 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Arun
Date: 1999-11-10 21:52
My Band Instructor wanted me to switch since, when he was in high school and college, all the good players played on Crystal mouthpieces. What is your personal and professional opinion of them and try to answer the question and not cut my teacher's honor to shreds. hehehe
P.S. Also he does play the Clarinet-o-mator
Appreciatively,
Arun
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Author: STuart
Date: 1999-11-11 00:26
I played a Pomarico saphire that sounded very elegent and pretty. Michael Moore swears by them, he sounds great. Chris Speed also plays one, an Obrien, and he sounds fantastic. Why does your band director want you to switch, though? Will he pay for the crystal? What do you play now?
My personal experience with a crystal was not one that had me switch right away, but had I the cash, I'd get one. Good luck. The sooner you try out a bunch of stuff and form your own ideas the better.
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Author: Evan Weigel
Date: 1999-11-11 01:11
Crystal is nice, I like the way my Pete fountain and Selmer crystal mp's play, not as much as my custom bay, but nice. It has been presented that material has nothing to do with sound, only cut and dimensions. Good Luck. As long as you know that most good players do not play crystal mp's even though some do, they will not make you better.
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Author: angella
Date: 1999-11-11 01:45
what good players??? most play hard rubber mouthpieces. some people sound good on crystal and like it, not all. i recently tried out a mitchell lurie premium- it was nice, but not for me. it didn't offer enough flexibility. that's a silly reason to switch. you need to try many and find the one that's right for you.
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Author: Hiroshi
Date: 1999-11-11 06:28
Pros:1)Crystal is less suceptible to ambient temperature.
2)If other players already use crystal,tone color may
become somewhat same.
If other players use ones, why not ask a person to let you try and how your section sound like?
Cons:Reasons that many player disliked crystal are,
1)It breaks more easily than hard rubber.
2)Saliva sticks easily to the inside wall.
3)I doubt metal ligature is suitable for one. It will
make scratches on the surface.
Aside from how a crystal mouthpiece sounds.
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Author: William
Date: 1999-11-11 14:39
I have always thought that the only advantage crytal mps had over hard rubber was that they would not "change " with use over time. Downside is that they are brittle and are damaged easily--not good for the marching band seniario. Lots of good players use both crytal and hard rubber and produce equally great sounds, so I think that owning and playing on a crytal mp will make you a good player is an unwise assumption. Daniel Bonade said that if a players sound is not good, look first to correct the players embrouchure and reed set-up, then check out the mouthpiece. Out-of-town-visitor--"How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" Musician--"Practice man, Practice!"
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 1999-11-11 19:28
angella wrote:
-------------------------------
what good players??? most play hard rubber mouthpieces.
Angella -
Here are a few, past and present:
- Jon Manasse
- Gino Cioffi (principal in Boston in the 50s and 60s)
- Rosario Mazzeo (bass clarinet in Boston in the 50s, 60s and 70s)
- Sherman Friedland (who has several postings in his area on crystal.
- Alexander Williams (principal for several years in the NBC Symphony under Toscanini)
- Pete Fountain
- Robert Marcellus, for about a year, including the recording sessions for Capriccio Italien, Capriccio Espagnol, Polovtsian Dances and Prelude from Kovanshchina
In high school, I played for a while on my teacher's crystal Selmer HS*, and I have a crystal made by Kalmen Opperman that I play occasionally now. In general, crystals feel like the facing is *much* more open than the same lay on hard rubber. The sound tends to be very smooth and not aggressive. In comparison with hard rubber, on crystal it's hard to very the tone quality -- bright for Ravel, dark for Brahms. The sound is very good, but it plays only that one way.
Crystal is quite a bit heavier than hard rubber, and the instrument feels top-heavy to me. Also, it cools down quickly when you're not playing, and I don't like the coldness when I pick it up. And of course it's extremely fragile, and mouthpiece technicians don't like to work on it because the material is too hard as well as too fragile. When I've tried crystals in music stores, they have had much more variability than hard rubber.
On the other hand, because crystal is so hard, the facing never wears out.
Alexander Williams told me that you have to be in top shape to play on crystal, because it's so heavy. After he retired, he switched to hard rubber, because it played easier.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Connie
Date: 1999-11-12 00:28
I played a Selmer HS** crystal in high school and college. (We won't go into how long ago that was.) When I was recently looking for a new one, I found that this is no longer made, so I tried the HS** hard rubber--not even close. I bought a Vandoren A3, but I probably should have held out for the A2. I like the sound of the A3, but I usually wind up with my B45. My biggest gripe about the crystal is that it really slows down my tonguing, which is not very fast to begin with, so that I struggle with rapid tongued passages. But for smooth mellow bits--it's great.
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Author: Cathy
Date: 1999-11-15 02:10
I personally play on a Pomarico sapphire bright mouthpiece and really enjoy it. Maybe its just me but I've found my mouthpiece to be no less flexible than my rubber one, and with a wonderful tone quality. However you should try many things and choose whats right for you. Should you happen to choose a crystal mouthpiece I would keep a rubber one around just in case.
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Author: sylvan selig
Date: 1999-12-22 06:15
I like to play all kinds of mouthpieces and my only advice is that if you like the way it plays, play it. Notice I said if "you" like the way it plays. That's all that really matters. Don't buy an expensive mpiece just because someone told you it was good, or you "heard" the piece could do whatever. Play it and decide for yourself. And don't be afraid to say you don't like a particular piece. Of the four factors that affect clarinet sound/tone (1.the horn, 2.the mouthpiece, 3.the reed, and, 4.the player), its the player that affects the tone the most. Since we can't "choose" our parents, the best you can do is to find a piece that best suits your particular anatomy and playing characteristics. Happy hunting.
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