 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: tholland
Date: 2009-02-09 14:07
Attachment: bay mouthpiece.jpg (162k)
Hello Everyone! I'm hoping that someone can help me out here....
I have recently begun playing again, after almost a 20 year hiatus from music. Things are going very well, better than expected really, but I have a problem.....
My mouthpiece is a Charles Bay, labeled M-M H1 '99 (or199)/1664...
I love this mouthpiece, always have, and I believe that this is my third replacement of the same mouthpiece since 1985 or so.
My problem is this, I am interested in playing with different mouthpieces to achieve a different sound, and the Vandorens never worked for me very well, neither did any Selmer mouthpieces. I do not wish to replicate the bore of this mouthpiece, and cannot find any information on the mouthpiece, and the Bay link on these pages does not work, neither does typing in the web address, and none of the links found on Google either.
Does anyone have any information with regard to bore etc. on this particular mouthpiece, and/or any suggestions where to go next.
I am classically trained, and love playing classical music, but would like to try my hand at jazz....once again, although I never had very much luck in the past, but now I think my mindset is different than when in HS.
Thanks for any advice/assistance provided. Picture attached for reference, just in case. Also, I play on a ca. 1980(something) Selmer 10S Bb, and just acquired a 1950(something) Olds grenadilla beautiful jazzy sounding horn....but it plays a bit sharp, especially in the upper register.
Tammy Holland
Returning Lost Clarinetist
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Author: William
Date: 2009-02-09 15:05
I found this on an ad: "Based on the world famous Kaspar Cicero blank, the Bay Artist Model H1 Bb clarinet mouthpiece provides a wonderfully focused tone that also is capable of creating very diverse color changes. Handcrafted and tested, the Bay H1 mouthpieces are considered to be of superior artist quality. "
I have one of this models as well as an older Bay Ithica "custom" mpc (Chedeville blank) on which Charlie copied my Chicago Kaspar #14 facing and the two mpcies have similar tone qualities. I play on the Kaspar and carry the Bay as a backup. Hope this helps a bit.
BTW--Charles Bay started his career studing with Frank Kaspar and I believe his doctorate dissertation was based on the Kaspar mouthpiece. In any case, all of his mouthpieces have been "Kaspar" influenced but have a certain amount of "Charlie" in them.
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Author: Bluesparkle
Date: 2009-02-10 01:19
I also have a beloved Bay mouthpiece. It had a chip in the end of it, so as I was researching how to find a replacement, I came across this website:
http://www.charlesbaywoodwinds.com/aboutus.html
Should lead you where you need to go.
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Author: tholland
Date: 2009-02-10 01:44
SUPER...thank you very much for the information! William, any additional information you could provide on Kaspar or any like mouthpieces would be appreciated as well.
Thanks.
Tammy Holland
Returning Lost Clarinetist
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Author: tholland
Date: 2009-02-10 01:45
Bluesparkle...you ROCK!!! Thank you for the link, I have already sent an inquiry! Looks like they're revamping a bit so nothing is online as of right now. But they're close enough to me that I could feasibly take a trip and visit! Woo hoo!
Tammy Holland
Returning Lost Clarinetist
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2009-02-10 14:15
Sort of off-topic, but on the subject of Charles Bay --- those of us who play bass clarinet owe Dr. Bay a debt of gratitude because he was something of a pioneer in making ergonomic and acoustic improvements to the instrument that have pretty much become standard on modern instruments; such as more vertically-angled necks, better venting of the large toneholes on the lower joint, etc. If you've seen or played bass clarinets made or designed prior to the 1970s, you'd know what I was talking about. I took advantage of Dr. Bay's original bass clarinet neck re-angling service back when I was in college (late 1970s), and what a difference it made! I frankly acknowledge having plagiarized some of his tricks whenever I overhaul a bass clarinet --- his improvements have really helped make the instrument more comfortable and less problematic to play.
I used to play Bay bass clarinet mouthpieces years ago (generally a MO-M), but as I progressed my tastes changed and I found them a bit more open and "harder"-sounding than I preferred. Still, they're certainly worthy of consideration.
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2009-02-10 16:34
I hate to be a wet blanket but, if I were you, before I made the trip I would call ahead for an appointment. If you search this bulletin board, you will find a number of threads where various people complain about not getting responses to their efforts to contact Charles Bay. He has to be getting up in years and has always been a small operation (though the website suggests he may have some help). Despite occasional reported "sightings," he seems to be fairly elusive. BTW, I thought he was personally located somewhere back in the NE U.S., not the Los Angeles area, but that may have changed. Someone else on this Board probably knows definitively.
In any case, I took a look at the site and, noting the copyright date at the bottom of the home page was 2007, downloaded the catalog -- more like a slick brochure, actually and, aside from one mouthpiece, no pricing information.
Here is a (disturbing?) quote from the catalog, itself:
"Please check our web site after June 1st, 2007 [emphasis mine] when the site will be fully operational. Descriptive brochure and price lists, along with an attractively priced sampling program will be forthcoming."
Based on the comments I noted above, I fear the site may have been "under development" for a very long time. I wonder if the venture described there may not have proved to be too much for him. In any case, the best of luck with your quest. IMO, he is a mouthpiece master craftsman.
FWIW, M-M designates a medium opening (I would guess around 1.10+/- but that's just a guess) and a medium facing length (probably around 17mm). That should be a medium resistance mouthpiece. I have several of his MO-M (medium open - medium facing length, somewhat more resisitant) mouthpieces and I'm basing my guestimates on their characteristics.
I tend to agree with the posters on other threads who have argued that one can perform both jazz and classical on the same mouthpiece. The one qualification I would make is that, personally, I find it easier to do bends and slides with an open mouthpiece/soft reed combination than with a closer mouthpiece/harder reed but YMMV. Since you like your Bay mouthpiece, a starting point for your exploration might be one of his M-OM models (probably will take about a half-strength softer reed). He also makes (or, at least, used to make) an O-L (open tip, long facing) which was probably his "jazz" model.
If you're just getting back into playing after a long layoff, though, it might make sense for you to wait until you have your full chops back before you start auditioning different mouthpieces.
Best regards,
jnk
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Author: Bluesparkle
Date: 2009-02-11 19:52
When I went to the website that I found,(http://www.charlesbaywoodwinds.com/aboutus.html), I scrolled down to the bottom of the page and clicked "contact us." Got an e-mail directly back from Mr. Bay about my mouthpiece within a day or two. He even asked if he could send me a few to try out. Worth a shot.
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