 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Celeborn
Date: 2006-01-16 02:42
I've got this glass Pomarico, Jazz**, and its upper clarion and altissimo are just incredible. The only problem is, the entire chalumeau register and low clarion tend to be almost intolerably stuffy. This is using reeds in the generally accepted stiffness range for such an open piece, which I take to be around an average 2, depending of course on the brand. I'm under the impression that this isn't very unusual at all for gass pieces in general and Pomaricos specifically, and thus I wondered if this mouthpiece, which has such a unique sound up high, can be reformed via refacing to deal with that stuffiness down low. There are some of you on this board, Dave Spiegelthal, for one, if I'm not mistaken, who do this type of work. What are the prospects for this problem? Incidentally, it is a very long lay, open tip deal.
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Author: Chris Hill
Date: 2006-01-16 04:29
There are several possibilities as to what might be causing this problem. My first thought is that there might be a flat spot or some unevenness on the facing. This would be an easy fix. There might be an obstruction on the baffle, most likely where the baffle meets the bore. On a glass mouthpiece, this is somewhat more difficult to fix, but it is doable. I'd start with the facing, and if that doesn't work, then start on the baffle.
Chris
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2006-01-16 05:01
The problem with most Pomaricos is that the facing curve is incorrect --- too shallow towards the table end, with too much curvature (to compensate) near the tip. Mouthpieces with this sort of curve do indeed play pretty well in the upper register but are stuffy and brittle-sounding in the chalumeau, with no solid fundamental sound.
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Author: John O'Janpa
Date: 2006-01-16 16:16
I'm not any kind of expert. I'm strictly pulling this out of the air, but if it were me, I would try a reeds with differnt blank thicknesses to see if one of them might work better on this particular lay. My guess is that thin blanks may work better for you. (Easier to bend farther from the tip?)
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Author: GBK
Date: 2006-01-16 16:36
Dave S is correct in that the Pomarico mouthpieces frequently have a long facing and a curve which breaks quite severely towards the tip.
At the break point, and continuing towards the tip, the reeds you use should be quite lively. Try different brands (thin blank may be your best best) or adjust your reeds so that you get maximum performance from that area which is vibrating the most rapidly...GBK
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Author: Celeborn
Date: 2006-01-16 18:25
Thanks for your responses! I've tried various Gonzales, Mozart, Vandoren, different types of Rico (Orange box 2's actually weren't too bad) and Fibracell ranging from 2 to 3.75. The idea of heavily modifying reeds doesn't thrill me, in fact, I rather liked the idea of the fibracell, but it probably had to be done sooner or later. Do you think an actual refacing job is overkill? I'll try some thinner blank reeds, too.
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