wrote:
> when burning in the pads of a metal clarinet it often happens that the
> soldering joints connecting the tonehole chimneys with the main tube melt
I don't know how you are fitting pads, but I usually don't burn them in. (I presume the blackness of your wooden clarinets doesn't come from dye but from repadding with the acetylene torch.)
--
Ben
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2007-02-08 11:15
Strange practice this 'burning in' lark - as strange to me as tying down keys to seat pads, and something I've never done and don't think I'll even try it out as it will make the impression too deep.
I was asked by a sax player how long I 'tied the pads closed for', and I just gave him a vacant expression and said 'Errrrm....'. What else could I say? But I did tell him once the pads are all seated they're ready to go, so there's no need to tie anything down.
And if you're using any source of heat that will melt soldered toneholes to seat pads, then you're doing something very wrong.
I overhauled a silver plated Conn Cavalier metal clarinet years ago, and it played beautifully with a full tone I expect a wooden clarinet to have. Why do so many people assume a metal clarinet is going to sound thin, or even think they'll sound like a soprano sax? What's with the 'if it ain't wood, it ain't good' sentiments? Yeah there are good and bad, but the same can be said with ANY clarinet made in ANY material - there are some crap wooden clarinets and some excellent plastic ones.
Looking at old Selmer catalogues, they made all manner of metal soprano clarinets (Eb, Bb and A and all manner of keywork configurations - various Boehm and non-Boehm systems) complete with metal mouthpieces that looked similar to their 'Classic' series metal sax mouthpieces, though the socket was the same diameter for an ebonite/plastic/crystal mouthpiece.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2007-02-08 11:16)
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Author: Gandalfe
Date: 2007-02-09 00:30
Everytime I share my Selmer Paris Silver Bb clarinet the players, pro and not, are jaw-droppingly (is that a word?) impressed. The last fellow who tried it was a professional musician and said that he would like first dibs if I ever want to sell is. This after I told him right now I valued the instrument at over $1000.
Take a look for yourself if you haven't already seen this beauty:
Selmer Paris Silver Clarinet
Jim and Suzy
Pacifica Big Band
Seattle, Washington
Post Edited (2007-02-09 00:35)
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2007-02-09 00:31
> Take a look for yourself if you haven't already seen this beauty:
<looks>
It's rather tiny, innit?
(edit: the picture link has magically appeared)
--
Ben
Post Edited (2007-02-09 13:04)
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Author: jane84
Date: 2007-02-09 09:23
tictactux wrote:
> > Take a look for yourself if you haven't already seen this
> beauty:
>
Ooooh...fancy!! And the coolest thing of all are the two "bumps" in the bell;)
-jane
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2007-02-09 12:55
>>I have a question...what kind of Clarinet mouthpiece goes on a metal clarinet? Can it take any of the mouthpieces that one can buy anywhere or is it a special one with a different size? I would imagine that the original mouthpiece was probably metal, but would that have been of the same size as the plastic ones available today? >>
Just to go back to the original questions and clarify a couple of things.... The original mouthpiece for a metal clarinet depends on how old the clarinet was. The first metal clarinets were made in the late 19th century (I own a double-walled metal C. G. Conn from 1895-6) that probably would have had a wooden mouthpiece originally. When hard rubber came into use, metal clarinets came with hard rubber mouthpieces. Plastic mouthpieces came along toward the end of the period when metal clarinets were being made, but some of the student-quality metal clarinets from the 1940s and 1950s did come with plastic mouthpieces.
I've found that some but not all of my metal clarinets will play just fine with a modern mouthpiece. I use a modern, hard rubber Selmer C* with an American Standard High-Grade (a student instrument made by the H. N. White Co.) e-flat from the 1940s. Some metal clarinets need a slightly shorter mouthpiece than the modern ones. For instance, I've found that my H. Bettoney Silva-Bet in Bb, probably late 1920s or early 1930s, has serious intonation problems (generally flat, but with some notes flat and some sharp in the throat tones) with the modern mouthpieces I've tried. It came with an old, hard rubber Noblet mouthpiece that I can't play without squeaks on any clarinet, but the Silva-Bet plays well with an unmarked, short, old hard rubber mouthpiece I found with a different 1920s-era clarinet.
I don't think there's any simple answer. Some old clarinets play well with new mouthpieces and some don't. The only way to find out is by trial and error.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: cdgaflash
Date: 2007-02-10 20:08
Hi,
I have a Selmer Paris Silverplate Bb too. I purchased mine from that large internet auction site for not that much money. I have seen that they do pop up every now and again. It did not come with a case. Mine has 7 rings, articulated G#,extra trill key on lower joint, and adjustable tuning barrel.
I had white leather pads installed, though I needed to have a couple pads changed to regular pads due to tone hole/cup sizes. The leather pads just fit within the cup got stuck in the tone hole. Soundwise, it plays just like a wooden horn. I did play it one evening in an orchestra rehearsal. The only folks that noticed were the folks that actually saw what I was playing...
I was able to get a vintage/original case a little over a year after I bought the horn. *I thought I would never find one. I asked all around my area and across the country. No one in Paris had one either, as I checked while there on vacation back in August '05. As it worked out, someone from French Polynesia won an auction for a similar horn and didn't want the case. Luckily, the seller knew I was interested (I let him know that I had been looking for a case for my horn for over a year, but didn't need a second horn.) and offered it to me for a reasonable price.
I use a Pyne mouthpiece, Rovner dark lig and Olivieri reeds with it (as well as with my wooden horns). As other folks have said, I would think almost any standard mouthpiece would work with a metal horn, though finding the best combination of mouthpiece/lig/reed for tone/tuning could possibly be a challenge...
I did have a Cavalier metal horn that was beautifually retored and played well, though I think the Selmer plays even better.
Its great for outdoor concerts. The horn does get questions/comments from the audience. I don't ever have to worry about cracking. Rusting, maybe... though the plating is actually in very good condition and polished up nicely with "Twinkle" polish.
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