 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: clarinetfello
Date: 2009-02-06 18:14
Can anyone share their experiences with these mouthpieces and which model served you best and why? Thanks.
cf
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2009-02-06 20:39
Personally I think that they were very good up till about 1994 or so. Somewhere around that the quality control got really shoddy. The facing measurements were all over the place (told to me by the husband/wife team who were inspecting them for quality control for Tony G.).
Maybe it's changed since, no idea ......
I have a P facing from 1982 which is really good that I used up till 2006 when I switched to the Backun C Mouthpiece.
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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Author: clariknight
Date: 2009-02-06 23:05
I currently use a P34 facing and absolutely love it. The response is great, and its got a nice dark sound with plenty of projection. I may have been lucky in my find though, as I have heard from many that these mps are not great quality. I'd say give them a try along with some others, it's definitely worth a shot!
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Author: Lam
Date: 2009-02-07 02:28
Hi David,
How is the feel when playing the Backun C mouthpiece ?
Thanks for the info !
Lam
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2009-02-08 14:53
I wish to say a few good words about my Gigli Ligature, Bb sop., black plastic, 2 screws, and 2 vertical bars [ala Bonade] onto the reed. It fits nicely on every sized mp I have and [to me] helps produce the desired "dark" tonality. I'm not sure if they are still available, but suggest that our Lig collectors try one out. AM thots, Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: kdk
Date: 2009-02-08 15:48
They're good ligatures, but they go with a word of warning to be careful not to overtighten the screws and to make sure they're lubricated (a little Vaseline will do). The screws can shear off if you get a little overzealous about tightening them, and replacement screws are difficult to find. You'll probably need to replace the whole ligature.
Karl
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2009-02-08 18:08
Very good comments, Karl and D B, yes, I've had no trouble with over-tightening, but see the possibility. As to availability, I made a search and found several "unusual" sources, prices $17-19, with {larger} cap. Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Alphie
Date: 2009-02-08 23:26
I have one in my possession, a gift from a former student of Tony G. I liked it a lot at first, it had a beautiful dark sound and a very comfortable feel to it. I used much harder reeds, up to strength 5 but it still clammed quite easily from air pressure even when playing absolutely non-press. The dynamic range was not so good, only up to one F+ I would say. I could play extremely soft with no effort on that one though…
Alphie
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Author: kdk
Date: 2009-02-08 23:49
The P facing isn't likely to be everyone's cup of tea. It is very easy to close off, but it suited Gigliotti's approach to embouchure and was a facing (very close and, by French mouthpiece standards, very long) that he arrived at gradually over several years. With the right reed it can play fortissimo, although with the wrong one, if you try to force it to play that loud the pitch will nose-dive, especially from the upper clarion upward. It works best with a stiff but responsive reed and a very firm, focused embouchure.
I have several very old ones, one of which still has the original facing on it (I had very slightly opened up the tip on two others). I also have a recently bought P. I find the old one, including the unaltered one, has a more resonant sound and closes less easily than the new one, even though the facings seem to measure identically. It may be that the table or the baffle have somehow changed and don't allow as much vibration from the reed. The P34, which once upon a time was the same tip opening as the P but with a shorter curve, now seems (if one I bought recently along with the new P is accurately faced) to be a little more open, which, added to the shorter curve, makes the mouthpiece significantly more resistant than the P. If you like the sound of the P but not its blowing characteristics, you might give a P34 a try.
By the way, for what it's worth, as far as I know Gigliotti himself was using V12 4-1/2 reeds on the P facing.
Karl
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Author: klarinetkid
Date: 2009-02-09 02:10
When I was studying with my teacher in my undergrad (who was a former student of Mr. Gigliotti's at Curtis) he was able to get mouthpieces straight from Mr. Gigliotti that he had picked out himself. These were all gems (P facing). You could slap a V-12 4 1/2 or even a 5 (depending on the weather) on it with minimal adjustment and they felt wonderful.
The new mouthpieces, IMHO, don't come even close to the originals; their quality has definitely slipped. I'd say that if you're determined to play on one, just make sure you have a large selection from which to chose and try as many as you can.
Good luck!
John
Post Edited (2009-02-09 02:12)
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Author: stebinus2
Date: 2009-02-09 14:36
I have a P34 I got used back about 1990. I was just playing it yesterday and loving it. I believe I was using a Zonda 3.5 reed.
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