 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Le9669
Date: 2011-06-17 23:15
Just wondering how many of you swab through the mpc and how many of you don't? Also another question I have is how frequently do you clean your mouthpiece and using which method. Thank you.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2011-06-18 00:54
I do it every time I put my clarinet away, but I don't pull it over the facing and I use a silk swab. I've been using the same MP for 20 years, it has no ill effect at all on it. Maybe if I played it for two or three thousand years it might have some small effect, I probably won't know because I'm likely to change MPs by then. ;-). I clean my MP with vinegar and water about once a year but only if it really needs it. ESP
eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: JW177
Date: 2011-06-18 01:02
If I'm at home practicing, I usually use a tissue to clean the inside and outside of my mouthpiece before putting it away. If I'm elsewhere, I might use a swab or just wait until I get home to wipe my mouthpiece down.
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Author: Grabnerwg
Date: 2011-06-18 01:05
Eddie is absolutely right. If you use a silk swab and don't run the swab or the cord over the facing, you should be just fine.
I have seen the relatively fragile edge at the bottom of the window broken by roughly running a thick leather swab through a mouthpiece. The rubber is very thin there and a chunk can be broken out by tugging too hard if the swab gets stuck.
Use common sense and you wont have a problem.
Walter Grabner
www.clarinetxpress.com
World Class, hand-crafted mouthpieces
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Author: Barry Vincent
Date: 2011-06-18 02:00
I rinse mine under a cold water tap , and the reed seperately as well (Forestone) and then use a silk pull- through to dry the mouthpiece out. And as noted above , take care to look after the facing.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2011-06-18 02:06
I usually blow mine out forcefully after playing, but every now and then swab it out. I can HARDLY believe that lightly pulling a silk swab through would hurt it. It's not called "hard" rubber for nothin'!
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: weberfan
Date: 2011-06-18 13:15
Silk swab, once through.
For cleaning, I use vinegar and water, as well, in a shot glass. Frequency is generally timed to replacing the mouthpiece patch if it gets gritty around the edges or starts to peel away.
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Author: 2cekce ★2017
Date: 2011-06-18 14:17
I use a silk swab most of the time, If I have tissue readily available I use it
when drying out the tenon joints as well. I keep a nice water soaking cloth
for the tenon joints. especially my middle joint as my G# hole goes through that one.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2011-06-18 14:47
I use a silk swab and run it carefully through the mouthpiece from the tenon to the window. I'm careful not to let the weight hit any part of the rails and try not to let the silk dag over the rails either.
I clean the white mineral deposits off periodically - whenever they build up enough to look bad - by leaving the mouthpiece tip down in a shot glass with straight vinegar. I've never really understood why people dilute it with water (I've never tried it), but if it works diluted, I don't imagine it makes any difference whether you do or not. I have some quite old mouthpieces (from the '70s - probably not as old as Ed P's) that show no signs of damage from either the swab or the vinegar.
Karl
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2011-06-18 20:58
Qtips are what I use. I use the Doctor's Products mp cleaner and it's great! (No affiliation yadda yadda)
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Author: Bassie
Date: 2011-06-19 08:42
Yes, I pull-through the mouthpiece. In at the tenon, out through the window. The pull-through I use fits quite easily. No, I've never seen any damage.
I only ever see crustiness on the top of the mouthpiece and that just flakes off with a fingernail.
They get really grim if you don't ever clean them
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2011-06-19 13:30
I rinse my mouthpiece after every practice. I blot the rinsed reed and the outside of the mouthpiece dry on a washcloth dedicated to that use. I don't use the pull-through swab (silk) to swab the inside of the mouthpiece out, because although I wash the pull-through often enough to avoid anything obvious growing on it (or in the clarinet), I wouldn't really want to put it in my mouth. Instead, I keep one of those infamous "mouthpiece savers," never leave it in the mouthpiece, but use it to blot the inside of the mouthpiece dry after rinsing it out. Since I never use the "mouthpiece saver" on anything except a freshly-rinsed mouthpiece, and since I dry this small swab in open air afterwards, I think it stays reasonably clean between washings.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
Post Edited (2011-06-19 13:32)
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