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Heinz Viotto mouthpieces

Author: donald
Date: 2003-04-19 08:58

Olivia Clarinet Resources kindly sent me four of these Viotto mouthpieces to try out- i have 2 G1-2s and two of the G0 facings. Both facings are similar to mouthpieces i already use, and the mouthpieces appear to be on what looks like a Zinner E type blank.
After both play testing and measuring all the mouthpieces, i have come to the conclusion that the Viotto mouthpieces have variations from mouthpiece to mouthpiece, as all brands would appear to have, but there seems to be a consitent "playability factor". While FOUR is a very small sample, and all four mouthpieces seemed to require subtle variations in reed selection, they all responded remarkably well to the demands of performance.
They were "tested" during intensive (long, heated and stressful) rehearsals for the Kegelstatt Trio and Schumann Maerchenerzahlungen pieces. I was very impressed with the dynamic range i could achieve (my current set up has not been dealing well with the higher end of the dynamic range), and the ease of articulation at lower dynamic levels.
Initially i found the timbre to be a little "fuzzy", a very rich sound that was not quite as focussed and clear as i aim for. After a short period of time this impression was forgotten as i adjusted (the Larry Combs "you'll always sound like yourself" factor?). The "instant/reliable playability" factor seemed to me to be a big bonus.
I know that for some people a "custom mouthpiece" is not possible for geographic reasons, and that trying out mouthpieces "long distance" via mail is the only way for them. In that instance i could recomend trying the Viotto Mouthpieces. I've never heard them mentioned here, but surely you must have tried them out- what did you think?
donald
(and no, i'm not getting paid to write this!

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