 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Corey
Date: 2001-03-11 20:44
Are vandoren mouthpieces really good? are their better mouthpices out there? if so which ones play best you?
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Author: Fred
Date: 2001-03-11 22:23
Corey, this is a big subject. Vandorens, as a group, are respectable, decent mouthpieces. Within the group, many will be decent/respectable, some will be great, and some will stink (playing . . . not smelling). Yes, there are better mp's out there, but at what cost? Vandorens can be bought for about $60 and come in a mind-boggling array of tip openings and models. If you go to our sponsor link, you will find several sponsors that also have very good mouthpieces ranging from expensive handmade jobs to excellent student models. None of these sponsors will offer the variety that Vandoren does; I think, perhaps, that Vandoren offers too many choices. The bottom line is . . . you have to play them and see how you like them.
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Author: Lindsay
Date: 2001-03-12 02:00
I agree...try a variety of mouthpieces and see what works for you. I've heard that Vandoren B45's tend to be hard to play on, but you have to try it out yourself to see how you like it. If you're going to find a bunch and try them all out to see what works, try Pyne JX. It's a great mouthpiece and I'm sure there are many you agree. Good luck and I hope you find what you like!
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Author: Willie
Date: 2001-03-12 02:36
The make and model of your clarinet ( along with its condition), the lig and reed you use, and most importantly your very own chops are the factors that will determine which mouthpiece is best for you. With woodwind players, its kinda like the search for the Holy Grail to find that perfect mouthpiece. It is best to try as many as you can.
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Author: daniel
Date: 2001-03-12 10:24
vandoren mouthpieces are good. B45 and B40 are very popular. I also think that they go quite will with Buffet clarinets. there are some good ones made by Selmer as well- C85 series that have relatively wide tip openings and so are quite "loud". i think most experienced clarinetists tend to play with a narrower tip and hard read(such as 5RV and Vandoren reed 3.5- 5) than more open, but it is really up to you.
good luck
Daniel
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Author: Daniel Bouwmeester
Date: 2001-03-12 13:09
I don't think any mouthpieces are better than any other really (apart from the ones you get delivered with your new clarinet).
A mouthpiece is something very personal. Some people like a specific model, some like another model.
Choosing a good mouthpiece is as hard as choosing a good clarinet.
Vandoren are probably the most widespread mouthpieces. There are many other brands which are good also.
If you want to buy a mouthpiece I suggest you go to a good dealer, try out mouthpieces. CHoose a model. Then Select a good mouthpiece out of many mp of the same model.
When I get a new mouthpiece, I usually take 20 mouthpieces of the same model home, and choose one after two weeks of comparing.
Good luck
Daniel
Geneva, Switzerland
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Author: Anji
Date: 2001-03-12 16:03
The restocking fee for 19 mouthpieces would add $60-$80 to a US purchase.
If you are just beginning, this is an appropriate place to get assistance from your teacher. The Vandoren M14 is a nice, medium face mouthpiece on which to begin.
There is a bewildering array of choices before you, a little input from your teacher or nearby music school could help cut to the chase.
As mentioned, an audition is a very commendable idea. They won't all play well for you, so trying several makes real sense.
Lastly, consider the Legere reed as a fairly constant measure for these. It is largely unaffected by humidity and will eliminate a variable during selection.
If you are just beginning, a #2 1/4 to 2 1/2 should be adequate.
If you have been playing awhile, add 1/2 strength to the number of your favorite reed. Do bring someone with good ears along to help you choose.
anji
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2001-03-12 16:07
Most dealers in the U.S. won't let you "test" 20 mouthpieces, and if you take 20 home, you will have to pay for them up front to do so. And, the music store in my town charges $99.00 to $115.00 for Vandorens, so that would be a pile of cash to play test mouthpieces. Also, due to health reasons, most music stores won't let you return mouthpieces.
But, if you can find a music teacher or a company that allows returns, like International Musical Suppliers, Inc. (1-800-762-1116), you'll be able to get a 2 week approval for mouthpieces.
The Vandorens are great mouthpieces, especially for student-intermediate players who might not need the "edge" a $200.00 handmade mouthpiece like Pyne, Bay, Fobes, Smith or others. International Musical Suppliers sells Vandorens for about $59.00 and there are all better than the stock mouthpiece that comes with your instrument.
In my opinion (after playing all and more) these are the best models:
M13Lyre or M13 if you like a slightly more closed mouthpiece than the Lyre
B45, B45 Dot
5RV Lyre 13 (American pitch 13 series)
5JB for jazz
Whenever you talk about mouthpieces it's like opening a can of worms to clarinetists. There are so many variables. I play a Kaspar Cicero #13--but played Pynes, Bays, Smiths and Fobes before finding the Kaspar.
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Author: Mark Charette, Webmaster
Date: 2001-03-12 16:44
Brenda Siewert wrote:
>
> Most dealers in the U.S. won't let you "test" 20
> mouthpieces, and if you take 20 home, you will have to pay for
> them up front to do so. And, the music store in my town
> charges $99.00 to $115.00 for Vandorens, so that would be a
> pile of cash to play test mouthpieces. Also, due to health
> reasons, most music stores won't let you return mouthpieces.
