 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: GBK
Date: 2013-07-02 23:11
For those who have both or played both, is the main difference the width of the tip rails, or is there something else?
Trying to answer a question from a student.
...GBK
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2013-07-02 23:28
Considering they both appear to have the same tip opening and lay length according to their catalogue, it has to be something else that sets them apart. A different shaped bore or tonechamber perhaps? I don't really know!
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: NBeaty
Date: 2013-07-02 23:38
Practically nothing. I've measured and worked on 4 or 5 of each recently, and they within the quality control level of the machines.
The VD Eb blanks are all the same (aside from QC variances).
Their Eb offerings are very limited, and all pretty open. 1.10mm tip makes it more difficult to flow through (resistance is high), and since you have to work hard to just get a good sound, pitch flexibility as well as tonal flexibility can be difficult.
Since it's all they offer, there are many who play them well.
Personally, every one that I have closed down to 1.00mm and less has played much better, making the Eb much more of a joy and much less of a "walking on egg shells" experience.
Although more variable in bore size, the Selmers (especially older ones) are quite good on Eb. Tuning varies a good bit.
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Author: sonicbang
Date: 2013-07-03 06:54
As I recall the B40 has a bit thicker rails and produces a more covered tone than the B44. And of course more resistance. I played both with VD Trad. 3-3.5 depending on the situation. Maybe this difference was only between those two mouthpieces. Vandoren mouthpieces vary greatly among the same models too because of their loose quality control and 'hand finishing'.
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Author: DAVE
Date: 2013-07-03 12:54
I play the B40 and don't think I'm imagining things when I say the B40 has a rounder sound and a much easier high register, for me at least. I've also seen that the B44 and B40 have similar measurements but again, for me the B40 is far better.
A similar measurement can be found on both the Bb B40 and the B45, IIRC. To me the B45 is very different from the B40.
Did anyone else notice vandoren is offering an M30 Eb mouthpiece?
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Author: NBeaty
Date: 2013-07-03 18:02
The rail thicknesses of Vandoren mouthpieces have varied quite a bit. Generally, they are thicker now than any time before. The variation of age of each mouthpiece from the store\distributor makes it somewhat confusing sometimes.
The point is not that you can find a B40 that feels different than a B44. The variation in machine made mouthpieces covers the difference. If you had 5 of each and tried them all, you'd notice differences between all of them to some degree. You can find B40's that are more covered than B44's and vice versa.
Since there's not really a distinguishable difference between them from a facing\blank\style standpoint, you can't really say for certain that there's a consistent difference between the two.
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