 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: bahamutofskycon
Date: 2007-07-03 03:21
I did a search for Hite premier and came across a couple references to this but nothing that seemed definitive.
I have a couple of high school students who play on Hite premier mouthpieces. What strength reed (or range of strengths) is optimal for use on this piece?
I bought one for my collection (and for new students to trial) and gave it a try, but I can't seem to get a satisfactory tone out of it. I realize I haven't spent enough time on it to really get accustomed to it but it may also be that I don't have the right strength reed to go with it.
What reed strength should I recommend to my students? Please keep in mind that they're not quite ready to invest the money and time in the search for a more expensive mouthpiece.
Advice is much appreciated,
Steve Ballas
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2007-07-03 04:21
This mouthpiece is designed to be playable by beginners with the equivalent of a 2 - 2.5 beginner's reed (Rico Royal, Mitchell Lurie, e.g.). In other words, it has pretty low resistance. For an experienced player with a well-developed embouchure, I would say probably the equivalent of a standard Vandoren 3.5 - 4. Personally, I would tend toward the 4 and some players might even prefer a stiffer reed than that.
Best regards,
jnk
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2007-07-03 05:34
I started with a #2 on my Premiere and am now gravitating around #3..#3.5, and I see no reason yet to abandon it. (I have a second, different, mouthpiece if I feel like a change for a while).
I'd recommend #2.5 Lurie reeds for a student as a good average.
--
Ben
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Author: claritoot26
Date: 2007-07-06 18:17
I doubt the premier will play well much beyond a strength 3 Vandoren reed, but i could be wrong. i think it's designed to be played by beginners on fairly soft reeds. once their embouchure and airflow are strong enough for a 3 VD on the premiere, it might be time to switch to a different mouthpiece and harder reed for tone quality and control.
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Author: rsholmes
Date: 2007-07-06 19:05
Quote:
i think it's designed to be played by beginners on fairly soft reeds. once their embouchure and airflow are strong enough for a 3 VD on the premiere, it might be time to switch to a different mouthpiece and harder reed for tone quality and control.
The text here http://www.jjbabbitt.com/hite-premier.htm suggests the Premiere is used by "many professionals", for whatever that's worth.
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2007-07-06 20:38
Thanks for the link. I was wondering who would continue the production after David Hite's passing. I got my David Hite mouthpiece back around '75 or '76 after my O'Brien crystal mouthpiece broke. It served me well for years.
Jeff
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Author: claritoot26
Date: 2007-07-23 14:42
jnk,
I played one in middle school, and don't remember what reed I used with it. I still had it recently and had some of my young students try it, but it sounded awful for them. I tried it too, on maybe a 3.5 Vandoren traditional but can't remember exactly. I eventuall threw it out 'cuz it was kind of beat up and my students didn't sound good on it.
I've had one clarinet student and 1 sax student start lessons on those mouthpieces (new). The sax student uses a 2 vandoren. The clarinet player is trying a 3 Vandoren, but it's slightly hard for her, so I sand them a bit. She was using a 3 Mitchell Lurie before which seemed slightly soft. Maybe 2.5 Vandoren will be good for her. I think these are the only 2 students I've had with those mouthpieces.
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Author: claritoot26
Date: 2007-07-23 14:52
rsholmes,
Yeah, it does say it's used by many professionals, but it doesn't say who. Maybe they're just purchased by professionals only to be sold to their students. I can't imagine a professional choosing to play that mouthpiece on a regular basis. Maybe they're made better these days, but the one I had dating from the early to mid 1980's sounded worse for my students than the stock mouthpieces that came with their rental instruments. I do have a couple of students that sound alright on those. But surely, at least the clarinet player will switch mouthpieces within a couple of years at her current rate of improvement. She's doing alright for now.
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2007-07-24 01:32
(Disclaimer - I sell the Forte' Bb and C clarinets)
The Hite Premier, Fobes Debut, and Redwine Gennusa GE*S were tested extensively with the Forte' Bb clarinet by middle school and high school players (n=78) given new Gonzalez F.O.F. reeds of their strength choice and were asked to play several simple scales (music supplied) and easy tunes. The average reed strength request was a #3.0 with about 10% using #2, 35% using #2.5, about 40% using 3.0 and 15% requesting # 3.5, no #4. We graded the satisfaction of players with each mouthpiece and had some objective measurements thrown in (all of which is not relevent to this question).
In the end we chose the Gennusa GE*S for a number of reasons but satisfaction with all mouthpieces mentioned was good. As guessed, the more advanced high school players (in general) used stronger reeds than middle school students.
L. Omar Hendrson
www.doctorsprod.com
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