 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: clarinetfreak
Date: 2007-03-29 19:45
I recently had the pleasure of picking out a Gennusa "Excellente" Custom mouthpiece made by my colleague Ben Redwine (we both play in the United States Naval Academy Band) and I wanted to share my experience picking out this mouthpiece on this forum. I am not a proponent of finding the “holy grail” mouthpiece (I don’t think such thing exists) but rather, I am a believer that finding a quality product customized to ones needs is the way to go, so when I realized that Ben made these mouthpieces I asked him to make a mouthpiece for me.
I’ve had two formal sessions with Ben: the first session was in a rock and roll band rehearsal room in our band spaces (acoustically very dead room). He observed what my current setup was, Hawkins model B mouthpiece, and he had me try out some mps that would be similar to it. The first thing I noticed with his mouthpieces were that they are made from different blanks, Hawkins are from Zinner blanks and Gennusas are Babbitt, and I could tell right away from the way it smelled and tasted it in my mouth that it was different. Visually the blanks had a bigger girth and they were not as shiny as the Zinner blanks. Ben explained to me that Babbitt was made out of rubber with sulfur fillers and zinners were made from different fillers (I think plastic).
To me there were characteristics from Ben’s mps that were consistently different than my previous mps in the past. I know we clarinet players like to use the term dark and bright al lot, but rather than putting it in those terms I would said that Ben’s mps felt fuller in it’s spectrum of sound. Meaning, as Ben suggested, the upper partials of the sounds were more apparent. Further, the voicing of the mps were quite different than my Hawkins. I usually play pretty sharp, but I found myself closer to right on or sometimes even a bit flat on certain notes (which were within reason). Due to the setting of the room (a very dead room), I was a bit worried about how these mps would be in a normal acoustical setting but based on the way they felt I picked out three that felt really good.
After picking out three mps that I liked the feel of, I took it home and tried it out for a week. It was quite amazing to hear how these mps blew! Out of the three, two were amazing. I varied reed strength, reed cuts, and different brands of reeds during the trial and the two mps responded well to all of it. (I tried Vandoren regular cut, V12s, Rupic 56, and FOB Gonzales reeds) The third one that I did not like as much had some good results with a certain cut and strength but I found myself losing interest to it because the other two were very exceptional. Again staying away from saying bright and dark, I felt the sound had more color and was more sonorous. In other words, playing each note had a fuller sound in the way it projected. I wouldn’t say it’s a fatter sound , which I associate with having a covered sound and having a lot of the fundamental, but a sound that had a ring to it; a sound that utilized more of the overtones.
A week later, I went over to Ben’s house, which by the way is a beautiful house! I took my wife and son, who is not quite one yet, and they had a wonderful time seeing the ducks and seeing the Chesapeake Bay while Ben and I spent time working on mps. Acoustically speaking, Ben’s house is the opposite of the rock band room, very lively sound (that resonated throughout 3 hardwood floors) not to mention the great view of the bay. I played the 2 mps that I really liked for him and tried more of his other mps, even one mp that was a zinner blank. Playing the zinner blank model, it became apparent to me that the blank really made a fundamental difference in the sound. The sound of the two I picked initially still stood out for me here in this setting. The “ring” in the sound of these two mps was even more apparent and here I became convinced that these two mps were special.
I was able to spend some time with Ben talking about characteristics of his mps and talking about clarinet sounds and players in general. He was also able to teach me a little about the process of making each mp and how changing a little here makes it feel different and that. I was thoroughly impressed with Ben’s knowledge and professionalism. I also very much appreciated his approach; rather than trying to change the way people play through his mps Ben was committed to helping me find something that I was looking for. He definitely had his views on sound concept and a way of playing but I really appreciated that he was more committed to suit my needs.
In the end, I ended up choosing one of the mps that I initially picked out and having played the mp for about two weeks I am very happy with it. I would recommend any of you out there to try out his mouthpieces and also hear Ben play live. He’s a great clarinetist (beautiful sound), comfortable in both classical and jazz settings and he also plays Gennusa mouthpieces for all his playing.
Good Times!
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Author: claritoot26
Date: 2007-03-31 02:30
Thanks for your post, clarinetfreak. I have been meaning to schedule a visit with Ben for some time for mouthpieces. I also play a Hawkins B and used to play an M13 lyre. They are quite different from each other and use different barrels. I tried a Hawkins R recently that I liked very much, but it belongs to a friend and the new Rs are really expensive. I understand that Ben's prices are more reasonable, so I might try his mouthpieces sooner than later. I have an older Gennussa that I don't like so much, partly because it made the throat tones kind of flat. Maybe he can fix that kind of thing. Seems like a good idea to visit a mouthpiece maker in person to try a bunch of mps rather than take your chances by ordering just a few by mail to try.
Happy tooting.
-Claritoot26
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Author: grifffinity
Date: 2007-03-31 03:28
Like anything else clarinet related, this mouthpiece wont suit everyone. However, I have found that the Gennusa GE with a tip of 100 has to be the best mouthpiece for it's price range that I've tried, approx $80. I trialed 6 through Weiner Music, 3 GE* and 3 GE, and found I preferred the closer facings. GE * is the medium facing for this mouthpiece I think 102-106 is the general opening. Aside from one GE *, the other 5 mouthpieces played beautifully, with little differences between them.
The one I chose was perfectly suited to my style of playing and created a very even tone throughout the range of my 1966 R-13. The only downside is that the mouthpiece did bring down the pitch so much on my throat tones, I had to get my 67.5 barrel shortened. It works very well with my stock buffet 66mm barrel that I have had to use in the mean time.
