 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Meg Cummings
Date: 1999-11-12 10:18
I have a match set of Buffet Crampon R13's and have recently decided to invest in a new, better quality, mouthpiece. I need some advice on what would be the best use of my money, bearing in mind the instrument I play, it's tone etc etc. Or would I be best off sticking with the one provided with the original instrument?
Any advice appreciated.
Thanks
Meg
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Author: Katherine Pincock
Date: 1999-11-12 12:42
To answer your last question first, yes, you should get another mouthpiece other than the ones that came with the horn. The Buffet mouthpieces don't tend to be very good. I keep mine just in case something should happen to my other mouthpiece, but I don't play on them. Deciding what mouthpiece to get for yourself is more difficult, though. People's taste in mouthpieces varies widely. I've only had experience playing on Vandoren mouthpieces, which I like a lot, so I can't comment on the others, but the best thing to do is go to a store that will let you try lots of mouthpieces and decide which one you like best. Depending on what reed you use, what ligature you have, what your face is shaped like, etc., mouthpieces will work differently for you than for anyone else. Personally, I play on a Vandoren B40 13 mouthpiece: it's very open, which means I can play on a soft reed the way I like and get lots of dynamic contrast. But it won't work for a lot of people. So go out and try as many as you can, and the one that feels right is the one for you. Hope this helps!
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 1999-11-12 15:39
Meg -
Katherine is much too kind to Buffet about their stock mouthpieces. They are truly dreadful.
You have a pair of new Buffets, presumably bought for over $2000. You need a mouthpiece and barrel combination of equal quality to get the best out of them.
What comes out of the instrument is influenced from the top down: the reed, then the mouthpiece and ligature, then the barrel, and then the rest of the instrument. Believe me, you will sound better putting a top mouthpiece and barrel on a Bundy than you will using the Buffet stock mouthpiece and barrel on your R13s.
Even a $20 Yamaha plastic mouthpiece you can get in any music store will be a big improvement over the Buffet stock mouthpiece. As Katherine says, the machine-made hard rubber Vandoren mouthpieces, which can be gotten for around $80, will be a substantial improvement over that. However, to get the best out of your R13s, you really need a hand-made mouthpiece and a barrel matched to it.
In fact, you will need at least one mouthpiece and two barrels (since the length and interior profile must be slightly different for the Bb and A clarinets. Handmade mouthpieces from Sneezy sponsors Clarke Fobes, Jim Pyne and Greg Smith cost between $160 and $200, and barrels custom matched to these mouthpieces cost between $99 and $139 each. While it may seem a lot to pay -- up to $450 -- you will get something that will be an amazing improvement over what you are playing now. Compared to the price of the instruments themselves, it's not that high.
You will have these mouthpieces and barrels maybe for the rest of your life. You will get wonderful pleasure from them every day, and the pain of paying for them happens only once, and after that you never miss the money. I still get a thrill when I take my R13 out of the case and put on my handmade mouthpiece and barrel, knowing I have the best, and knowing how good it feels to play.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: paul
Date: 1999-11-12 18:45
True, if you have the cash and you want to get the very best, getting a custom hand made mouthpiece and barrel is the probably the best way to go. If money is an issue (like it always is with me), then things get to be more challenging. The problems are not insurmountable with limited cash, but they are more difficult.
