 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: haberc
Date: 2007-05-07 09:44
I have an old Wells Chicago mouthpiece, marked b1 - very narrow opening, 4/16 " at bottom.
Any ideas as to value, desirability of this mouthpiece? Thanks for any info.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2007-05-07 15:50
There are many postings on Frank Wells, which the Search function will retrieve. The B1 had a close, medium length facing.
Ken Shaw
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Author: martind
Date: 2007-05-08 20:25
I have a B1 that has been refaced by W.G. I found it to be a little stuffy before I had it refaced. It plays fine now. This mouthpiece has the widest
rails of any of my mouthpieces which I feel contributes to the overall dark
sound to my ears. It's worth saving.......check out the refacing possibility.
Martin
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Author: bufclar
Date: 2007-05-08 20:49
Wells mouthpieces were made here in Chicago for quite a while. The narrow opeing is refered to as an hour glass facing that wells worked on for many years. The purpose of the facing was to help speed up the air flow into the chamber. They can be very good and can produce a huge orchestral sound. Be careful about refacing them as they are very unique in their design. They work best with 3 or 3 and a half Vandoren regular cut. If it feels stuffy then use a softer reed.
One noteable player who has used a Wells mouthpiece with the hour glass facing her entire carreer is Charlene Zimmerman who is principal of the Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestra and the Grant Park Symphony. I heard her perform the Mozart Concerto in February using her wells with Vandoren 3 reeds and a Optimim Ligature and it was a beautiful performance. Her sound was luminous and very expressive. She produced a breath taking dolce legato in the second movement.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2007-05-08 21:10
Frank Wells has only one US patent that I've ever found. I have listed the # earlier, so it will appear in an Archives Search, as recommended above. As I recall, the shape of the wind-cut [like a ?keyhole?] was its "novelty". Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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