I have played mostly closed Mouthpieces, M-13 and M-13 Lyre, then had moved to a 5RV Lyre for the past few years as the M-13 series was too finicky with reeds. I find the Gennusa Excellente a nice compromise between the focus and projection of the M-13 series and the ease of playing/reed friendly-ness my 5RV Lyre. Unlike the the 5RV Lyre, I have no trouble controlling my altissimo register on the Gennusa. Also, I find articulation to be fabulous on my Gennusa - much better than I have achieved on any mouthpiece in my past.
If you like a very open mouthpiece, I'd suggest trying the GE** or perhaps this mouthpiece wont be to your liking. If you like the M-13, M-15 or 5RV Lyre, it is worth a try. Under Ben Redwine, I find the quality control of the Gennusa at a much more consistent level than Vandoreen, and at a very comparable price. Recently I was helping a student trial some Vandoreen 5RV Lyres, and they was no consistancy. None of them compared in quality to the tone she got on the GE *, which won hands down.
ETA: I use Gonzales regular cut reeds 3.75-4.0 and the shape fits this mouthpiece like a glove. The cut is perfect. I don't have the same success with the Vandoreen blue box reeds on this mouthpiece.
Post Edited (2007-03-31 03:32)
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Author: kuteclar
Date: 2007-03-31 03:55
I got in a handful of Gennusa mouthpieces for trial today, also. I was going to post how amazing they were earlier, so I'll add my two cents now that there is a post going.
I usualy play on an M-13 Lyre with a Moennig barrel on both my Bb and A Buffet R-13. The problem I am still facing is some grunting in those upper notes - no matter what I do with my throat, reeds, embochure, it is still there. So I finally decided to experiment with equipment.
In trying the GE and GE*, I so far found one that is exactly as other have describes - it has a warm and even tone, the altissimo is wonderful (the G's in the Beethoven 8 trio were simple and clear) and tonguing was easy.
I was also going to try some Vandoren M-15s and 5RVs, but I'm not sure if I can find a more consistent mp. I still like the focused tone of the M-13 Lyre, but I find the warmth in the Gennusa an additional bonus for the price!
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Author: claritoot26
Date: 2007-04-02 15:18
kuteclar and grifffinity,
Your posts have affirmed my decision to make an appointment with Ben Redwine for mouthpiece trials. I also played an M13 Lyre with Moennig barrel and R13 clarinets and you folks seem pleased, so it's worth a try for me, too. I used to like my M13 Lyre quite a lot, but unless it's my imagination, something about it seems to have changed and it's not as reed-friendly as it used to be. Maybe I will have Ben examine it to see if the dimensions have changed.
kuteclar: About grunting in upper register, did the Gennussa mouthpiece fix that? If not, you might have the register tube checked. I had mine changed on my A clarinet, and it made a nice difference in the G,A,B,C above the staff. I can now diminuendo to almost nothing without chirping out the harmonic.
-Claritoot26
Lori
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Author: kuteclar
Date: 2007-04-02 16:08
I've known a few people that have said they started with a wonderful M13, but after time it changed - mostly I've heard it got brighter. My backup M13 also got brighter, although it might have been that way all along and I never noticed until I went back to it. But, my clarinet friend at the music store believes that his warped and that's what seems to be the problem. I haven't noticed anything wrong with my "new" one I've been using for about 2 years.
The Gennusa did seem to lessen any grunting I'm still having. Afer playing on the ones I have, though, none seems to be just right. Each has a different feel and openness....I definitely believe though, if I can find the right one, it will be excellent.
About the grunting....after years in grad. school with my teacher getting on my about how I couldnt' possibly have my throat open enough, I still couldnt' stop the grunting. Starting with just the sir works, and it's usually not too bad unless I would try lots of repeated tonguing...or dim. to nothing.
So, I brought my A in and instead of swapping the reg. tube out for a Bb one (I was worried about the tuning), my technician put in a Hasty insert. If you are not familiar with this, it looks like a pin connected to the register cork/pad. I really don't know how it works, but it significantly helped the upper notes. My A seems to be much more resistant, but velvety and warm than others I have tried, but those uppers were difficult. I love the insert.
But I still have a minor grunty problem - so I guess now it comes down to just plain old me benig the problem! My other thought was that maybe I was using too closed of a mp facing and opening it a bit could help.
Lori, what did you have fixed with your register tube? I always tend to get the lower harmonic on those G, A, B, C above the staff :( Well, I'm exaggerating, but any amount I still have is frusterating and always interupts my musicality.
I love suggestions
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Author: claritoot26
Date: 2007-04-02 22:10
Lauren,
Is the grunty thing happening on both A and Bb clarinets? I have seen a picture of the Hasty insert, but never saw a real one in action. I had my A register tube tweaked and changed by a few techs over the years....I think the final solution was to switch the tapered A register tube out for an untapered (straight) one. Backing the register tube out of the hole a little bit, or shortening it, also helped, but in the end I went with a shorter straight tube. I was almost on the verge of ditching the A clarinet for a new one, but now I like it a lot more than the Bb that I bought with it (both used, now 20 years old). I just replaced the Bb with an R13 Prestige.
My teacher used to get on me about the closed throat thing as well. One exercise he showed me that helped a lot was a register change exercise for the clarion to altissimo registers. It starts on top space E and you just lift (or roll or slide) the index finger and slur up to C#. Then you play F-D, then F#-D#, then G-E, then G#-F, just lifting the index finger each time and practicing for smooth, open-throated non-gruntiness. Then you go back down: G-E, F#-D#, F-D, E-C#. I do this several times at the beginning and end of my practices. You can also add the twelfths below, and the altissimo A above E. So it then goes
A-E-C#; Bb-F-D; B-F#-D#; C-G-E-A; C#-G#-F.
Happy tooting
-Lori
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