 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: inspiring musician
Date: 2005-12-24 16:07
I'm an advanced sophomore in high school, and in early January I'm going to be purchasing a new clarinet mouthpiece. Recently, I noticed that my pitch on my clarinet has been very flat, which was weird because most clarinets tend to be sharp, but not in my case. I'm very flat , especially in the altissimo register. I currently have a Vandoren M15 (Profile 88, 13 series) clarinet mouthpiece that is at a pitch of A=440, which meets the needs of american clarinetists with a R-13 bore. Next school year I soon will get a top quality mouthpiece made from "zinner" blanks, but for now I'm going to buy a Vandoren B40 mouthpiece. I was wondering if you would reccomend me getting a mouthpiece that is pitch at A=442 to raise my pitch so that I won't be as flat.
Thank You.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2005-12-24 16:14
Vandoren 5RV Lyres tend to play on the sharp side.
I've gone from one of those to an M15 (13 series) recently and I must admit they do need a lot of work to keep them up to pitch - I was going sharp with the 5RV Lyre, but the M15 is very stable (I'm using Rue Lepic 3.5 reeds with it as these seem to have the best tone quality and resistance).
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2005-12-24 16:18)
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Author: John O'Janpa
Date: 2005-12-24 21:04
It wouldn't hurt to buy the 442. If you end up sharp you can always pull the barrel a little.
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Author: wwinds
Date: 2005-12-24 22:15
I would suggest you get a second barrel. Get one a little shorter than the first and use it to bring up the pitch.
Repairing brass and woodwind instruments
www.whisperingwindsrepair.netfirms.com
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2005-12-25 14:28
Portnoy mouthpieces are made in 440 and 442 versions. The custom makers can undoubtedly make mouthpieces at 442.
A barrel a couple of millimeters shorter needs a different taper. Guy Chadash will certainly make a barrel with the appropriate design and adjust an existing Chadash design. If you have LOTS of money, Morrie Backun makes custom mouthpieces and barrels.
The slope of the reed vamp also affects pitch. The various reed-adjustment books show you where to scrape.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2005-12-26 14:17
I recommend the barrel fix mentioned by Ken and wwinds. And, when you get your mouthpiece, work with one of our great mouthpiece makers here on the bboard (Ben Redwine, Greg Smith, Walter Grabner...) just to mention a few. Mention your set-up and particular problems and they'll help you with it. Don't try to figure it all out yourself.
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Author: ElBlufer
Date: 2005-12-28 07:54
The A=442 B45 I was using on my R-13 was sharp; however, that problem was easily fixed by pulling out on the barrel. Therefore, if the moutpiece overcorrects the origional problem, you will be able to easily correct the new one. I hope that this helps.
My Setup:
R13 Clarinet (Ridenour Lyrique as my backup/marching instrument)
Walter Grabner K11 mouthpiece
Rico Reserve 3.5's
Bonade ligature
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