 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: JamaalCharles39
Date: 2015-06-15 03:30
I'm a high school sophomore who has been playing bass clarinet for about 5 years. For the past 2 I have used the schools selmer "D" facing, while it is a nice mouthpiece I want one of my own, both of my teachers recommended the c*. However I have not found a single one for sale... Anywhere. Are the ones that selmer sell now similar to a c star?
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Author: nbclarinet
Date: 2015-06-15 06:00
Try the vandoren B50. I liked it much better than the C stars that I tried. It's very open so you might have to drop half a reed strength though
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Author: JHowell
Date: 2015-06-15 06:22
The Selmer C85/115 would be more like the medium-ish C*, though given the choice I'd prefer the standard throat shape. The D is pretty open so maybe you'd be comfortable on a very open B50. I'm not a B50 fan, but that's just me; I guess the point is that if your teacher, who knows far more about you and what you're trying to do than do I or anyone else here, suggests a C* maybe you don't want to go wide open. What is his/her backup recommendation?
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Author: Steven Ocone
Date: 2015-06-15 15:37
I use the the Selmer C85/115,passed down to me when my wife switched to a Fobes. There is nothing magic about a Selmer C*. Recommending it is just one example of a tradition.
Steve Ocone
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Author: crnichols
Date: 2015-06-15 17:48
Selmer chose to discontinue them and rolled out the Focus and Concept mouthpieces. If you really want a C*, you could probably find new old stock through one of the big mail order companies.
Christopher Nichols, D.M.A.
Assistant Professor of Clarinet
University of Delaware
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Author: JamaalCharles39
Date: 2015-06-15 20:41
His backup is probably another c*, needless to say he is extremely old-fashioned. After reading on this board a little more I was thinking about a Garrett, Fobes, or Grabner mpc (I just wish they were as cheap as they were when those topics were made).
What is the facing of a c* and D so I know what kind to look for?
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Author: Ed
Date: 2015-06-15 21:54
The C* was a standard mouthpiece for years, even among pros. They were regularly recommended, just as one might suggest certain Vandoren clarinet models, or a Meyer for alto sax or Link for tenor. They were some of the better things out there. Probably the biggest issue with any stock mouthpiece would be the inconsistencies, which is why folks would often try a number to find "the one". Many players also began to use refaced or reworked Selmers to get something a little better. A number of the big name mouthpiece guys offered Selmer blanks that they had tweaked.
These days, one might consider the Garrett or Fobes Basso Nova as relatively inexpensive choices. If you have the cash, the Fobes San Francisco, Grabner and McClune mouthpieces are all great choices.
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Author: KenJarczyk
Date: 2015-06-15 22:09
Back in the day, when the Earth's crust was still cooling, I found the Selmer D facing quite nicer than the C* mouthpiece.
That said, both are nowhere close to the performance you can get from a Bay or a Fobes.
Ken Jarczyk
Woodwinds Specialist
Eb, C, Bb, A & Bass Clarinets
Soprano, Alto, Tenor & Baritone Saxophones
Flute, Alto Flute, Piccolo
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Author: JamaalCharles39
Date: 2015-06-16 01:29
Wow Im really impressed by the quick responses of this board.
Back on topic are the selmer concepts good mpcs? I found one for a good price.
Post Edited (2015-06-16 01:35)
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Author: JHowell
Date: 2015-06-16 04:56
If the good price means that you can't return it, then I wouldn't recommend it, unless the price is $100 or less. If you can return it, then there's no harm in trying. I'm sure there are people who like them. I tried a bunch at the showroom in Paris and found them to be rather resistant for the amount of sound produced. I like old C*s, personally. All mouthpieces are inconsistent to some degree, so it would be hard to pick any one as a foolproof recommendation. But sometimes you must. The Schreibers that come with the Buffet Prestige bass are pretty consistent, and not a bad mouthpiece, though they won't please the "more open is better" player. Weiner has them, I think they're less than $100; I played one for a number of years. Plastic, but that doesn't seem to be as bad as you'd think. Selmer C85/115s are also fairly consistent, and more in line with what I like than Vandorens or Zinner-based pieces, though those certainly have their fans. Almost any mouthpiece has somebody who sounds fantastic on it and says it's the best thing ever.
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Author: Filettofish
Date: 2015-06-16 06:37
I agree not all C*s are bad. I bought a really old one from my current teacher for use on bass clarinet and I absolutely love the piece! That's also because it compliments my setup though; moderately thick reeds require a somewhat closed facing to play comfortably. If a C* isn't compatible with your instrument, don't try and make it work; the C* just happened to work for me.
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Author: Grabnerwg
Date: 2015-08-14 18:08
The Selmer C* for bass clarinet was a very good choice for many years. It was a well designed blank with a reasonable facing and tip opening - (when executed correctly, see below).
Several mouthpiece craftsmen used re-faced Selmer C*'s as their "best" bass clarinet option. I know I worked with dozens of them over the years, and had/have some very prominent players using them.
The biggest problem with the C* was the terrible inconsistency one would find from one mouthpiece to another. Tip openings ran from 1.60 to 1.90, facing lengths would be as short as 40 or longer than 50.
A small percentage of them would come with warped (or poorly machined) tables, usually with a "hump" in the table right below the window. These were impossible to play and very hard to fix!
Ultimately, for my bass clarinet offerings, working with Zinner & Co., we were able to come up with a blank which provides greater projection than the C*. This was about ten years ago now. After we developed this blank, I did no more work using the Selmer C*.
Walter Grabner
www.clarinetxpress.com
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