 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Dori
Date: 2009-10-07 15:08
A few years ago I had a band director who was startled that I had a metal mouthpiece cover. He claimed plastic was better because you could sterilize it in the dishwasher. I tend to think plastic would absorb more germs than metal. He seemed serious, athough I must state he was a brass player.
I have had only metal caps for 43 years and as they say "I ain't dead yet" - and am quite healthy. Any thoughts on metal vs plastic or should we put this in the same category as "silk swabs do damage?"
Thanks.
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2009-10-07 15:10
The reason to avoid metal is that metal caps can have the potential to damage the tip or facing of a mouthpiece if you are not careful. It's better to have a plastic cap, because the plastic is softer than the rubber the mouthpiece is made of, so there is less chance to damage an expensive and delicate, easily broken part of the clarinet setup.
Jeff
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Author: stevensfo
Date: 2009-10-07 15:40
-- "A few years ago I had a band director who was startled that I had a metal mouthpiece cover. He claimed plastic was better because you could sterilize it in the dishwasher." --
The guys in our italian wind band were startled that plastic MP covers even existed. They look cheap ugly and flimsy.
I don't agree but I have to admit that I only use my plastic covers at home!
By the way, how do you sterilize band directors?
:-)
Steve
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Author: stevesklar
Date: 2009-10-07 15:48
moisture from the mouthpiece can drip into any cap. Plastic or metal.
I would think metal caps are also dishwasher safe. Some plastic ones may actually melt (i would think) if you use the "heat" dryer option on alot of dishwashers. I haven't looked but also haven't seen the "dishwasher safe" stamp on caps
either way, you could just use mouthwash to sanitize a mouthpiece cap - metal or plastic. use an older toothbrush to scrub if you need to get rid of any buildups on either plastic or metal.
I like my silver plated caps. But i tend to use plastic ones in general.
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Stephen Sklar
My YouTube Channel of Clarinet Information
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2009-10-07 16:53
41 years ago, I went to a workshop with Gino Cioffi (the Boston principal), who used a crystal mouthpiece. He said he wouldn't use a metal cap because of danger to the crystal.
He also said it was difficult to find the perfect position for the reed on the mouthpiece. When he found it, he wanted to keep it. Thus he blew out the moisture, left the ligature and reed on the (crystal, remember) mouthpiece and wrapped them in a handkerchief in his case. He poured water through the mouthpiece from the bottom each time he got ready to start playing. He simply wrapped the mouthpiece, ligature and reed in a handkerchief.
I immediately went out and bought a soft plastic cover, which I still use. I wash it out with soapy water every few months.
Despite Cioffi, I remove the reed, dry it and the mouthpiece and, put the ligature and mouthpiece in the cover. Moisture is a sure invitation for mold. Perhaps pouring water through each morning washed away any mold spores.
I've been told that leaving the reed and ligature on a hard rubber mouthpiece causes it to warp. At any rate, I don't do it, and I adjust the reed position my microscopic increments each time I put it on to find the sweet spot.
Ken Shaw
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Author: BartHx
Date: 2009-10-07 17:53
I have seen many discussions and many products addressing the problem of keeping the reed tip from distorting. What happens in this regard when the reed is allowed to cycle through wet and dry repeatedly without taking it off the mouthpiece?
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2009-10-07 19:15
BartHx -
For a cane reed, the tip flattens out as the reed gets wet -- 1 to 2 minutes. As I have found by unfortunate experience, a Legere warps permanently.
If you leave a cane reed on the mouthpiece, it wouldn't hurt to loosen the ligature screws maybe 1/2 turn.
Ken Shaw
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Author: soybean
Date: 2009-10-07 20:36
Quote: JJAlbrecht; "The reason to avoid metal is that metal caps can have the potential to damage the tip or facing of a mouthpiece if you are not careful."
This is true but with the important caveat that there are two types of metal caps. The nicer ones have a rolled lip. It's the cheaper metal caps without the rolled edge that can cause mouthpiece damage. I prefer metal caps for their strength and looks. There's nothing classier than a real silver plated French cap.
Also, do not put a hard rubber mouthpiece in the dishwasher or any really hot water. it will cause the discoloration to brown or even green. Hand washing in cold or luke warm water is the best.
~Dan
(Leblanc Bliss, Buffet R13 key of A, Yamaha 250 Bb)
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Author: stevesklar
Date: 2009-10-07 20:58
FYI .. the OP was asking about caps only ...... not the mouthpiece and reed. Thus my comment about the dishwasher (as the OP too).
But I also use only plastic caps on my crystal mpcs, actually the Luyben ones to be specific.
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Stephen Sklar
My YouTube Channel of Clarinet Information
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Author: William
Date: 2009-10-07 21:01
Plastic caps are less interuptive when dropped on the floor.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2009-10-07 21:06
As I use Rovner ligatures I have no choice but to use the plastic cap supplied with them.
Metal mouthpiece caps certainly make some noise when they hit the deck (and usually during a quiet section) - you don't get that with plastic ones.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Ed
Date: 2009-10-07 21:45
I agree with Soybean. My preference is for a nice metal cap. I like the feel and looks. I have also found they fit more securely and stay on better than most of the plastic ones that I have tried.
Post Edited (2009-10-08 11:52)
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2009-10-07 23:31
"The nicer ones have a rolled lip. It's the cheaper metal caps without the rolled edge that can cause mouthpiece damage."
Rolled or not, metal is harder than rubber or plastic, and can easily cause damage if applied properly. Perhaps the rolled ones won't cause damage as easily, but there is still a much higher chance than with plastic. Although, i suppose that one could damage a mouthpiece with a plastic cap if they really tried.
