 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: stuper1
Date: 2010-01-21 19:22
I'm an adult clarinet beginner. I've only been taking lessons for a few weeks. If cost is no issue, is there any harm in using a rubber mouthpiece right away, or should I stick with a student plastic mouthpiece for a while? Is one or the other type of mouthpiece better in terms of encouraging a better embouchure? I'm looking at some used rubber mouthpieces at www. musicremasters.com that are reasonably priced.
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2010-01-21 19:36
First off I would check and see what your teacher recommends for a mouthpiece. Nothing wrong with some of the better plastic mouthpieces for beginners, such as the Hite Premiere, the Fobes Debut, the Ridenour Encore and the Gennusa/Redwine Mezzo. Any of these are good for beginners, and cost well under $50 brand new.
There is no reason NOT to use a rubber mouthpiece. If you can afford one, they will *probably* offer better tone than some of the lower-priced student models. That is, of course, a generalization. You have to try them out to see what is best for you. Mouthpiece selection is a very individual and personal thing, far moreeso than choosing a good clarinet.
Goo0d luck and welcome to the world of the clarinet!
Jeff
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Author: leonardA
Date: 2010-01-21 20:11
Also, the Yamaha 4C does very well. It's plastic, but very playable.
Leonard
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2010-01-21 20:53
Having refaced dozens of Yamaha mouthpieces of various sizes and facings, I'm not sure I'd agree that they are made of 'plastic'. They 'work' like hard-rubber having a low (or zero) sulfur content, making a black powder, reminiscent of the older Boosey & Hawkes mouthpieces. The Yamahas are not made from the typical acrylic-type plastics. It's apparent that they are made from molded rather than machined blanks, but they still behave (in my opinion, as a refacer) more like hard rubber than like the typical plastics.
Perhaps our esteemed ClariChemist Dr. Omar can dive in with the Real Answer??
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Author: NBeaty
Date: 2010-01-21 21:02
If you're an adult and want a mouthpiece that you can use for many years, I would suggest a Vandoren 5RV lyre. In my beginning clarinet class this is what everyone purchased, and for the most part what everyone played through the end of high school.
If money is of serious concern (if 60-70 is out of the range) then the Fobes Debut would be excellent.
I've personally never heard a good sound come out of a yamaha mouthpiece. I would recommend saving up for another few weeks to have a better chance of success with the clarinet than to buy a mouthpiece that is going to give poor results even with extremely positive effort put in to learning the instrument.
Good Luck!
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Author: Ed
Date: 2010-01-22 00:13
There is no reason you couldn't play hard rubber, but the fact that it is rubber does not necessarily mean it is better. The Fobes Debut plays and sounds better than many mouthpieces costing many times more. You might go for an less expensive option like that and then as your playing develops, get something that fits you taste and style.
Post Edited (2010-01-22 00:14)
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Author: Rusty
Date: 2010-01-22 03:22
I`ve had two off putting costly encounters with hard rubber mouthpieces. They start to smell soon after buying and get worse with time. I don`t want anything giving off rotten egg`s smell right under my nose.
Forget the overpriced Vandoren and go for the Hite or Fobes.
You can`t go wrong at the the prices of these.
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Author: stuper1
Date: 2010-01-22 03:25
Thanks to everyone for all the replies so far. I just purchased a used Buffet B12 (one year old). Is the mouthpiece on that reasonably good, or would something like the Hite or Fobes be definitely better?
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2010-01-22 13:10
The average mouthpiece shipped with Buffet clarinets is great.... for use as a dororstop.
Take it to a lesson, though and see if it's worth keeping. If not, you haven't lost anything but a week's time in getting a better mp.
As to Rusty's comments, while I don't doubt how he relays his personal experience, he seems to be the only regular poster on the BB here who is that sensitive to hard rubber and its perceived smells. I have to wonder if he is hypersensitive to something in the rubber.
I play on two hard rubber mouthpieces, have owned several others in the past, and have been play on a hard rubber clarinet for the past year or so. I have been playing since 1968, and have never had any piece of hard rubber offer any odor at all, let alone the smell he describes.
Jeff
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2010-01-22 15:23
I had a Selmer hard rubber mouthpiece with an unpleasant sulphurous smell. I tried various recommended methods of removing the smell (soaking for a week in distilled water, washing in a dilute bleach solution) with no change. Finally I became exasperated with it and gave it a rub down with wire wool and detergent. Completely fixed the problem, and it play just the same as it always did.
NBeaty wrote
"I've personally never heard a good sound come out of a yamaha mouthpiece."
Diferent strokes for different folks. I've used a Yamaha 4C as a backup for some time, and it sounds just fine. Nice tone and completely controllable. The bore of the clarinet you play with it makes a difference. It doesn't work as well on an Amati, which is a fairly small bore, but work well with Selmer and B & H.
Tony F.
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Author: bstutsman
Date: 2010-01-23 05:18
All things being equal, the average hard rubber mouthpiece is going to be better than the average plastic.
Some one here recommended the Vandoren 5RV Lyre. This is an excellent mouthpiece for all 'round use. You can find them online for somewhere in the mid $80 area.
As an adult-beginner, you are capable of using good air in playing and your embouchure muscles are in a greater stage of development than a student-beginner. You need to get away from anything plastic or described as "beginner mouthpiece."
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