 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2010-01-14 02:03
Doesn't matter what it's made of, if the facing's good, it's a good mouthpiece -- and conversely if the facing is bad, it's a doorstop. Regardless of price.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2010-01-14 03:23
No experience but did read their blurb. Refacing or correcting a new mp has to be difficult. I also got the impression there might be a copper liner in the insertion end.
Bob Draznik
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Author: Ed
Date: 2010-01-14 11:56
Aaron Drake is the maker of these. He is a very friendly guy who is interested in the feedback of players. I believe they have been designed with fairly standard dimensions. There has been lots of positive feedback from sax players on those mouthpieces. I have not played them, but would be interested in giving them a try sometime.
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Author: TianL
Date: 2010-01-14 15:40
I never tried them either, but I suppose one advantage of ceramic stuff is that they are extremely stable over time.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2010-01-14 16:19
Since "ceramic", at least to me , is a generic term covering a wide range of compositions, it would be helpful to know more, also about some physical properties, density, hardness/brittleness etc. I believe glass[es] are somewhat distinguished, being amorphous, highly viscous liquids . My experiences with glass [non-crystalline] mouthpieces have been very good, including the "Selmer" [O'Brien made?] you refaced for me, Dave S, I[m very careful of it !! Comments, anyone? Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2010-01-14 16:35
Interesting stuff. I wonder, since the description for both barrel and mouthpiece indicate that they absorb moisture, if the sound of the dry versus the wet mouthpiece is the same or whether you have to ramp up to the final playability with the buildup of water? Ceramics can be very tough or somewhat brittle - I also wonder on which end of the spectrum these lie? I will have to try a mouthpiece for the first part but not the second.
L. Omar Henderson
www.doctorsprod.com
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2010-01-14 16:47
Reading the above informative link, and making a "ceramoc AND clarinet" search on Google Patents, turned up 10 references, the latest pats being 6,713, 130 and 5,192,821, each with refs which night be pertinent. Will do a bit of reading, later. Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2010-01-14 17:55
The Drake ceramic mouthpieces have been out for some time in the sax world, if anyone's interested in them you might check the SaxOnTheWeb (SOTW) forum to see what others have written.
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Author: Humsin94
Date: 2010-01-16 03:23
From images and description, the mouthpiece seems impressive. I think it should be good. The ceramic should be acoustically nice.
And David Spiegelthal, the materials greatly affect the sound.
Buffet-Crampon Festival Bb
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2010-01-16 17:04
Humsin, go back and reread David's post more carefully. A mouthpiece could be made of pure unobtanium, but if it's not designed and faced properly, it's garbage. David is spot on with that comment.
Jeff
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Author: Alseg
Date: 2010-01-16 19:26
JJAlbrecht stated that "A mouthpiece could be made of pure unobtanium."
True, but as I have repeatedly stated, such a mouthpiece must be coupled with a barrel made of scrith.
Former creator of CUSTOM CLARINET TUNING BARRELS by DR. ALLAN SEGAL
-Where the Sound Matters Most(tm)-
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2010-01-16 19:34
Alseg wrote:
> True, but as I have repeatedly stated, such a mouthpiece must
> be coupled with a barrel made of scrith.
And shadow square wire for a ligature?
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2010-01-16 19:53
So with a pure unobtanium mouthpiece coupled with a scrith barrel and using a shadow square wire ligature - what reeds would you recommend?
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Alseg
Date: 2010-01-16 20:05
Mark Charette asks...."and shadow square wire for a ligature?"
Actually, I envisioned use of the thread from the elevators of Fountains of Paradise, but I have no objection to shadow wire, except that it is difficult to see, and hurts your hands when you pull on it.
Reeds?....well, my future vision tells me that we will import them from a parallel multiverse where reeds are all wonderful, where spam is still meat in a can, where science is never a slave to theology, and the concept of an ideal sound is considered a philosophical construct.
We have now reached the required GQ for this thread (geek quotient)
Former creator of CUSTOM CLARINET TUNING BARRELS by DR. ALLAN SEGAL
-Where the Sound Matters Most(tm)-
Post Edited (2010-01-16 20:08)
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2010-01-16 21:22
In other words, Vandorens would not exist in this multiverse, right?
Allan, do you have a reliable supplier of instrument-grade scrith? That stuff has been hard to find as of late. I'm sure you would be able to make astoundingly beautiful barrels from it, though! 
Jeff
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Author: Vytas
Date: 2010-01-29 23:09
David Spiegelthal wrote:
>"Doesn't matter what it's made of, if the facing's good, it's a good mouthpiece -- and conversely if the facing is bad, it's a doorstop. Regardless of price".<
It may be a bit of oversimplification regarding statement made about the facing. The facing is only a portion of the larger picture. The facing really have very little meaning unless you know something about the interior (chamber and bore).
THREE the most critical areas:
1. Facing.
2. Chamber (windway).
3. Bore.
The facing has to be matched to the chamber and the rest of the bore. This is the foundation of a good mouthpiece.
Re-facing alone will not change the tone native to a mouthpiece. Tone is governed by the chamber (the shape of the baffle and the side walls).
And finally, BOTH the material and the design are what make a great mouthpiece.
Vytas Krass
Custom clarinet mouthpiece maker
Professional clarinet technician
Former professional clarinet player
Post Edited (2010-01-29 23:11)
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2010-03-13 17:20
A local dealer of mine has one !!!!
The word I got from the associate on hand was that they come with a "Lifeteme Guarantee," in that a chip or crack (yes they ARE brittle) will be replaced gratis. However an irrevacable broken one would be replaced for only a $100 replacement fee.
I am "thinking" about trying one............... looks cool.
.....................Paul Aviles
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2010-03-15 15:23
So why did I try this mouthpiece?
It is a good looking mouthpiece from the standpoint that it has thin side rails that not only have a consistant taper but match perfectly from side to side. Also the tip rail is quite thin (both indicators of a mouthpiece with quick response) and consistant across the tip. The tip of the mouthpiece is well shaped (not too round or too flat) and symmetrical as opposed to some mouthpieces that can't even do that.
So I knew it would play alright, one way or the other.
My impression is that it sounds remarkably like it's hard rubber counterparts (that is, NOT like wood) with a good center and............good response. The opening of the one I tried seemed similar to a 5RV Lyre or M13. The lower octave was strong and the upper end was easy. So overall it's a decent facing on a decent mouthpiece.
As advertised, after about five minutes of playing there was NO sign of condensation in the moutpiece at all..........dry as a bone!!!! This is the advertised advantage and what makes this mouthpiece unique. The inside and facing are bare porcelain. Although the entire exterior has a thick dark chocolate enamel glaze over it. So I wonder if the "50% less condensation" claim comes to a grinding halt at a point of saturation.
The other worry is that it is of course more brittle than a standard mouthpiece so one would have to be a bit more careful with this one to avoid chipping the business end (the tenon has brass at the end and where it meets the body of the mouthpiece).
I love gimmicks, particularly gimmicks that work but this mouthpiece is priced to compete with the likes of Backun and Greg Smith. It may be an easier sell if Drake could find a way to price this thing closer to the Vandoren line price tag.
...................Paul Aviles
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