 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: ito
Date: 2010-03-20 09:54
Hi everyone,What can be done to make a mouthpiece that have high resistance to have lesser of the resistance?because it is not only my problem,i have most of my clarinet friends tested on the mouthpiece which is a pomarico ruby mellow and everyone told me that the resistance is damn high..is there something wrong with the mouthpiece? and is there anything that can be done here?thanks in advance
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2010-03-20 10:23
I've found crystal mouthpieces to be like this generally, I don't think much can be done with it though I'm sure someone will say otherwise. I have quite good stamina be would not like to play a whole Mahler Symphony on a crystal mouthpiece.
Peter Cigleris
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Author: Rusty
Date: 2010-03-20 11:05
I had a very resistant MPC but thru` it away and got a Hite Debut. Super low resistance.
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Author: NBeaty
Date: 2010-03-20 12:53
A crystal mouthpiece is going to be resistant. That's just how it goes with that material.
Otherwise, thinning side and tip rails, lowering the baffle, lengthening the facing and adjusting the tip opening can all lower resistance.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2010-03-20 13:16
IME with too-many-to-count crystal (Pomarico) mouthpieces, I completely disagree with NBeaty and cigleris.
First, it is not that this material is resistant, it is entire possible to have a Pomarico crystal mouthpiece that is not resistant at all. From the so-many I tried, they varied from free blowing to very resistant, but the material was the only thing identical between them, so obviously the reason for the any resistance (or not) had nothing to do with the material itself.
It is also not true that they can't be made to play better. I had a crystal mouthpiece refaced by Dave Spiegelthal (who also posts on this forum). He turned it from one of the most resistant mouthpiece I've tried (a weird model 0 Pomarico) to a very free blowing mouthpiece. If you do get it refaced make sure to speak with the refacer about matching the mouthpiece to the approx reed strength you prefer.
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Author: ito
Date: 2010-03-20 13:44
clarnibass,I have no means to have it reface as in am located in singapore,i would love to have the mouthpiece playing on size 3.5 which i feel very comfortable with and the pomarico crystal that i have is(ruby mellow)
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2010-03-20 14:30
Most, if not all, of the resistance is caused by the facing, which is probably very open or very short or both, if you were able to measure it. The trouble is, working with glass is very different from working with hard rubber. I'm not sure that refacing and changing internal dimensions is impossible, but it couldn't be done using the same tools or techniques that most mouthpiece technicians use on standard rubber or even plastic. Since you don't have access to a craftsman where you are who can do the kinds of alterations the mouthpiece would need to make it comfortable for you, you'll probably just have to shop for a new mouthpiece. If you want to use reeds that are in the medium hard range (3.5-4 Vandorens or equivalent), look for something with a close tip opening - something near to 1.00 mm (give or take a couple of hundredths) and a medium or medium short curve length. Many of the online vendors that sell mouthpieces now include these dimensions in their descriptions. In general, the longer the curve and closer the tip, the harder a reed it will accept. If you go *both* close and long, you may find 3.5 Vandorens a little soft. Of course, the most comfortable reed strength for you as an individual depends a lot on what you want the result to sound like.
Karl
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2010-03-20 15:11
I've found that the main cause of excessive resistance in a mouthpiece (independent of the tip opening or facing length) is excessive curvature ("hump") in the middle portion of the facing curve. Making the facing curve flatter (which with some care can be done without altering the tip opening or facing length) will make the mouthpiece more free-blowing, but at the expense of a bit of tonal color. If taken to an extreme, a very flat facing curve will cause the mouthpiece to sound neutral or even dull. As with most things, it's a compromise and everyone has a different "optimal' point.
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2010-03-20 15:33
David (or anyone else who knows),
Is it possible in your experience to change any of this on a crystal mouthpiece? Is there, do you know, any hand work done at the factory on Pomerico or O'Brien or Vandoren crystals? How are the facings cut? What kind of equipment is used. I've never seen cut glass (of any kind - even for dining/decorative use) being produced - only blown or molded glass.
Karl
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2010-03-20 21:04
I have seen posts from several mouthpiece craftsmen to indicate that they can reface crystal. It can be done using same materials and techniques as for hard rubber, it just takes longer.
The very fine and flat diamond stones would seem a good bet for some of this work.
I suspect that few if any refacers would have equipment to make changes to the baffle and chambers areas.
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2010-03-20 22:38
As alluded to in clarnibass's post, I reface crystal mouthpieces, have done dozens of them over the years, including one (or two, I can't remember) for one of our esteemed BB moderators. I personally play crystals on Eb, Bb and bass clarinets, and alto and tenor saxes (occasionally); all have been refaced. I've also modified the baffles and chambers on some of them. The same methods are used as for hard rubber, it just takes a lot more time and physical effort. As for how they are made and faced at the factory, I have no idea.
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2010-03-21 07:00
The Mitchell Lurie mouthpieces, both crystal and rubber are made by Pomerico.
I knew Mitchell pretty well, played several of his MP'S. The crystal MP's were all over the place as far as free blowing to stuffy. From reading all of the posts, I guess this applies to most of the Pomerico crystals. Just about every crystal MP had very small bores.
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Author: ito
Date: 2010-03-21 08:19
Hi Bob Bernardo,i was told by the pomarico mouthpiece maker that the pomarico mouthpieces all have the bore size of 15.2mm,thus the bore is not really small but consider larger bore..i guess it is just that the ruby mellow i have gotten throught musician friend website to be one of the resistance one..haha
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2010-03-21 15:44
Not sure about older crystal mouthpieces such as O'Briens, Selmer Clarions or GGs (for instance), but all the modern crystals I've worked with (Pomaricos and their 'stencils' such as Mitchell Lurie Premium and possibly Vandorens) have standard bores and work just dandy-fine with most clarinets.
There sure is an awful lot of misinformation floating around here about crystal mouthpieces.
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