Brenda,
This is exactly the reason mail order places continue to survive. The Vandoren mouthpieces from a mail order place will be about 40% lower in price, and they will allow returns as long as the mouthpiece is not scratched (minus a small restocking fee).
If a local place marks up the merchandise 10% over what I'd pay mail-order, I'll shop local. At 40% - sorry, I can't afford to keep them in business.
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Author: Daniel Bouwmeester
Date: 2001-03-12 21:55
If dealers don't let you take mouthpieces home, then they are not good dealers...
In Switzerland and in most of Europe, dealers will lend you equipment for testing and choosing, with the restriction of leaving the lended piece of equipment in the original state.
It's impossible to choose a mouthpiece in an hour... it takes many hours. If a dealer doesn't apply this rule, he will loose all his professional clientèle.
Same as when you get your horn repaired. You get a lended horn while yours is repaired.
A woodwind dealer has to have a relationship of trust with his customers. Here, if for example your clarinet has a problem an hour before an important concert, sunday evening. The technician will not refuse to come and repair it, even if he has to be woken up for that.
I will never mail order an item and I recommend it to no one, not even for a ligature.
The best solution is, if finances and times permits, going to the factory. I am lucky to live at 4 hours of Paris by train for buffet, and I go often on holiday to Bormes les Mimosas where the vandoren factory is.
If I don't have time, I go to my usuall dealer, which would work on sunday for me if I had a serious problem.
A clarinet is not a simple product. It's a unique work of art, which necessits great care and attention. Clarinets are natural products, something living. You can't ask a car dealer to sell a clarinet.
Most of you know that if you are doing music it's not to make money. Same for a woodwind dealer... It's got to be a passion.
BEst wishes
DAniel
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2001-03-12 23:41
Daniel Bouwmeester wrote:
> Most of you know that if you are doing music it's not to make
> money. Same for a woodwind dealer... It's got to be a passion.
Unless, of course, it's how you make your living! Most of us <b>don't</b> make our living that way.
I will pay an honest markup. I refuse to pay a dishonest one, and, being in business, I can usually determine what an honest markup is. Passion is one thing; starvation another.
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Author: Anji
Date: 2001-03-12 23:45
Last time I checked, the profit motive was international.
Leave us not lose sight of the vast majority of us players that are plunking around.
If the professional community has tremendous pull with the makers, it is because of the value they place on associations with the top dogs, you know the ones that record and play with major orchestras?
This association translates into advertising to us plunkers.
The question came from a junior high player attempting to get the most for his hard-earned money.
Being high handed is something best left to the pulpit.
yutz
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Author: Hiroshi
Date: 2001-03-13 00:47
I used to love my Vandoren 2RV in 1970's and after I broke it tried to find good off-the-shelf ones. I tried them not at shops but bought them and tried them
at home since it is impossible for me to nearly instantly find reasons why they do not sound like my old 2RV. I found all(not nearly) of mouthpieces I bought had not flat tables(this cannot be checked at shops).
I guessed they might not be hand finished as minutely as they used to be.
This may mean it would be better to ask a resurfacer to adjust it. It costs only
less than 20$ but I could not find those resurfacers then and resurfaced them myself but failed (it seemed my resurfacing might affect the curves to the tips too).
Then I bought Greg Smith Chedeville and Kasper style mouthpieces and found
there are no comparisons with off-the-shelf mouthpieces: They are beyond the
expression of 'better', totally different products.
The shape is considered by the designer and inside/outside of blanks are
minutely hand-scraped by the designer himself. Besides they-Pyne or Smith etc-
are professional clarinetists themselves and can play test them with firm targets
in their minds. This is, IMHO, what hand-made means. In other hand it may not be fair to Vandoren to compare their mass-market products with hand-made ones since they are making their best using best designed machines as far as their cost limtations allow.
By the way Smith's or Pyne's mouthpieces are less than 1/3 price levels compared with that of old Kasper-chicero or Chicago now since they are still
'alive'. I had really good practicing time eliminating frustration I had used to have
after I started to use Greg Smith's mouthpieces and I thought their prices are not
expensive considering these effects.
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2001-03-14 14:13
I also use the hand mades by real clarinetists and love them. They all have different characteristics. Right now I'm using a Clark Fobes and a Kaspar. I just sold a Pyne JX (Kaspar model) on eBay to recover a bit of the expense of the Kaspar--but it was an excellent mouthpiece. I just couldn't get the volume I get from the Fobes and Kaspar. I also highly recommend the Greg Smiths and Charles Bay mouthpieces. I've used Bays for years and had great success with them.
Greg Smith and Charles Bay and others will work with you on your mouthpiece needs. They're also accessible by telephone or email and will send out several for you to try before buying. That's a help.
Although some of the finest clarinetists I've heard use stock mouthpieces, I've found that I play better with less worry with the hand mades. And, if it really makes a difference--it's worth the money. You can always sell the ones you don't like on eBay.
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