 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2011-04-22 00:07
I need a spare for my 35-year-old Vandoren 5RV Lyre mouthpiece, but it now come in three optional configurations: "13 Series", "Profile 88", and "Traditional".
-> Is the venerable piece most akin to "Traditional"?
-> Can anyone explain the differences between the three variations?
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: clarnibass
Date: 2011-04-22 05:28
The 13 plays flatter, the traditional plays sharper. How much difference there is and whether you need one or the other depends on both player and instrument. The differences and also for the Profile 88 are shown on Vandoren's website. Most likey that a Traditional one is most similar to one made 35 years ago but maybe they changed it, I don't know.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Bassie
Date: 2011-04-22 06:58
Traditional. But having said that, people I know who have tried to match old, old mouthpieces have found it difficult. What changes I don't know. I'd be interested to find out how close you find the match!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: mihalis
Date: 2011-04-22 08:00
Bassie is right.
I am using a B46 from 1968-69 if I remember right, and two
new ones I bought last year have a feel and sound completely different.
I don't know what the difference is.
Mike.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2011-04-22 12:27
Yes the old 5RV Lyre can play sharp - I can always pull out some, more lately than in the past. It is also relatively bright, which for me equates with better control. Most of the modern pieces I have tried are "darker" but they also feel stuffy to me. You can adjust reeds and embouchure to darken the sound of a bright mouthpiece, but you can't do the same thing to brighten up a dark-sounding one.
Production mouthpiece manufacture could well be like minting money - the dies wear out and the coins look differently. The US Mint is smart about this in that they are is continuously making new dies from their patterns. Does Vandoren expend the resources to work like this?
I would like a clear statement of facing, chamber, beak combinations for each model/series, but Vandoren's chart here can be confusing:
http://www.vandoren.com/en/fprod/Becs%20de%20clarinette%20Sib%20en.pdf
Profile 88 pieces have a longer beak taper.
Traditional and Profile 88 should play rougly the same, after adjusting for the different beak.
13-Series are A440 (American pitch) with the Profile 88 beak. What do they do to accomplish this? Make the body longer? More air volume in the chamber? D'oh!
The only thing to do is take a day off work, drive off somewhere and spend a day playing mouthpieces. Trying to find something that gets the job done is not going to be simple.
Post Edited (2011-04-22 12:28)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
