 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: matth1j
Date: 2009-11-24 07:20
Hi - this is my first post. I play a Boosey and Hawkes 1010 instrument, which I've had for about 30 years. My wife has said that she'll treat me to a new mouthpiece for Christmas, but I know the 1010 doesn't have a standard bore size - is this going to be a problem?
Regards,
John
Reading, UK
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Author: Mike Clarinet
Date: 2009-11-24 07:38
Hi John,
Are you REALLY in Reading? Get youself to Dawkes Windcraft in Maidenhead & talk to Anton Weinberg. www.dawkes.co.uk.
disclaimer - no connection with Dawkes except as a satisfied customer.
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Author: Nessie1
Date: 2009-11-24 07:42
I've played on 1010s for a long time and there are a couple of options - a decent technician/shop can "bore out" a mouthpiece of your choice to suit a 1010 (although, obviously you are then committed to buying it but, of course, you should be able to try it before it is bored out which will give you a feel for it). I used to play on a Selmer mouthpiece which had been bored out in this way.
Alternatively, there are a couple of makers who manufacture mouthpieces to the 1010 bore - namely Eddie Pillinger and Mike Lomax. When I had been shamed by an eminent clarinettist at the state of my Selmer mouthpiece last year I went to Howarth's in London and tried a few of each and ended up with a Lomax which I am very pleased with. I think it has improved my tone and it defiinitely feels better in the mouth. Of course, this did not come that cheap - I think it was about £140 but you are right in thinking that a new mouthpiece can considerably prolong the life of your clarinet which would cost a lot more to replace! Depends how deep your wife's pockets are I suppose!
Good luck
Vanessa.
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Author: matth1j
Date: 2009-11-24 07:43
Lol - that's where we're going later this morning! I've taken the day off work, but I'm just worried that he won't be there (he's not in every day) and I'll buy the wrong thing.
I'll ring them up before we go - just looking for a second opinion. Thanks for the reply.
John
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Author: matth1j
Date: 2009-11-24 07:50
Thanks Vanessa. I think Anton at Dawkes would probably be able to bore out a mouthpiece - just need to check he's there this morning.
John
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Author: George Taylor
Date: 2009-11-24 08:23
I know that both Anton Weinberg at Dawkes and Jon Steward at Howarths bore out mouthpieces regularly to 1010 size (also to 926 if required). It seems to be quite an easy thing to do for someone with the right tools. A few of my friends play on 1010's and they seem to always just pick a mouthpiece then have it bored out. Peter Eaton and Ramon Wodkowski also tend to work with wide bore mouthpieces on a regular basis, I would also try them!
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Author: Wodkowski
Date: 2009-11-24 08:30
I highly recommend Jon Steward at Howarth for any 1010 bore work. He has done the bores for all of my personal 1010 mpcs (and many of my clients) over the years and is by far the very best - he is the bore master....
I wont have reamers for that function for a few more months, probably in the new year sometime - it will be listed on my website when available.
Hope that helps
R Wodkowski
www.ramonwodkowski.com
Post Edited (2009-11-24 08:32)
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Author: ebonite
Date: 2009-11-24 08:54
The original B&H mouthpieces turn up on one of the auction websites fairly often. If you get one of these, you might need to get it refaced, as it will be at least 24 years old. But overall, this would be a relatively cheap way of doing it.
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Author: matth1j
Date: 2009-11-24 09:09
Thanks for all the advice. My wife and I have both taken today off to go over to Dawkes (and somewhere nearby on the Thames for a nice lunch) so that will be my first port of call; if that doesn't work out then I'll look at the other options.
I should have asked this question a few weeks (years?) ago :-)
John
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Author: matth1j
Date: 2009-11-24 16:07
Well, Anton was in - he gave me 5 'normal' mouthpieces to try, then bored out my favorite to 1010 size using an official B&H reamer.
Initially I didn't get on with any of them, then Anton pointed out that I was using an old reed which would have 'bedded in' to my old mouthpiece. Switching to a new reed made all the difference.
Just to give you a bit of background - I started playing clarinet in junior school age about 9 I think, passed my grade 8 with distinction before I left school, and played in the (Warwickshire) county youth wind band and orchestra. As an adult I've played in (and led) a number of amateur wind/concert bands, and have been paid to play in the pit for Reading Operatic's amateur productions (mostly G&S). So hopefully it would be fair to say I'm a better than average amateur player.
