 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Bluesparkle
Date: 2009-01-05 02:26
Back in 1983, my high school band director helped me purchase a custom Charles Bay mouthpiece to go with my then brand new R-13. Took me all the way through high school and college. Band competitions, solo & ensemble, football games, bowl games, presidential inaugurations (George Bush #1).
Was so proud when my son took up the clarinet 3 years ago. Last year, when he was in 8th grade his clarinet case didn't latch, and went spilling onto the floor, along with my custom made Charles Bay mouthpiece that I had lent him. I didn't know how attached I had become until I saw it lying useless, broken and forever silent on the kitchen counter.
Now chipped at the tip, it is unusable. On the side it is hand engraved with the numbers MO-M (K-C-14) P314P. Can anyone interpret this? Is there a mouthpiece on the market that might be similar or the same? I hear it's hard getting in touch with the Bay organization now.
I have started playing again with the local community orchestra, and at church. Now using a Vandoren M-15, which seems a little easier to blow and articulate, but I think I may have sounded better on the Bay.
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Author: Ryan25
Date: 2009-01-05 02:41
It may be possible to have your Bay mouthpiece repaired depending on the damage. I would contact Brad Behn. He is a master moutupiece refacer, maker and repairer and a true gentelman.
www.clarinetmouthpiece.com
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2009-01-05 19:22
The MO-M identifies the tip opening as medium open and the facing length as medium. This would be, as you have noticed, a more resistant mouthpiece than your M15. The K-C-14 is harder (for me, anyway). A guess (and that's all it is) would be that the mouthpiece was modeled after a Kaspar Chicago (or, possibly, Cicero) 14 mouthpiece or possibly a Kaspar 14 mouthpiece made from a Chedeville blank. Does the mouthpiece have one ligature line at the top and 3 fairly close together at the bottom? That would likely indicate that Bay used a Chedeville blank. The P314P is even more of a guess. I suspect it is either a serial number or a code to identify specific facing length and tip opening.
I would second Ryan's comment about the possibility of repair. Brad Behn has earned himself an admirable reputation for this kind of work. You can find contact information here:
http://www.behnmouthpieces.com/
The kind of work you are looking for is briefly described under the "Customizing and Refacing" tab.
Best regards,
jnk
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2009-01-05 22:08
I'll third the amazing work that Brad does in repairing mouthpieces. He fixed a chipped tip on an old Chedeville India Rubber mouthpiece for me and further customized it into a wonderful mouthpiece.
L. Omar Henderson
www.doctorsprod.com
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Author: Alseg
Date: 2009-01-05 23:10
MO-M medium open tip. Medium lay.
Probably his attempt at a Kaspar Chicago or Cicero.
FWIW Bay mouthpieces frequently show up on that unmentionable auction site. Some are from his Ithaca tenure. Some are obviously Ched. blanks, others are less certain. But...as these things go, they tend not to be extremely costly. So maybe u can get lucky.
Former creator of CUSTOM CLARINET TUNING BARRELS by DR. ALLAN SEGAL
-Where the Sound Matters Most(tm)-
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Author: Rob Vitale
Date: 2009-01-06 00:38
you can try to e-mail the Bay company and see what they think. I got this e-mail off of his website baywoodwin@aol.com they maybe able to fix it or sell you a replica. Is he still alive?
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Author: Ed
Date: 2009-01-06 00:55
If you were to get a used Bay, it might be a good idea to find one of a similar vintage. Somewhere in the 80's Bay started going to a much bigger tip opening. In the late 70's I played a MO-M, which had a tip around 107. A number of years later I contacted him about getting a spare. By that time the MO facing had become something around 120. You can see a comparison chart here:
http://images.misupply.com/downloads/Leblanc/clarinetmouthpiecechartA.pdf
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Author: Bluesparkle
Date: 2009-01-06 12:13
Great info. Contacted Brad. He says he can put some epoxy on the chipped area and fix it for about $150, or put on a new beak for $275. Got an e-mail back from Charles Bay, and he can make me a new one that he says I'll like for about $250 since it is a replacement of an old Bay.
Do mouthpieces wear out? If I got it fixed and tuned up would it be the same? Am I just buying time until I'll need a new one anyway? This one is 25 years old, and has faded so that you can see the ligature shadow, and upon close inspection, the rails and beak do show wear.
Not trying to say that these services/mouthpieces aren't worth the asking price, but I am just a mom who is turning 40 and is playing in the community band and at church. Guess my mid-life crisis is drawing me to return to the activities that I so enjoyed several years ago. Is there anything else on the market that may be similar but not so costly?
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Author: Sylvain
Date: 2009-01-06 14:52
You can buy a decent Vandoren mouthpiece for about $75. If there is a music store nearby, go there and ask them to try a few. They will usually let you do it.
You already have the M15 so if you think it is too free blowing, try in order of more resistance:
M13Lyre, M30, B40 Lyre, B40.
These are amongst the more popular vandoren mouthpieces, but there are many others.
--
Sylvain Bouix <sbouix@gmail.com>
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