 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: rrk1318
Date: 2007-06-29 19:43
Hi all,
I've been playing clarinet as a secondary instrument for about 6 years now, but because sax is my main instrument I have yet to move off the stock mouthpiece (I'm playing on a Buffet E-11 with Mitchell Lurie 3 1/2 strength reeds). Does anyone have any suggestions on a mouthpiece to upgrade to? I'm looking for something relatively focused and easy to articulate on. Thanks a lot!
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2007-06-29 20:16
What mouthpiece are you using on sax? Maybe there's a clarinet companion mouthpiece of the same manufacturer?
--
Ben
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2007-06-30 19:00
I don't really have a specific suggestion, only a word of advice. I assume you're using the standard Buffet mouthpiece. These are actually pretty darn good and close in how they play to a Vandoren 5RV Lyre.
Here's the rub. If your pitch is good on clarinet right now, I'd advise just sticking with what you're doing. The Buffet mouthpieces play VERY high in pitch, particularly when compared with some of the standard fair that a lot of the posters use regularly. So, if things are good with pitch now, a switch could very easily throw you into "pitch hell" where an ever escalating search for barrel and mouthpiece combinations could put you in the poor house or the funny farm.
Be careful; good luck,
................Paul Aviles
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Author: leonardA
Date: 2007-07-01 02:44
I have an E11 and I agree that the stock Buffet mouthpiece does pretty well, although there are a lot of posts to the contrary. I recently tried and boughta Selmer C85 120 and I like it a lot. Very full sound and easy to blow with a Vandren 3 reed. It comes in mouthpiece facings of 105, 115 and 120.
Leonard
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Author: sherman
Date: 2007-07-01 21:36
I have no idea of what a "mouthpiece upgrade" means. One mans Bundy may be anothers Zinner. Going up a financial step is a possibility of course, but does not necessarily mean an upgrade in anything other than finances, and may be a downgrade.
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Author: fmcat
Date: 2007-07-01 22:57
The brand of the mouthpiece or the cost of a mouthpiece, or whether or not it's rated as a professional or student mouthpiece does not matter. You should sit down in a shop and try out all the mouthpieces they offer. Each person differs in their preference. No clarinet or mouthpiece is going to noticeably change the intonation or tone of your playing unless you personally prefer it.
I have played all the mouthpieces that my local shop offers. A lot of people recommended LeBlanc mouthpieces. I cannot tell you how much I hated them. I ended up settling on a Vandoren. It's all in how you react to it, how you set your embouchure, that determines whether a clarinet will play perfectly with a mouthpiece. I know many people say specific mouthpieces were designed for specific clarinets, but, really, you have to try them yourself to be the judge.
Buffet B12, ED II Ligature, M13 Mouthpiece, Strength 5 V12 Vandoren
Local 281 - Clarinet Player
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2007-07-02 01:46
Dear fmcat,
When you say no clarinet or mouthpiece will change you intonation, do you arrive at this conclusion with a Korg? Even a pool of R13s will vary somewhat and this is just the horns themselves let alone a variable like a mouthpiece.
Also, though within a given country/market it would be hard to find an utter mismatch of mouthpiece to clarinet, I assure you that an Eaton mouthpiece designed for a 1010 style clarinet will not get you very far on an R13.
.........Paul Aviles
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Author: Clarinet4hire
Date: 2007-07-02 04:17
"No clarinet or mouthpiece is going to noticeably change the intonation or tone of your playing unless you personally prefer it."
.........huh? :(
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Author: rrk1318
Date: 2007-07-02 13:45
Thanks for all of the advice! Of course I'm aware that it's not only the brand or cost of a mouthpiece that matters. However, it's still nice to see what has worked for other people, just to have somewhere to start looking. My local music store doesn't really offer more than what they sell to 6th grade beginning band students, so any suggestions beyond that (I doubt many professional players are using Bundys...) are helpful. Although, it looks like the E11 stock mouthpiece might not be as bad as I assumed it was...
Again, thanks for your advice! I do appreciate it.
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Author: Ken Mills
Date: 2007-07-03 22:37
Hello rrk1318; On my Vito V40 clarinet (the flagship plastic clarinet) I like my Selmer (Paris) CP100 mpc because it blows most like an alto sax. For Al Gallodoro it is "easy" to do your rapid "articulation" on the sax but when he switches to his clarinet then he can't do it. That is the clarinet for you. If you want a softer reed in this spirit then you do not have to necessarily go to a more open mpc facing, really! The Selmer CP100 mpc has only a moderately open and gradual facing of 1.22mm, yet I can use only a Vandoren no. 2 reed. It works the best for my tonguing, I dare anybody. Maybe it is better to use a soft reed to do rapid tonguing and to hit notes hard. The cavity inside the chamber is really very large, so a soft reed will not fail or close up on the player. That is my Selmer theory. Now if I could only go up as high in the altissimo range as Robert Spring or Stanley Drucker, what stacatto!. But the top of the "third mode" is the F above the staff, the same note if you open all those palm keys on your sax. Is not there a necessary trade-off to suffer the loss of higher notes? What does he use? But I have a bigger sound, really. OK, Ken
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Author: Chris Hill
Date: 2007-07-03 23:40
There are some professional players who do play on Bundy mouthpieces, since Chedeville made their mouthpieces at one point.
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Author: bufclar
Date: 2007-07-04 00:16
The old bundys can be really great but they have a wide exit bore and tend to play really sharp in the upper clarion. I have one that I love but the intonation is really hard to manage.
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Author: Vytas
Date: 2007-07-04 02:15
>** "There are some professional players who do play on Bundy mouthpieces, since Chedeville made their mouthpieces at one point. **<
Indeed some of the early Bundys that have "France" inscribed on the left side are made by Chedeville/Lelandais. These are big bore mouthpieces and are really good mach with big bore Selmers. They can be used with an R13 but a reverse taper barrel usually needed for better tuning. The original Bundy France mouthpieces most likely will require a new facing and some baffle work to play well though.
Vytas Krass
Custom clarinet mouthpiece maker
Professional clarinet technician
Former professional clarinet player
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Author: Phurster
Date: 2007-07-04 03:33
I will stick my neck out and make some generalizations that might be totally of the mark.
1.Sax players generally play with an oral cavity position that makes them sound flat when playing a "classical" clarinet players set up.
2. The Buffet E11 usually comes with a 65mm barrel which plays more comfortably at A=442 with most mouthpieces.
3.The most focused "classical" tone involves playing with the oral cavity in a position leading to a sharper pitch.
4.Sax players usually prefer a more open mouthpiece.
With these points in mind you might consider a B45 series 13 with a 66mm barrel. It would probably involve a fair amount of practice to get the pitch up to a=440, but the sound might improve.
Chris.
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