 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Charles
Date: 2001-08-01 20:12
I bought one Buffet mouthpiece from eBay. The title was "C Clarinet mouthpiece". I got it on my hand today . It has "C" stamped on. Is this a real C clarinet mouthpiece or C facing(?) Bb mouthpiece? How do I know this is C mpc? I need some mouthpiece for my vintage C Buffet and am in the market. Thanks in advance.
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Author: mw
Date: 2001-08-01 20:33
Hmmm ... sounds like a Buffet mouthpiece if it has the Buffet or Evette logos. If it has 3 liners at the bottom and the word "France" to the left of the table (but sometimes not visible as the impressions has faded) ... then you may have a Buffet mouthpiece made by (the house of) Chedeville for Buffet Crampon a Cie.
Careful, I have seen some in plastic. An easy way to determine if a mouthpoiece is hard rubber (whenever anybody is not sure) is to take a piece of sanpaper & scratch the tenon on the outside edge ... if it shows brown or a dark color , the mouthpiece is hard rubber. If the sandpaper shows WHITE (a light color) then you have a PLASTIC mouthpiece.
Best,
mw
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Author: Charles
Date: 2001-08-01 20:39
This is exactly what you said. And hard rubber. Brown piece comes out.
So, I failed to buy C mpc. Is this a good mpc, anyway? How good? Thanks.
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Author: Gregory Smith
Date: 2001-08-01 23:33
It is an excellent Bb unfinished blank from the chedeville co. Send it to Chris Hill (sneezy sponsor) to have it expertly made - then ask Guy Chadash to send you a barrel that will accomodate a Bb mouthpiece with your specific c clarinet and voila! - your problem is solved.
No one that I have known has ever had their problem solved by searching out a "c" clarinet mouthpiece. The makers that produce them are of inferior quality in my opinion. The better option is to find a good Bb mouthpiece with the right type of barrel. I have a c clarinet mouthpiece after a long serch but it doesn't compare to a first class Bb mouthpiece with the right barrel custom made by Guy. 1.212.239.7187. The bore is the same on the c clarinet as it is on the Bb after all -at least with my R13's..
G. Smith
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Author: mw
Date: 2001-08-03 04:09
Greg is correct. The description .... "C Clarinet Mouthpiece" refers ONLY to the "C" mouthpiece facing designation which is found to the right of the Table (at the bottom of the mouthpiece, towards the Tenon end).
The auction title or moutpiece description is the same thing as saying "BUFFET C* Mouthpiece" ot "Evette Schaeffer C" Mouthpiece --- all of which were made using Ched blanks.
Charles, did you think you were buying a mouthpiece for a Clarinet pitched in C ?
Best,
mw
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2001-08-03 12:46
FWIW, according to Dave Tuttle of Chicago, who sells alot of mouthpieces on eBay and seems to have been in business (or in the music business) for quite awhile, the C designation is a lot designation rather than a facing (which would particularly make sense if the mouthpiece hasn't been faced -- on the other hand, it would have to be a very big lot because most, if not all, of these mouthpieces that I have seen have a B or C mark). He also claims that Bb mouthpieces with the Buffet logo were refaced by Buffet before being sold with an instrument while those with the Evette & Schaeffer logo were not. He doesn't say anything about the ones with an Evette logo but states that Buffet did not reface the Chedeville harmony (Eb, alto, bass) mouthpieces.
Greg, do you know Dave Tuttle? If you do, how reliable is he as an expert on older mouthpieces? He seems to know quite a bit and has sold some nice mouthpieces and his information usually checks out. However, not so long ago he had a Wells B2 or B3 mouthpiece for sale and I asked him how it compared with a C3. He said that, while he had hung out at Wells' shop quite a bit, he had never seen a C# mouthpiece -- but he had sold me the C3 a few months earlier! It could just be a memory slip but it was the first time I had evidence that perhaps he wasn't as expert as he appeared.
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Author: Charles
Date: 2001-08-03 16:02
mw, Yes I did. I talked to Mr. Cadash this morning. I'm going to send my C Buffet to him.
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Author: mw
Date: 2001-08-03 18:20
Jack, I know Dave (fairly intimately --- he has some of my money --- I've purchased some of his vintage wares, from time-to-time over the years).
I have thought thatg the "C" facing (my work) meant MEDIUM. The C* was supposedly a modification to the facing ordered/changed by Buffet.
Chris Hill knows a fair amount about these mouthpieces, too. As does his (well-known) facing "professor" in NJ!
Best,
mw
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2001-08-04 00:28
The interpretation of the B and C that I reported is either from one of Dave's auctions on eBay or an e-mail he sent me. I don't remember which. I haven't seen a B* or C* in this line (which does not mean they don't exist). I have seen a C-Crown, but I don't remember if that was on a Chedeville blank.
BTW, a far less intrusive way to tell the difference between plastic and hard rubber is to rub the mouthpiece briskly against a piece of cloth to warm it a bit from the friction. Then smell the mouthpiece. If it's hard rubber, the distinct odor of sulfur will be present. If it's plastic -- nothing. (I've also heard that one can use warm water but water that's too hot can turn a rubber mouthpiece green.)
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Author: mw
Date: 2001-08-04 04:45
Jack, running only works with polyester pants ! : ) C-Crown or C* ... whatever you like ... I'm legally blind!
ps The use of sandpaper is NOT a bad thing. I do a lot of work with mouthpieces and you would NEVER find where i had scratched the tenon.
Best,
mw
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