 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Bassie
Date: 2006-01-26 14:37
As I understand it,
a mouthpiece with a long, closed facing and a 'hard' reed will play with similar resistance to one with a short, open facing and a 'soft' reed.
Which is the way to go? What does it do to the tone (etc.)? I know Vandoren have gone long/closed with the new 'M' series - why? Is there a difference in preference between America and Europe?
How wide a range of reed strengths do you recommend for a successful mouthpiece shopping expedition?
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2006-01-26 14:54
I disagree with the "short lay" part of your assertion. Open vs closed, yes but as Ben Redwine has stated here earlier, you are either a long facing player or a short facing player and one will NOT like a mouthpiece that is from the opposing camp.
Everyone on this board is good about letting players discover what is best FOR THEMSELVES by trying things out. I would kinda sorta say that a middle of the road approach to tip opening is the wisest move because either extreme has its acoustic pitfalls. Within that spectrum of open vs. closed, I prefer long lay mouthpieces (the point at which the mouthpiece and reed join is much further down away from the tip).
German players play on mouthpieces that have longer lays and smaller tip openings........period. This is a consequence of the acoustic tendencies of the German bore. However, one can "lean" in that direction of sound on a Boehm by going that direction with a French mouthpiece BUT it will never sound like Sabine Meyer.
...............Paul Aviles
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2006-01-26 15:45
I agree with Paul -- there's no good 'rule of thumb' governing what combination of tip opening and facing curve will work best for any given player -- we humans are all so different! And things change over time, too --- I used to be an "open tip, medium-short facing" player and have gradually become a "medium tip, long facing" player over the years (with reeds that started out pretty hard and got even harder along the way). But some very fine players have been barely able to get a sound out of my setup, nor could I tolerate their setups (on which they sound great). So, experiment and experiment some more!
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2006-01-26 22:05
It's about finding the "Sweet Spot" in your playing...
Stephen Fox told me that he finally settled on the rig that allowed the most comfortable playing over the longest practice period... and that helped him focus on his beautiful tone.
I would rather concentrate on finding a mouthpiece that gets the most out of my favorite reeds, than spend time scraping cane!
Medium length curve, medium tip opening, lightly angled sidewalls and a deeply concave baffle with a Legere QC 3.5 - plays nice even if I lay off awhile.
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Author: Bassie
Date: 2006-01-27 07:04
Well, I'm off to try an M30 later - I'll tell you how it goes.
I'm still interested in the historical perspective, though - have there been any trends over (say) the last century?
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Author: David Peacham
Date: 2006-01-27 10:48
"you are either a long facing player or a short facing player"
Is there any obvious correlation between this preference and something measurable, like anatomy?
Or is actually one of those statements like "you are either a Buffet player or a Leblanc player", which describes nothing more than personal prejudice?
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If there are so many people on this board unwilling or unable to have a civil and balanced discussion about important issues, then I shan't bother to post here any more.
To the great relief of many of you, no doubt.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2006-01-27 10:49
David Peacham wrote:
> Or is actually one of those statements like "you are either a
> Buffet player or a Leblanc player", which describes nothing
> more than personal prejudice?
Or nothing more than personal choice?
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Author: David Peacham
Date: 2006-01-27 10:58
Mark - I used the word "prejudice" advisedly, to describe an attitude where the choice is made for reasons that are irrational and inflexible.
I choose to play a Leblanc. I am not a "Leblanc player" - if I needed to replace my clarinet I would buy whatever worked best.
I choose to drive a Ford (you'll be pleased to hear).
I am prejudiced against Microsoft.
But to return to the question: are "long facing players" and "short facing players" born (like little Liberals and little Conservatives in Gilbert & Sullivan) or are they made?
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If there are so many people on this board unwilling or unable to have a civil and balanced discussion about important issues, then I shan't bother to post here any more.
To the great relief of many of you, no doubt.
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Author: graham
Date: 2006-01-27 11:05
Here's some history. 100 years ago UK players tended to play on tip openings of 1mm. Now they play more commonly on 1.2 - 1.25mm. The facing "curve" used to be quite flat. Now it is more curved.
I have yet to get hold of an unplayed box of typical 100 year old reeds to see how they were designed, but it is a fair bet that they are different to the modern ones. Reeds and mouthpiece design have probably evolved together.
Wide tip openings aid sheer volume. Orchestras have got louder with the onset of wide bore brass and metallic strings. Listeners expect to hear louder noises following the development of amplification for music. The trend is therefore likely to be towards wider tip openings.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2006-01-27 11:07
David Peacham wrote:
> Mark - I used the word "prejudice" advisedly, to describe an
> attitude where the choice is made for reasons that are
> irrational and inflexible.
I have found that it is seldom true, however, that people who play any brand to be irrational or inflexible in their choice; I do believe in the "baby duck syndrome", but that is far from the loaded word "prejudice".
I have three cars - none is a Ford.
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Author: jezzo
Date: 2006-01-27 14:51
I rearanged my mouthpeace, but i don't recomend it if you do not have the right tools. Mouthpeace must be ( left right ) simetrical as possible.
My hot clarinet blog
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2006-01-27 15:53
Is it too late to post on the "long face," "short face" thing again?
It is MANY factors which are all physical in nature and NOT based on purely subjective grounds. I believe the most important factors in players tending toward one over the other is the amount of mouthpiece you are comfortable taking into the mouth, and the angle at which you hold the instrument. There may also be factors such as the size of lower lip (amount of lower lip you place over the teeth as well), where you place the tongue, how you execute tonguing........etc.
and for what it's worth......at this moment.......LEBLANC is BETTER!!!!!!
............Paul Aviles
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Author: Bassie
Date: 2006-01-30 07:12
Well, the M30 was nice but rather dull. Think I'll stick to my B45dot and 5RV for the moment (I cannot decide between these).
graham - As I understood it, 100 years ago (1905) was when Vandoren started mass-producing their famous reed product. Has it changed in this time, do you think?
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