 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Iacuras
Date: 2006-01-05 17:46
My band, The Cherry Creek High School Wind Ensemble, has decided to play Grainger's Lincolnshire Posy for our next concert and the Regional Concert Band Festival. As most of you know there is a quite exposed Alto Clarinet Part in the 3rd, 5th, and 6th movements, and my director has asked me to play them since I am the only one in the band with experience on Alto Clarinet. However, the last time I played was middle school, and the mouthpiece was provided for me. Know I need to get a new mouthpiece and my budget is quite small (My parents are not willing to pitch in, given the fact that they just bought me a brand new Fobes Barrel (which is awsome)). Any ideas? I was thinking about just getting a Yamaha 4C or 5C.
Steve
"If a pretty poster and a cute saying are all it takes to motivate you, you probably have a very easy job. The kind robots will be doing soon."
"If you can't learn to do something well, learn to enjoy doing it poorly."
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Author: Bnewbs
Date: 2006-01-05 19:43
How much?
Hite makes a decent one that wwbw sells for $75. A lot of people use VD 5RV, I think they go for about $90. A selmer C* is very good, but a little more expensive, thats what I use currently.
Ben
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2006-01-05 19:44
The Yamaha is a good budget mouthpiece, better than other plastic ones I reckon.
I tried a Buffet basset horn with a Yamaha 4C using Vandoren Java alto sax reeds and it worked well. Don't bother looking specifically for alto clarinet reeds - alto sax ones will work fine, and they're more likely to be in stock.
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Author: BassetHorn
Date: 2006-01-05 20:52
The woodwind brand of mouthpiece isn’t half bad either, I think it’s part of Leblanc. It’s a low cost alternative. Check them out on Woodwinds and Brasswinds.
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2006-01-05 21:29
"Hite makes a decent one that wwbw sells for $75."
Unfortunately, not true. WWBW lists it but they haven't had any in stock since shortly after David Hite passed away almost two years ago. If you check carefully at their website you'll see that it is "on order." Now there's an understatement. Maybe, as far as they're concerned, a two year delay in shipping is no big deal.
NOS Hite alto clarinet mouthpieces do occasionally turn up on eBay. IMO, they're worth looking for. That's where I got mine. But you probably can't afford to wait for one to turn up there. In the meantime, also IMO, you could do worse than a Yamaha.
Best regards,
jnk
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Author: GBK
Date: 2006-01-05 21:58
Steve... Write me off-line.
I might be able to help you...GBK
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2006-01-05 22:56
I have tried a number of mps for my 2 alto cls, and have been very happy with my glass Pomarico 3 [which was quite expensive}. The point I wish to make is that the Pom is designated as "Mellow", and it produces a beautiful tonal quality, much diff. from the usual poor alto sound. The major structural diff. I can see from the lesser-good mps is, when viewing its interior from the tenon end, the walls [rails] appear vertical, not angled. I believe this is referred to by mp experts as the "H" configuration, not the "A" configuration, and further the entrance to the palate [the beak's interior] is very smooth. So for your selection, you might wish to add this inspection to playing tests, I hope it may help. [Thots, Dave S ??] Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2006-01-06 15:38
Do you know what brand of alto clarinet you'll be playing? My Selmer alto plays well with a Selmer HS* mouthpiece, which is in the Selmer "standard series" and moderately priced (under $100 from most dealers). I use this clarinet for classical music. It's been my experience that Selmer and Bundy clarinets play well with Selmer mouthpieces.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: swkeess
Date: 2006-01-06 16:53
I started playing a Bundy alto clarinet with a Yamaha mouthpiece but found that a Van Doren B44 really improved my sound. My next alto clarinet was a Buffet Prestige, and both the Van Doren B44 and 5RV worked very well and were reasonably priced. Right now I'm playing with a Walter Grabner alto clarinet mouthpiece, which has a terrific sound. Depending on how much money you have available, any of these models would improve your sound. Clark Fobes also makes a Nova alto mouthpiece that is reputed to be very good, as well.
Susan Keess
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2006-01-07 10:52
You might also ask the band director which moderately-priced mouthpieces have been most successful on that particular instrument. I know it's murder trying to find alto clarinet mouthpieces at all at a local store, but see if you can try out more than one on that clarinet.
Another suggestion, no matter which mouthpiece you end up using--I play an alto sax reed on my alto clarinet, because the sax reed gives me a tone that's clearer and more resonant: closer to that of a Bb soprano clarinet. As you must have found out already, the hard way, some alto clarinets sound muffled or compressed, especially just above the break. For that exposed part in the Grainger, a sax reed can help you project even if the clarinet is one of those stuffy-sounding ones.
I mentioned the Selmer HS*above, but come to think of it, if the alto you have to play turns out to be one of those naturally muffled-sounding instruments, the HS* wouldn't be a good mouthpiece for it. The C* that someone else mentioned would be a better choice for a stuffy alto because the C* is more free-blowing than the HS*.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2006-01-07 13:12
May I second L L's suggestion of alto sax reeds in preference to "alto cl reeds" partic. if your mp has been refaced [experts do it better!] . Also a somewhat wider tip, like her suggestion of the C* over the HS's, perhaps even a D facing, of "moderate" length of lay, I hesitate to say "more like a good sax mp" but that is realistic. Stuffiness can often be alleviated by increasing "pad rise" and tone hole cleaning. Explore ! Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Merlin
Date: 2006-01-07 14:36
FWIW, I really like the Vandoren B40 with a Vandoren #3 alto clarinet reed on it. I'm trying to find a Legere I like on this setup, but I may just put the Hite alto clar m/p I have into service with the synthetic reed.
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