Author: msloss
Date: 2004-03-08 18:42
The Glotin-Chede 'pieces are actually from Chadash-Hill blanks.
Chris Hill can be reached at themouthpieceguy@msn.com. Very nice guy and will spend time with you to identify what you need and will do the back-and-forth for you to try stuff out. A couple weeks ago I tried the "full Monty" at Guy's shop - Hill-Chadash mpiece, Chadash barrel, Chadash clarinet, and I must say it was pretty darned good.
I'm currently playing Greg's Ched 1+ and 1++ with terrific results. The switch to try the C/H was awkward on the spot because it takes a very different reed. Worked best with Vandie Black Masters, not the FOFs and V12s I normally play. Even futzing with different reeds, I will say that the rubber in the C/H sounds terrific. It has that special ring that makes the old Chedes so special.
I've preached this before and I'll repeat here -- buy from the guys like Greg who are making mpieces today. The mouthpiece is replicable, and the craftsman can customize it to your needs. It is such a complete crap-shoot trying to get a "classic" Ched or Kaspar, particularly one that hasn't been wrecked by one too many custom refacings if it was even any good in the first place. Let's say you find that perfect one -- what happens if it gets lost, stolen, broken, melted, or just worn out? I keep two identical (or as close as possible) mouthpieces in my case just in case and one back home for disaster recovery. After you've seen somebody knock the beak off a prized mouthpiece hitting the edge of the music stand during a rehearsal or gig, you'll understand.
Yeah, $200 or $300 is a lot of money, but it just isn't that big a deal compared to the total cost of the instrument, particularly when you factor in how much of your sound and technique is affected. Ask your flute buddies some time what they pay for custom head joints and then stop crying about a couple hundred buckeroos for a mouthpiece. We've got it made in the shade.
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