 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2005-10-04 14:14
Hi,
I need a little advice from the MP refacers or other knowledgable players that frequent this BB.
On eBay recently, I acquired a Stowell Wells Schneider B2 MP as a backup for my main piece. The MP plays really great but there is a very tiny chip in the very tip. The chip does not go into the window at all but I can feel it and see it. My question is, since these are really hard MPs to find and the piece plays great, should I just let this go?
I am afraid that if I have a MP refacer clean this little spot up with some tip slope work, the MP playing characteristics will change and the great playing MP that I have now - chip and all - will change for the worse. Then, I would be right back where I started.
Returning the MP to the seller is not a favored option since the SWS B2 is really hard to find and it may be a long time before I have a chance to acquire another. While I know there are probably new MPs from many of the makers that frequent this BB that would be outstanding, I'm happy with everything about the SWS B2 or the Portnoy BP02 I also play.
HRL
Post Edited (2005-10-04 14:21)
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Author: hans
Date: 2005-10-04 14:23
Hank,
Thanks for posting this.
I have a backup tenor sax mouthpiece (Selmer C*, not at all rare) with the same problem and have been pondering what to do about it and whether it's even worth getting repaired.
Regards,
Hans
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Author: Kel
Date: 2005-10-04 14:24
I am neither a MP refacer or knowledgable player, but if it plays great why would you change it? "If it ain't broke, ...."
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Author: Merlin
Date: 2005-10-04 16:17
Is it a chip or a ding? Chips have to be filled, but dings can be popped out with judicious application of heat on a rubber m/p.
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Author: redwine
Date: 2005-10-04 20:50
Hello,
This sounds like an easy fix, depending upon how deep the "chip" is. It is amazing how a tiny chip or ding can really make a mouthpiece chirp. Does it affect the way the mouthpiece plays?
Ben Redwine, DMA
owner, RJ Music Group
Assistant Professor, The Catholic University of America
Selmer Paris artist
www.rjmusicgroup.com
www.redwinejazz.com
www.reedwizard.com
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2005-10-04 22:15
I've had a tip rail dinged on one of my ebonite mouthpieces, but I managed to burnish it flat again. Is that advisable?
You should have seen an old Florida Link a colleague of mine bought off eBay - the tip rail had been filed to a flatter curve, and as this had also opened the tip, this was brought back down to a 7* by having the tip (just below the bite plate) put in a vice and bent down - you could see the diamond pattern from the vice jaws and the different angle between the tip and the bite plate, yet the seller insisted it was completely original! But he did get a refund.
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2005-10-05 01:16
Hi,
The MP plays great with no chirps; the flaw is a chip and not a ding.
HRL
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2005-10-05 01:58
I say if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
I doubt that it's lost much of it's strength in it's structure. Considering you don't bite the tip and your teeth don't hit near enough it anyway to further damage it. Basically the tip just free floats in your mouth, does it not?
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: Grabnerwg
Date: 2005-10-05 21:26
Hank -
If it plays well with the chip, just leave it. If it is causing problems get the mouthpiece to a mouthpiece technician who repairs mouthpieces. Only he/she can tell if the chip can be filled or "worked out" without changing the playing qualities of the mouthpieces. Also, who knows, it is possible the mouthpiece can be improved!
Walter Grabner
www.clarinetxpress.com
mouthpiece refacing
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