The Clarinet BBoard

The Clarinet BBoard The C4 standard

New Topic | Go to Top | Go to Topic | Search | Help/Rules | Smileys/Notes | Log In

Newer Topic | Older Topic

mouthpieces crystal or plastic

Author: c a
Date: 1999-03-18 08:54

I am currently in the market for a new mouth piece. i have always used a plastic B45. mouthpiece before. However i would like to know the advantages or disadvantages of crystal mouhpiece as oppossed to a plastic one

thanks

Reply To Message

RE: mouthpieces crystal or plastic

Author: Dave Spiegelthal
Date: 1999-03-18 14:11

First of all, your B45 mouthpiece isn't plastic, it's actually a very hard rubber (sometimes called "ebonite"). As for crystal, it has its advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side, crystal/glass seems to be exceptionally stable with time and temperature; in other words, it plays the same over the years, and its playing qualities aren't much affected by extremes of heat and cold. Also, the facing doesn't scratch easily. On the down side, the glass is quite brittle, and can easily be chipped or broken by careless handling. And for those of us who do our own refacing, it takes longer to reface crystal because of its hardness (although it's easier than stainless steel sax mouthpieces, which take forever to reface!).
Hard rubber,on the other hand, is more or less the "industry standard" for clarinet mouthpieces. It's reasonably durable and easy for the makers to face. As far as sound quality goes, the jury is still out on whether or not the mouthpiece material (or for that matter the clarinet material itself) actually has any significant effect on the tone color. As a mechanical engineer with a good background in acoustics, my personal belief is that the material has little or no effect on the tone, but many will disagree with that, and since there are so many variables that affect tone (many of them hard to measure accurately), it's tough to prove conclusively that the mouthpiece material does or doesn't affect the sound quality. Suffice it to say, one can find marvelous, average, and lousy mouthpieces made out of hard rubber, plastic, crystal, stainless steel, brass, or wood. The important thing is to find one that feels good to you and plays well for you, and don't worry too much about what it's made of.

Reply To Message

Avail. Forums | Threaded View

Newer Topic | Older Topic

The Clarinet Pages

For Sale
Put your ads for items you'd like to sell here. Free! Please, no more than two at a time - ads removed after two weeks.