Author: Brad Behn
Date: 2010-03-14 14:59
Thanks all for your input. I really appreciate all that has been said and I enjoy the many perspectives shared. I am aware that my Vintage Collection mouthpieces are expensive but when I set off to make mouthpieces from the ground-up; my primary goal was to make the best mouthpieces I possibly could. Indeed the price ended up being high, but that is because my costs are very high, and each mouthpiece requires many hours to produce.
To make my own rubber in controlled conditions with unyielding quality and consistency requires a very unusual manufacturing approach which took great effort and to be frank, luck to invent. Additionally CNC manufacturing is far more costly than some may think as my mouthpieces are very intricate in design. Additionally each mouthpiece requires much hand work by me after the CNC process is complete. But in the end I can say that I am very proud of what I have accomplished. I have earned a good reputation and that is important to me. I will never sell out. I won’t just make mouthpieces for the money. I make mouthpieces for a personal reason…to find the best possible playing experience. I enjoy working with my hands and I like making mouthpieces but I wouldn’t be doing this if I couldn’t appreciate the rewards of my efforts by playing on my own creations. I am an active professional clarinetist and I get to enjoy the fruits of my labor by playing on my mouthpieces every day. That pride goes deep…right now I have three Chedeville based mouthpieces on my desk as refacing jobs for clients: Preufer, Henri Chedeville, and Ch. Chedeville. They are all exceptional mouthpieces yet I have little interest in them, because I like my own mouthpieces better.
My Vintage Collection mouthpieces may be not for everyone, but for those who find value in them, thank you. To those who do not, I offer Zinner-based mouthpieces at below average cost (to compensate for my above average Vintage Collection and Signature Collection lines). Additionally I continue to offer refacing services to single reed players, which is a wonderful way to audition my perspective and quality as a craftsman at an affordable cost. And finally I offer student mouthpieces at a very affordable price. So I do have something for everyone.
Thanks again for your consideration, and happy mouthpieceing.
And to all who are interested; thanks to my friend and client (Erling) who recommended this site to me, there is at last a good source for mouthpiece tip-wand gauges: http://www.musicmedic.com/catalog/products/tool-mp100.html
It has been hard to get for a few years now, but at last for only $35 one can once again acquire this necessary tool. I purchased one last week and found it to be accurate and of good quality.
Okay, now I would like to take some time to address comments from this thread. I will work up from here:
“When I talked to Brad he mentioned that if I purchased one he would rework a tip rail for me, but at the price that the mouthpiece commands it either plays better or easier for me or I ain't buying it. I am not going to relearn my playing to make a piece of equipment work. Now I have one of my zinners that Brad refaced for me a few years back at one of the ICA fests and he did a beautiful job on it, but it didn't endow it with any mythical or magical properties, it just played well.”
I have made many of my Vintage Collection mouthpieces with thinner rails than are commonly seen on other mouthpiece brands. I have always preferred thin rails for the faster response and clarity of resonance but I have come to realize that there are many people who prefer wider rails. So I have over the past two years or so produced Vintage Collection mouthpieces with rails that are a bit wider than I have made in the past. They are not as wide as most Vandoren or Zinner mouthpieces but they are in many cases wider than what I used to do. Please remember that every mouthpiece I make is ultimately a hand finished object that comes from me and my concepts, and my perspective is keenly part of the equation. I expect Tom’s and my perspectives are not identical and therefore we don’t share the same belief about what makes a great mouthpiece.
This is one of the greatest challenges a mouthpiece maker must grapple with. I have decided that I must be true to myself and produce the best possible mouthpiece as I see it. I know that what I do isn’t for everyone and that is why I offer many options. Usually if someone decides not to get a Vintage Collection mouthpiece, they are happy with my Zinner offerings. The price is surely a factor but Zinner blanks function well on their own, and after I put my concept into the mix, they offer the player a slightly different take on my concepts. Frankly my Vintage Collection mouthpieces are a more true representation of my concept of the ideal, and my Zinner offerings (Behn Artist Collection) are more of a collaborative effort. They are a collaboration of Zinner and Behn.
“Has anyone been able to compare any of the Behn Vintage mouthpieces against any of his "standard" mouthpieces where the design and facings are legitimately comparable? That is, so that to the degree possible with hand-applied facings and adjustments, the only significant variable is the material?
If so, does your experience substantiate or refute the effect of the material on the sound, response or intonation?”
Zinner mouthpieces have a variety of different design constraints which would make it impossible to compare the difference or similarity of material resonance. It is my assertion that material matters. This is due to the fact that the mouthpiece’s beak sympathetically resonates with the reed’s vibrational energy. The material’s visco-elastic characteristics (how it stores and releases energy) at the beak has much influence over the playing experience. Indeed design is a large influential entity but material is the icing on the cake so-to-speak. Some materials have a warm-dark sound, and others have a thin-edgy sound, some materials create more perceived resistance, and others have more blow-through. I would describe Zinner material to be warm, colorful, and free-blowing. It has been good material. Behn Proprietary Rod Rubber is different in many ways, and requires less bite to focus and works best with lighter free and vibrant reeds.
“…bag of 200 mouthpieces”
Indeed I will always be active as a refacer as I find it an enjoyable challenge. It is fun to try to bring the unique identity of a single mouthpiece out, to improve upon its resonance, and to let it sing with ease. To reface mouthpieces is good for my perspective as well because it always introduces me to the many voices within the clarinet mouthpiece field, and helps me keep perspective. It also continues to hone my skills as a craftsman…much like doing scales, and long-tones; it keeps me on top of my game.
“I look upon Brad Behn as a personal, good friend of mine. When other people make fun of people that mean a lot to me, I feel pain. So, perhaps, in this area, I may have possibly over reacted.”
Dan, thanks for your concern and for your kind sentiment. I don’t feel as though anyone was making fun of me. My goal in this forum is to only write when I have something to offer. You no doubt also have this perspective as I have frequently found your quest for knowledge and for a better playing experience to be an uplifting purpose. The zeal you show towards the clarinet is something we can all learn from.
“That old saying that I quoted above is what is sometimes known as a 'no win' saying for we have all been fools at one time or another in parting with our hard earned cash, it's that some of us part with more of it than others. I can easily think of times when I've been conned out of some of my hard earned dough.”
I have never conned anyone. My mouthpiece pursuits are real, genuine, and honest. My experiences playing my own mouthpieces have provided rewards that can’t be summed up in sales. Sales provide more R&D investment and so goes the cycle. To realize my ideals, to make mouthpieces from the ground-up are dreams come true. For me, those kinds of achievements are priceless. Soon Signature Collection mouthpieces will be available and the proof of my dedication and creativity as a maker and designer can be seen through my patent 7667118. No con, just something that comes from my heart.
“I'm not one to judge by its cover (or in this case: price tag) but that last time I tried a $300+ mouthpiece it just didn't play. I'm talking specifically about Backuns. I know this is differently made, etc, however for $650 I can buy a whooole bunch of other things, than just one simple mouthpiece. I've never tried Brad Behn's mpcs, but I'm perfectly fine with my $200 Vaccaro M&M mpc.”
Backun mouthpieces do play. Perhaps you don’t interface with them but that doesn’t mean they don’t play. There is a good reason why Zinners have become so popular…they play. My Vintage Collection mouthpieces are different than Backun/Zinner in more ways than any other manufacture and they play also, but for those who like Zinners, or would rather spend $195 instead of $650 I have Zinners as an option.
Cheers,
Brad Behn
http://www.clarinetmouthpiece.com
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