 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Andy
Date: 2002-02-02 03:54
I have been read through some earlier posts and someone said that the Vandoren M-13s needed to be touched up sometimes as they are not made very consistently. What do they mean?
When I first got by Vandoren M-13 i was very pleased with what i had compared to my old Bundy mouthpiece. But after using it for a few weeks it seems like the tip opening is too small. And I can't blow fully. The air flow seems constricted during higher notes. I was thinking of getting a new mouthpiece all together, a JD Hite Model D or Model J. I either want to fix the mouthpiece I have right now or buy a new JD Hite. I can get the JD Hite mouthpieces for only $59.95 at my local music store. I have a Buffet E11 Clarinet and use Vandoren 3.5 V12 reeds.
What should I do?
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Author: Ed
Date: 2002-02-03 14:19
First, you should never work on your own mouthpiece. Leave that up to the people who know what they are doing. The M13 is a good mouthpiece, try different reeds. Also take more mouthpiece (or maybe just more reed) into your mouth. Do not pinch the top notes. Try to get in the habit of using little pressure from your embouchure and letting the reed do the work. The other mouthpieces you mention are good, but if everytime you find a problem the answer is to get another mouthpiece, soon you have a drawer full and your playing is no better. Good luck.
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Author: Bob
Date: 2002-02-03 17:47
Ed....I got a chuckle out of your "drawer full of mouthpieces"....that goes for ligatures too...which at present I have a fairly good collection.
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Author: Andy
Date: 2002-02-03 19:54
what other reeds do you recommend I try. I was thinking about Mitchel Lurie 4's or maybe the premiums. What are the differences between the premiums and the normals? also I could go to the store and try one of those mouthpieces for free anyway. So I may go over next weekend and try some out.
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Author: Andy
Date: 2002-02-03 19:54
what other reeds do you recommend I try. I was thinking about Mitchel Lurie 4's or maybe the premiums. What are the differences between the premiums and the normals? also I could go to the store and try one of those mouthpieces for free anyway. So I may go over next weekend and try some out.
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Author: Clairgirl
Date: 2002-02-03 22:27
Wow! this sounds so familiar....I started out using an M13 in highschool, then went to a David Hite D. I think moving to the Hite helped me tremendously as comparted to using the M13. If you were to switch, I would reccomend looking into an M13 lyre if you liked the M13 but thought it was too closed. I would definately look into the Hite as well, but try a few of them because I found that they seem to vary alot.
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2002-02-04 14:20
I would recommend buying Vandoren V12 reeds at a lower strength--say 2 1/2 or 3 and see how that helps. The V12 2 1/2s are equilivent to a standard 3 strength on other brands. Then, if you are still unsatisfied with your mouthpiece set up and want a "freer blowing" mouthpiece, I would look for one with a more open facing than the M13. The M13Lyre is a bit more open, but might not be different enough for your liking.
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Author: John Scorgie
Date: 2002-02-04 18:01
Andy --
In light of some of the above postings, this may cause more confusion, but here goes:
In my experience, the #1 problem players have with close tip mpces such as the Vandoren M13 is that they try to play them with reeds which are too soft for the lay. The M13 and similar close lay mpces will play at p, mp and maybe mf levels with medium strength reeds but will close up as soon as you try to get any real volume.
If you like Mitchell Lurie reeds (as I do), a #4 Lurie may be too soft for your M13. Try a 4 1/2 or 5 Lurie. Don't let the number scare you. Just blow a nice even stream of air and see what happens. No biting allowed. BTW, difference between the regular and premium Luries is that regular are normal cut while premium are French file cut. Put the two side by side and you will see what I mean. I prefer the file cut. They don't cost much more.
Don't let me discourage you from using a Hite mpce. Most of the time, I play either Hite or Vandoren mpces on both clarinet and alto sax, and play a Hite once in a while on tenor. You might want to buy a Hite Premiere mpce for $30 or so and use that as your reference when trying out other mpces. The Premiere is essentially the same as the Hite model J but is plastic rather than hard rubber.
It is the best all around clarinet mpce I have ever played -- not too close, not too open, not too short, not too long, not too bright, not too dark, not too resistant, not too free blowing.
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Author: Andy
Date: 2002-02-04 22:13
I went to go buy some Mitchel Lurie 4.5 today!!!!! and it turns out to solve all my problems. Thank you so much
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Author: Andy
Date: 2002-02-04 23:12
After playing them I found that my tone was not as nice as before. I want my tone back = (
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Author: Chris Hill
Date: 2002-02-05 03:18
Try a V12 #4. The facing on the M13 is very close, so a #4 or possibly even a #4 1/2 will feel pretty comfortable. I would agree that he biggest problem most people have with playing these mouthpieces is that they don't use a strong enough reed.
Chris
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