 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Toby
Date: 2002-01-09 17:10
I am a new adult amateur clarinetist still working for a good tone. A few months ago, on a whim, I bought a Ridenour mouthpiece made of clear plastic with the numeral 3 printed just above the cork. (All printing on the mouthpiece is gilt.) There doesn't seem to be any other identifying mark on it.
Can anyone tell me more about the types and differences in playing characteristics of Ridenour mouthpieces, and also someplace where I can try and buy them?
I have switched the Ridenour off with VanDoren B45 and M15 mouthpieces on an R13, as well as the original Buffet MPC, giving each a fairly long trial, and the Ridenour seems very much better for me. I get (what I consider to be) an amazing improvement in tone with no intentional change in my technique...like singing, going much farther up and down in the register.
The Ridenour is a little tougher to blow than the others. The solution for me was to play a weaker reed. A good V-12 strength 3 reed sounds fine on the Ridenour, but a strength 3.5 makes my eyes cross. A sample Elite 3.5 reed that I got recently sounds even better!
(PS, I do have some idea who Tom Ridenour is.)
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Author: William
Date: 2002-01-09 18:04
Tom Ridenour is a double-lip player and this is important to remember when choosing his mpc products. They tend to have a closer facing and may be a bit "harder" to blow with the conventional "teeth on top" emouchure. They are great mpcs, but being a "conventional" player, I just prefer the more open facings, like on my Kaspar #14. I would recommend that you give Gregory Smiths "Cicero Kaspar" model a try. Good Clarineting!!!!!!!!!
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Author: Hiroshi
Date: 2002-01-10 02:19
There is no comparison between Ridenour/Greg Smith/Kasper/.. and the off-the-shelf Vandren. Buffet ones are almost miserable.
By the way, if you try Greg Smiths, first choice may be his Chedevile styles not the Chicago Kasper.
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Author: donald nicholls
Date: 2002-01-11 02:02
re Ridenour mouthpieces- while i have never owned a Ridenour mouthpiece i have a great respect for Mr R.... i have always liked his facings- they seem to work best for embouchures that apply less pressure to the reed. Sometimes these type of facings seem to be more resistant because the reed closes off too easily if you are used to a more open facing, or usually play with more lip pressure.
as i understand it (and this IS after all not an opinion based on long term use of Mr Ridenours mouthpieces) these more "shallow" facings work well when the chin and lower lip are pulled away, down, from the reed (there are many well written descriptions of this, mine is quite clumsy). The embouchure is then a structure into which you place the mouthpiece, and pressure on the reed is actually created by the leverage as you pull the clarinet towards the body. I believe Stan Hasty, and his former students such as Dave Etheridge and Russel Dagon, teach this (they certainly describe it better than i do).
In my experience the Ridenour mouthpieces, and facings similar to his (for example those favoured by Brad Behn and Lee Livengood) will work really well with this style of embouchure and a reed that works with this.
It suprises me that you find this Ridenour mouthpiece "harder" than a B45 mouthpiece (a number 3? i would expect it to be no more open than a Van 5RV lyre or a Gigliotti 3, but i really have no idea) but i suspect that it is a good mouthpiece and would take the time to get used to it. I know a very fine professional player who used a Vandoren #3 reed and produces a fine sound, so don't worry about your reeds being "too soft" or anything like that (my friend sounds deep and resonant, clear with a good "ring" to the sound and lots of body- just a bit of everything really, i'm a bit jealous)....
nzdonald
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Author: Raff P
Date: 2010-11-27 20:15
Sorry to dig up an old post, but I need the forums' opinion on this topic.
Earlier this year, I received a ridenour RA model mouthpiece with my ridenour lyrique 576BC, and I liked it very much. Though, after my college professor let me try a Hawkins mouthpiece, my tone opened up greatly.
From the Ridenour I got a nice covered tone, (which is strange considering how sparkling Tom's tone is). It had the "hold" in it that he values so much. When I first tried the Hawkins I was taken by surprise with how easily it played. The tone I got was no longer covered, and there was an obvious increase in projection of the sound. Also, there were more overtones in the sound (which I suppose is characteristic of a more open sound). The piece was brighter, perhaps, but it's what I need for my recital (filling up the concert hall).
When I go back to ridenour there is a clear loss of projection, but I do like the covered tone.
My question: What to do with the ridenour mouthpiece? My teacher said I didn't need it for anything now. Could I get it refaced to remove the "hold"? Should I send it in to Mr. Hawkins and get it refaced?
Any opinions are welcome.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2010-11-28 01:40
You can send it to Mr Hawkins, but there's not guarantee he will be able to fix what needs to be fixed. I don't know enough about mouthpieces to know what aspects would need to be tweaked. Also keep in mind that it's MUCH easier for RH to get the sound he wants from HIS blank instead of trying to work with someone else's blank.
My suggestion is to find someone you know who could use a new mouthpiece and give/sell it to them cheap, or list it on this board's classifieds site at whatever price you are willing to let it go. Take that cash, save up a little more, and get another Richard Hawkins mouthpiece.
Alexi
PS - FWIW, I used Richard Hawkins mouthpieces for a few year and loved them. I've since changed my embouchure and setup a bit and find that other mouthpieces work better, but he makes great stuff.
PPS - He uses legere reeds. As such, his mouthpieces should be very compatible with legere reeds. If you haven't tried them out yet, give it a shot on his mouthpiece. You may be pleasantly surprised.
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