So when I got back to the car with the new mouthpiece, a Vandoren 5RV 13, and looked at the packaging, I was a bit embarrassed, and perhaps deflated, to read "Responsive, easy to control in all registers, excellent for STUDENTS"!? My wife thought it was funny though...
Oh well - I had a good blow when I got home, and I'm pretty happy with it. I'm looking forward to giving it another good work-out at rehearsal tonight.
Cheers
John
Post Edited (2009-11-24 16:11)
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Author: ljp
Date: 2009-11-24 16:40
FYI
The CBC program "As it happens" (and predecessors) in Canada, for years, used the distance from Reading to identify locations in the UK.
Larry Phillips
http://www.clubwebcanada.ca/l-pphillips/
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2009-11-24 18:36
matt1j
May I share my experience with Anton's work? I played on one of Anton's professional mouthpieces during my undergrad on my then 1010s. I had all sorts of intonation problems which I put down to the instruments. When I 'upgraded' to my now Eaton Elites as a postgrad I continued on the same mouthpiece and was experiencing the same problems as pointed out by Michael Collins in a masterclass. I took the mouthpiece to Ed Pillinger who I lived near at the time and to my shock he showed me that the bore of that mouthpiece had not be reamed all the way. Ed did the work but alas the mouthpiece was never quite right after that in terms of sound but the intonation was much better.
I currently have a Hite that John did in Howarths and I've been playing on that for 8 or so years now.
I have a lot of respect for Anton's work and think that he produces great mouthpieces but because of that experience I would always go to John at Howarths.
I hope I haven't dissuaded you but felt I should share my experience as a fellow wide bore player.
Happy playing
Peter Cigleris
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Author: Bill
Date: 2009-11-24 22:14
Is Daniel Bangham still alive? He did mine (c. 1990s). They are molds from various older 1010 mouthpieces.
Bill Fogle
Ellsworth, Maine
(formerly Washington, DC)
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Author: matth1j
Date: 2009-11-25 08:16
>> May I share my experience with Anton's work?
Thanks for that Peter. The first thing I did when I got home with my new (reamed) mouthpiece was to compare it against the old one on a digital tuner, and it didn't seem much different. That is, my concert band tuning note C (concert Bb) is still a bit sharp, and the G and C above it are both flat (which I correct with keys), but otherwise it's ok.
Playing in the band rehearsal last night I certainly felt it was an improvement in terms of playability, so I'll be sticking with it for the foreseeable future. After all I'm only an amateur playing in concert bands - if I was using it to earn a living then I might be a bit more fussy.
To be honest, if I had the money,I would get a new (probably second hand) clarinet which didn't have a funny bore size and didn't need extra keys putting down to keep it in tune :-)
John
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Author: matth1j
Date: 2009-11-25 08:19
>> The CBC program "As it happens" (and predecessors) in Canada, for years,
>> used the distance from Reading to identify locations in the UK.
Er, thanks for that Larry :-)
I have to ask - why??
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2009-11-25 19:58
Iceland,
Peter gave me two mouthpieces which I quite liked in his living room but sadly I found them not so good in the concert hall.
I still have them, Ramon did a sterling job refacing them they are now in the spares/backup box.
Peter Cigleris
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Author: Iceland clarinet
Date: 2009-11-25 23:04
The Eaton mouthpieces(along with Pillinger) are quiet different from Zinner based mouthpieces on the market. They at least the Pillinger I own(I've only tried the Eaton briefly many years ago) have much wider tip rails and longer facing and are much more resistant than any Zinner based mouthpiece I've tried.
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Author: Jamietalbot
Date: 2009-11-26 09:28
Check out ebay for 1010 mouthpieces- also B&H 926 MPs can be good on a 1010 if bored out well.
Doesn't Louis Rossi make wide bore MPs for his clarinets?
Might be worth looking into......
Good luck!
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Author: spage
Date: 2009-11-27 11:36
@Bill who asked Is Daniel Bangham still alive?
Very much so! http://www.wwr.co.uk/ He bored out a Vamdoren B45 for a friend for his 1010s just a few months ago
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Author: Bill
Date: 2009-11-27 13:40
Glad to hear it! We actually spoke on he phone, as I recall. I dunno, with Ralph Morgan gone, and others (Matson), I never take anything foir granted!
Bill Fogle
Ellsworth, Maine
(formerly Washington, DC)
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