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Author: Bobby McClellan
Date: 2009-10-07 23:57
Thomas Ridenour did a youtube video about the problems with metal caps. after that I ditched all of mine for plastice.
Bobby
Bobby M. McClellan
Flowood, MS
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Author: BartHx
Date: 2009-10-11 22:54
The Doctor (and I am sure others) offers a plastic cap that covers only the tip of the reed and mouthpiece. It includes a felt pad to keep the reed moist. I use it with the Rovner ligatures on my Selmers because the Selmer cases (CT, S-9, S-10) do not have enough space to accommodate the large, Rovner cap. Dropping one of those caps makes almost as much noise as dropping a paperclip and they fit very easily into a shirt pocket.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2009-10-12 00:16
It's amazing how much personal witchcraft (a description I paraphrase from an interview of Mitchell Lurie that I read years ago) passes for received wisdom on topics like this. As the variety of replies shows, it doesn't really matter what you use so long as it's used carefully and does what it is meant to do - primarily protect the reed and mouthpiece tip from damage . Metal will only damage the mouthpiece if you're careless - the same is true of metal ligatures, metal swab weights, etc....
As far as metal harboring more germs is concerned, there are many players who use metal caps who have not been sickened in any way by them. In any case either is dishwasher safe (I've personally never washed my mouthpiece caps either, but then I guess that's just my daredevil spirit coming out).
Having used both metal and plastic caps, I can only say from experience that the cap is sometimes dictated by the ligature. If the cap and ligature aren't a good fit, the cap can come loose at inconvenient times, causing it to fail at its most important job (see above). As a result, I tend to use the cap that is made to fit with the ligature I'm using. For me it's honestly too much trouble to go searching for caps that fit well on Gigliotti, Bonade, Luyben or Rovners (in their various shapes) when their manufacturers make and sell matching caps that work well.
Karl
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Author: stevensfo
Date: 2009-10-12 06:13
-- "Jack nonchalantly picked it up and
HANDED IT TO ME." --
Excellent. I must remember this trick! ;-)
Steve
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2009-10-12 06:15
I've seen a heap of split or broken plastic caps.
I've seen corroded metal ones, but seldom as broken as plastic ones.
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2009-10-12 12:02
Metal caps give your clarinet a more brilliant sound and better projection, while plastic caps damp the high frequencies so give a darker sound.
Uh, wait a minute, are we supposed to take those things OFF while we're playing?
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2009-10-12 14:39
I agree with David, metal caps do produce a better sound but I like plastic anyway, especially when I drop it during a concert. I think we've reached an all time low now. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2009-10-13 13:30
For sound, nothing less than sterling silver.
Oh... this is a clarinet forum, not a flute forum. 
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Author: Coomkeen
Date: 2009-10-13 20:28
No you're all wrong.
It has to be wooden, hand turned from Lignum Vitae.
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Author: ned
Date: 2009-10-14 01:07
Yet another mind boggling piece of inconsequential minutiae. I hardly know why I'm replying actually................probably because it's raining and cold outside.
Let me throw some metaphoric petrol on this smouldering bonfire of unrest and convoluted opinion...........has anyone considered the following?
How many actual holes are considered to be the ideal for ANY mouthpiece cap?
There's the big one at the bottom, of course, but spare a thought for the ones at the top!
One should bear in mind the the diameter of these holes as, those that are too small will not allow sufficient ventilation and, those that are too large will allow dust to enter.
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Author: ned
Date: 2009-10-14 02:28
stevesklar writes: ''I prefer the old selmer silver plated brass caps .. they're made from old artillery shells and have a special ring to them when dropped =-p''
Funnily enough, I have heard of these as well. They are quite sturdy and it is therefore an alternative to a tuning fork as the ''ring'' is exactly = to A440.
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Author: Joarkh
Date: 2009-10-14 08:21
Leather caps do not seem to be mentioned. Is it only Vandoren who supplies these (both plastic and leather are supplied for their leather ligature)?
Joar
Clarinet and saxophone teacher, clarinet freelancer
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Author: kdk
Date: 2009-10-14 09:20
A=440? Must have been American shells.
Karl
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Author: donald
Date: 2009-10-14 10:04
New in time for christmas....
The Backun Mouthpiece cap, with perpendicular lines around the cap to produce the "boundary layer" effect, when combined with a voicing groove on the inside will aid in reed selection, intonation, articulation, a bright sound AND a dark sound....
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Author: JamesOrlandoGarcia
Date: 2009-10-14 18:09
I agree with William. Try dropping a metal cap during the english horn solo in a performance of Symphonie Fantastique and you will wish you had had a plastic cap (or perhaps just not to have dropped the cap at all).
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2009-10-15 15:16
>>Metal caps give your clarinet a more brilliant sound and better projection, while plastic caps damp the high frequencies so give a darker sound.
Uh, wait a minute, are we supposed to take those things OFF while we're playing?
>>
I wonder whether we witnessed similar incidents. Mine happened earlier this year, during pre-auction viewing at Quinn's in Falls Church, VA. One of the items for sale that night was a clarinet, assembled and lying rather precariously across its open case on a long table crammed with other merchandise. I can't remember anything about the clarinet except that (a) it didn't interest me and (b) it wasn't going to interest anybody else, either, if some klutz bumped it in passing, rolled it off onto the hard floor and damaged it. As the auction was about to start, I noticed a young man, accompanied by a boy who looked about ten years old, stop by that table. The man picked up the clarinet, turned it this way and that -- then blew across the top of the hole in the metal mouthpiece cap, as if he were playing a flute. He tried different angles as he blew across the hole a few more times. Then he shrugged, set the clarinet back down and said to the child, "This one doesn't work. We'll buy you a new one."
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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