Here is how I personally made my few dollars stretch as far as possible. I invested in some professional tutoring to get the personal advice of a superb clarinet expert (50+ years as a pro, 25 years with a major symphony, Daniel Bonade trained). In my opinion, this was money extremely well spent. I'll be firm and say "Do this first". After I picked up some solid foundation training and some tips and tricks from my pro tutor, I started to explore on my own. I perused this BBS for general information. I made my first mouthpiece goal reasonable and affordable by sticking with the mass produced and well recognized models of mouthpieces that had the best chances of working well for my needs as an adult novice. I personally have a Vandoren 5RVLyre and a Vandoren B45. (These particular choices of mine may or may not work for you.) I kept my stock pro-grade Buffet barrels (A440 and A442) and learned how to adjust them for tuning with an inexpensive needle gauge tuning meter. I used the Internet and mail order stores to cut the price of the accessories I wanted (like the tuning meter). I used the lowest mail order price print-outs to negotiate a lower price for goodies from my local retail music store. I always ask for the best discount everywhere I go shopping for music equipment, including reeds. Even my pro grade clarinet was a "clearance special" that was offered at a dramatically lower price than the initial retail quote. I am always very friendly with the local store's woodwind tech. He has saved me hundreds of dollars over the years with occasional free adjustments to my horn. He even fixed up minor defects in my Vandoren mouthpieces for free. I subscribe to free copies of popular mail order catalogs where I can compare all kinds of mouthpieces and ligs, and reeds, etc. with no obligation at all. If I'm not happy with that mail order store's offerings or delivery or customer service, I go to someone else's mail order store. I peruse through all of the music instrument stores in town every now and then, just for fun. I've even tried to write or call the actual manufacturers of the goodies I want.
Use the retail stores large offerings of all kinds of stuff for "try before buy" tests. Great for mouthpieces, horns, ligs, etc. Just don't expect the store to let you do this for reeds. If you are happy with shopping there, like I was for my horn, then go ahead and buy there. Use the Internet and mail order catalogs for comparative shopping or for things that are not unique (boxes of reeds, copies of drill books, sheet music, etc.). Again, if you are happy with the product and the experience, buy it. Finally, contact the manufacturer or the expert customizer for the deepest level of technical expertise or for the greatest level of personal customization of a product. You may pay what seems like a high price up front, but based on other folks' feedback on this BBS (like the posting above), you may be very happy with your decision in the long run.
If all of this general information is a bit too much to grasp right now, keep in mind a very simple trick. Set an immediate goal of what single and inexpensive item you want for the next month or so. Do your research and portion out the financial pain one small purchase at a time. Over the course of years, you will be surprised at how much you have accumulated. I ought to know. An entire corner of a bedroom in my house is filled with what my wife calls "clarinet stuff".
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 1999-11-12 21:24
paul wrote:
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Use the retail stores large offerings of all kinds of stuff for "try before buy" tests. Great for mouthpieces, horns, ligs, etc. Just don't expect the store to let you do this for reeds. If you are happy with shopping there, like I was for my horn, then go ahead and buy there
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The converse hold true. If you don't like to shop there (for whatever reason), then please don't use your local store as a "try before buy" testing place and then buy for price somewhere else.
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Author: paul
Date: 1999-11-12 21:45
I was trying to give retailers a fair chance at business and to tell folks that many retailers are pretty good folks. True, make no mistake about it, they are there to make money. So, if you really hate the place, just don't go there. And yes, it's really bad form to slobber all over the store's entire stock of mouthpieces and not have any intention of actually buying there. That would grate on my nerves, especially if I was the next customer in line.
I have personally found that most (not all, but most) retail stores in my local area are pretty good about genuinely helping the customer, especially if the customer has a good idea of what (s)he wants and/or if the customer looks like they know what they are doing. Your job as a buyer is to sidestep the slick salesperson and zero in on what YOU want, not what THEY want.
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Author: HIROSHI
Date: 1999-11-13 03:07
This is another choice. Used ones.
<A HREF=http://www.mouthpieceheaven.com/>Mouthpiece Heaven</A>
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Author: HIROSHI
Date: 1999-11-13 03:07
This is another choice. Used ones.
<A HREF=http://www.mouthpieceheaven.com/>Mouthpiece Heaven</A>
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Author: sylvan selig
Date: 1999-12-22 05:58
If you are playing classical, a Robert Borbeck (las vegas, NV) is an excellent choice. If jazz, a Leblanc Pete Fountain would be totally cool. Also, consider Clark Fobes mouthpieces, San Francisco, CA. For just all-round playing, try a Vandoren B45.
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