 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Meri
Date: 2000-12-14 13:21
A question about mouthpieces and warpage: can you tell if a mouthpiece is warped or has other defects without taking any measurements, but by merely looking at it carefully?
If so, what should one look for in determining whether a mouthpiece is a good one, in the sense of being free from defects?
Meri
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Author: William
Date: 2000-12-14 14:20
The only sure way of determining wheither a mp is a "ggod one" is to--like trying a clarinet--play it. It's pretty much like Duke Ellington says, "If it sounds good, it is good."
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Author: Willie
Date: 2000-12-14 18:30
You can't always tell from the obvious either. I have a 2RV with a nick in the rail that plays great whereas my other 2RV that appears perfect is just so-so. As William says, try it. I also have a new 5RV that I dropped, putting a 1/4" chip in the tip. I enjoy challenges so I placed duct tape inside the tip and applied J-B Weld to the chipped area. After curing, I removed the tape and very carefully sanded the excess epoxy off and it plays again.
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Author: Lelia
Date: 2000-12-14 18:59
I used black epoxy to repair a hairline crack in the tip of one of my best sax mouthpieces. The repair has held up now for more than a year (probably closer to two years -- I don't recall exactly when I did this repair). However, that tiny crack was enough to ruin the mouthpiece, until I sealed it. I would never buy a *new* mouthpiece with a crack, because this type of damage can dramatically and swiftly worsen, as it did on my alto sax mpc -- and I'd rather not repair that sort of problem if it's avoidable.
At first, I seemed to be squeaking more often than normal, and blamed myself. When the squeaking and chirping got worse, I wondered if I had a bad box of reeds. Then I found the crack, once it got bad enough to make playing nearly impossible. The deterioration in playability occurred over a period of only a few weeks.
I've also repaired a few tip chips and rail chips, with less success. Those mpcs were chipped when I acquired them (in cases with used instruments) and may never have been good to begin with, but they've made me leery of messing with chips, unless the mpc plays well *despite* the chip, as some other people have described.
I now carry some old reeds in my flea market bag, to help detect and avoid crude amateur repair work. It's not always obvious at a glance. One of my mpcs had a big repair in it when I bought it. This is an old Buffet hard rubber mpc that was probably dropped. I did notice this repair, because the mpc had broken into three pieces. A previous owner glued it together. I assumed the mpc was worthless when I decided how much I was willing to pay for the clarinet, but once I got it home, I was surprised to find out how much more had been ground off the tip than I'd realized in the flea market. In sanding it down, this person, probably the flea market dealer, changed the contour of the tip (probably to grind out tip chips). It's a superficially cosmetic repair, but not functional. I haven't even found any reeds that will fit.
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Author: Anji
Date: 2000-12-14 20:51
Lelia,
Two questions...
Which black epoxy do you prefer to work with? I tried some two part on a few "fixer-uppers" that doesn't adhere to the roughend mouthpiece surface.
[Political comment snipped by the Webmaster]
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Author: Lelia
Date: 2000-12-15 13:29
Anji, to seal the sax mpc crack, I used Duro Master Mend Epoxy (the one labelled "Extra Strength Quick Set"), which I blended with black Chemco Color Pigment Concentrate (the one labelled "For Coloring Polyester and Epoxy Resin"). I didn't choose that combination for any special reason -- it happened to be what I had in the home workshop, and I got lucky that it worked.
This was not a wide-open, obvious crack, BTW. I found it under a strong magnifying glass after I realized all the squeaks and chirps must be coming from the mouthpiece and not the reeds or my embouchure. I wondered if my alto sax might have a leaky octave key pad, but when the same sax played fine with a different mpc, I knew there had to be something the matter with the mpc and looked hard for the damage. I've also used the epoxy mixture on small mpc tip chips, but those repairs haven't worked out as well. The epoxy tends to wear out of a shallow chip and has to be replaced periodically. The idea that I might be swallowing the stuff bothers me.
The crack was easier because I could simply rub a tiny amount of the epoxy mixture into the crack with my finger . There was no problem of sanding or contouring the repaired surface later. I buffed it a little with a flannel cloth and that was the end of that. The crack hasn't "run" (yet...). The repair is invisible except under strong magnification.
For repairing tenon chips in wooden clarinets, I've used this same Duro mixture with the addition of ebony sawdust that I swept up from my husband's woodworking lathe. I haven't really tested those repairs, because I did them on an old Albert system Buffet from 1897 that I haven't played much. The only mpc I've got that will fit (a "no name" hard rubber one, not original but old) is seriously wrecked. I have to get a new mpc and then we'll see if the tenon repair holds. I notice that Ferree's Tools, a sneezy sponsor,
http://www.ferreestools.com
sells a pre-mixed black epoxy for use in clarinet repair. I haven't tried it, but other tools and repair materials I've bought from Ferree's have been excellent and IMHO the company handles orders very well.
[political comment snipped by the Webmaster]
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Author: Anji
Date: 2000-12-15 22:06
Thanks Leila,
Any idea where I may find this Chemco Color Pigment Concentrate?
I'm also contemplating purchase of a bag of grenadilla dust from Ferree's (lifetime supply and all that).
Thanks for the info
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