 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: Steve McCleskey
Date: 2001-11-19 20:01
I am returning to the Clarinet after about a 30 year absence. I need a new mouthpiece. I have forgotten the criteria for selecting the correct mouthpiece.
All help gratefully appreciated.
Thanks,
Steve
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Fred
Date: 2001-11-19 23:46
First look in your wallet. You can get some very credible beginner mouthpieces for about $30; some very playable Vandorens (and others) for about $60 (heavily discounted); and some great professional mouthpieces for about $200.
You will find a great deal of information by using the Search feature located above topic postings. The most differing opinions will come from the $60 group. The most important thing for you to understand about selecting mouthpieces (esp. the $60 group) is that every one is different. I could tell you to get a Vandoren 5RV (which is an old standby). If you got five 5RV's, they would all play a little differently. Many of the larger internet and catalog retailers recognize this and are willing to send you 5 or so to try out and refund your money on the ones you return.
So, just like in the fairy tales, you've got to wade through some ugly step-sisters before you get one you can take to the dance.
Good Luck . . . and Welcome Back!!!
PS - There are GOBS of returnees on this bb. 30 yrs isn't that long . . . you'll be playing again in no time.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: dan powell
Date: 2001-11-20 02:37
give the vandoreen b45 a try. this is the best stock mpc i have played yet
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Hiroshi
Date: 2001-11-20 04:36
1)Reed/mouthpiece matching:
Vandoren's page give a general guidance. http://www.vandoren.com/
2)Clarinet bore/mouthpiece bore matching.
As written Sherman Friedland corner, there are smaller bore clarinets which do
not accept ordinary bore(such as Vandoren) mouthpieces.
He uses Selmer Recital, which needs Selmer C85-115, not Vandoren.
Ordinary Buffet bore is 0.574" except Vintage. Selmer 10S and Recital bores
are 0.56"s. However 10G and Signature has equivalent bores as that of Buffet.
Buffet Vintage has a smaller bore than 0.574".
3)Artisanship paid for off-the-shelf mouthpieces are far poorer than 30 years ago.
Actually, you will find 'all' tables are not flat.
In the long run hand made mouthpieces may be economical.
I would recomend Greg Smith Chedeville style mouthpieces. They cost about
1.5 times Vandoren but you will be astonished by their performance. It is made of
Zinner blank. His URL is on the Sponcer page.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2001-11-20 16:16
Get a good one and you won't regret it. It'll help you in the long run to get back into shape after not playing for years. You might consider a Charles Bay or Greg Smith. Or, if you want to stay under $100.00, the Vandoren B45 is a good, all purpose mouthpiece.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2001-11-20 17:32
Perhaps this is a good place to offer comments on mouthpieces, fine wines, cigars, etc.:
1. Never expect universal agreement on which is the best.
2. You might prefer different ones under different circumstances.
3. Some inexpensive ones may surprise you with good quality.
4. Even costly ones may prove to be disappointing.
5. There will be considerable variation among individual examples of the same items.
6. Don't try to enjoy without testing. (Play, taste, sniff, or whatever else.)
7. For you, the best one is simply the one you like best.
Regards,
John
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Bill
Date: 2001-11-20 18:51
JMcAulay, that was the best writing I've ever seen on the subject of mouthpieces. Dead-on correct!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: willie
Date: 2001-11-21 04:09
Mcauley hit the nail on the head. Recommending a particular mouthpiece is hard. What works for me may not work well for you or anyone else as we all have different chops, horns, ligs, etc. Its best to try as many as you can even it they are the same model and cut. Its good to have someone with a good ear for tone and pitch listen while you test as they don't have that reed vibrating in thier head and may hear it differently.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Kirk
Date: 2001-11-22 00:09
Welcome back !! From one 30 yr returnee to another, you will be surprised how quickly it all comes back to you.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Hiroshi
Date: 2001-11-22 02:09
I tried(actually I bought and tried them long hours):Vandoren 2RV,5RV,B40. B44, B45,M13,thieir profile 88 types, Selmer C85-115, C85-118, Pomarico-Grenadilla#1, Pomarico Crystal, Vandoren Crystal, Charles Bay(MOM?), Marcellus model, Morgan, Nagamatsue,Kasper-cicero,Kasper-Andouver, Greg Smith Chedeville #1, Greg Smith Kasper style,and several others. Each time I checked table flatness by Arkunsas oil stone. Kasper-cicero,Pomarico-grenadilla, Greg-Smith Chedeville, and Greg-Smith Kasper were usable. Greg=smith ones are the most cost-effective.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Mark Pinner
Date: 2001-11-22 11:55
Everybody has talked about brands when you asked about criteria. The first criteria is the material. Plastic, hard rubber, crystal and poly crystal are the main ones. Plastic is the cheapest and harshest sounding although the C85 selmers seem to made out of plastic. Hard rubber may feel the best and will certainly take the edge off the sound. Crystal and poly crystal will be the easiest to blow and possibly be very flexible vertically. The next consideration is the opening size. General rule of thumb is the more open the tip the softer the reed the smaller the harder. In conjunction with the tip opening is the facing length or sweep of the curve. Longer faced narrow mouthpieces kend themselves to thick blanked reeds such as V12 Vandorens or Vintage XL shorter length mouthpieces are better with thinner blanks such as Vandoren classic etc.. The chamber and back bore size of the mouthpiece should also match, within tolerance, the bore of the clarinet. Some mouthpieces just sound like crap on some clarinets anyway. Special care with Selmer Paris horns as somebody mentioned above as they can play way under pitch with anything other than Selmer mouthpieces and Selmer mouthpieces can play way over pitch on a lot of horns Buffet for example. There are also issues with ligatures and their suitability. There will be quite a few opinions on what I have said here but these are learned from many years as a professional player and by trial and error as well as referring to mouthpiece manufacturers instructions and likewise from reedmakers. The Vandoren B45 is a cop out! You can do better.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Bob
Date: 2001-11-24 15:53
All I can do is relate my personal experience after coming back after 30 plus years. I used the mouthpiece that came with the horn and wasn't happy. I was also using #2 reeds of a popular inexpensive brand. I then purchased a Vandoren B45 mouthpiece and noticed an immediate improvement which I attributed to the mouthpiece.
Then I got a slightly longer barrel and thought that helped. (Realize now that I was practicing regularly and so my embochure was coming back...haha). Then I purchased a Vandoren "lyre" model and noticed an immediate improvement. Then I switched to Vandoren "regular" reeds and they were stiffer...same # as the cheaper reeds. Then I switched to Vandoren #12 reeds (I think that's the designation!) and the first one out of the box played so much better than any reed I've used to date. Is my better sound today due to the changes in equipment I made? I honestly don't know but I believe that at least some are at least part of the cause. Surely I'm helping the economy.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: David Spiegelthal
Date: 2001-11-26 21:20
Mark P.,
If I'm not mistaken, "polycrystal" is a plastic (or Pyne's name for it), probably clear acrylic. So you shouldn't consider it to be a separate material. Real crystal is leaded glass --- a much different animal.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
