 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: beejay
Date: 2000-06-10 22:01
I keep reading about handmade mouthpieces, but I have never tried one. This may sound like a dumb question, but are they finished individually for each player. And what would be the difference between my off-the-shelf B45 and, say, an off-the-shelf Charles Bay at approximately two and a half times the price? Can anyone offer advice about where to go in Europe to try out professional mouthpieces? I recall there used to be a mouthpiece-maker in Antwerp who had a web-site,but I can no longer find it. I spend most of my time between Paris and Brussels, by the way. Many thanks.
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Author: Al
Date: 2000-06-11 19:26
I really can't help you but I just wanted to say that Charles Bay claims that all his mouthpieces are very specially made. I really don't know what that means or how they can cost twice the price of a Vandoren moupiece.
If any knows anything on this subject, please let me know.
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Author: Hiroshi
Date: 2000-06-12 04:54
The handmade mouthpiece craftsmen will not show their proprietary techniques to us, so we can only guess.
My recommendations about handmade mouthpieces:
Buy a mouthpiece and a barrel together hopefully from the same source. I was surprised to find Greg Smith's mouthpiece tones but my surprize was doubled when I coupled with it a barrel from him.
My patch work knowledge/observation:
I tried four hand made mouthpieces.Kasper-cicero,Greg Smith Chadaville Style, Greg Smith Kasper Style, and Charles Bay.
This does not mean I know much about what 'hand made' means.
However I can patch what I learned until now.
1.Proprietary Blank material
All blank manufacturer's blank materials are their propietary information. And the material seems to affect the tone qualities. I read a post that Kasper's blank material may not be produced present because the chemical process produces polutant byproducts. You cannot make the same material only knowing what materials are used. You should know exact % obtained by many times experiments. They may even add a certain additive to obtain synergestic effects.(This is ordinary done by Chemical Engineers.)
2.Finishing after thermo-plastic process
The primary mouthpiece shape is formed via thermo plastic process. After,it needs finishing. I read somewheare a slip of paper written by Peter Ponzol(I guess) that by the lack of good finishing almost every off-the-shelf mouthpieces' tables are not flat. Hand made ones seem to be meticulously finished. Some finish the table with concave not flat intentionally. This is typical to Zinner blank and Bay's floating reed design.
3.Inside
Inside of mouthpieces may be the essence of a black magic. Baffle,bore,etc. This may become an example, Jerry Hall's mouthpiece uses laminar flow concept according to Rovner's URL. This may mean the inside shape is such that enhancing very smooth flow(by engineering word lower Reynolds number range). On the other hand, I see some mouthpieces' inside are roughly sanded to enhance surface turbulent flow.
Another conspicuous examlple: There are parallel walls bore or angled walls bore. I have never seen the latter type in the off-the-shelf ones.
Another example:the corners of throat. Some manufacturers make the rectangular throat's corners rounded off.
4.Side view
My 5RV side view: the surface is very continuous from the table bottom end to the tip. But my Kasper Syle side view has an obvious discontinuity at the boader of table and window. This may be a trick to enhance reed vibration,I guess.
5.Symmetrical or Assymmetrical
There are tip designs symmetrical and assymmetrical.I do not know their effects. There are very few assymetrical mouthpieces. Larry Comb mouthpiece seemed assymetrical when I look at one at a shop.(This may be my misunderstanding.)
Finally,preferable tonality may differ by the handmade mouthpiece craftmen country to country.
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Author: Graham Elliott
Date: 2000-06-12 07:51
I play currently on a mouthpiece by Edward Pillinger, a maker in London. The price depends on how much bespoke work you want him to do. Although these mouthpieces may be technically superior to the mass produced items, the key value is in having it made to suit your particular requirements, so you need to have a good idea what those might be.
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Author: pete
Date: 2000-06-12 12:51
I play on a handmade specilised mouthpiece by Anton Wienburg in Taplow, Reading(UK). Try his mouthpieces out they are excellent
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Author: beejay
Date: 2000-06-12 13:50
Graham and Pete,
I come quite often to London. I wonder if you would have telephone numbers of the makers you mention.
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Author: paul
Date: 2000-06-12 19:41
Many of the "custom" mouthpieces that are finished here in the US come from European made (I believe German Zinner style) blanks. My particular mouthpiece customizer told me that he couldn't justify the expense and the environmental hassle of making his own blanks here in the US. The bulk of the cost of my custom made mouthpiece was because this finisher bought very high quality blanks from his European source and passed the cost onto the customer. At least he was honest about it.
The custom made pro grade mouthpiece cost 4 times the best mail order price (about twice the retail price) of my Vandoren B45 mouthpiece. Ouch! In any currency, that's one expensive mouthpiece. Was the mouthpiece worth the expense? You should hear the results. Even my wife could instantly tell and like the difference, and she practically hates the clarinet. That's pretty high praise from a very hard to please customer (not me, her).
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Author: Graham Elliott
Date: 2000-06-13 07:52
Pillinger's number is (UK) 20 8954 4058.
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Author: Karlheinz
Date: 2000-06-13 12:59
You could check out the web-page of Hans Zinner:
www.hans-zinner.de
KJ
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