 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: fernie51296
Date: 2013-07-12 17:32
Could anyone direct me to mouthpieces or makers of mouthpieces that are super closed for boehm clarinet. I'm curious to know who makes the absolute most closed mouthpieces. Thank you
Fernando
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Author: Grabnerwg
Date: 2013-07-12 17:46
Many of the current mouthpiece makers will happily make you a mouthpiece with a tip of .98. I imagine some will go as low as .95. Most mouthpiece makers will stop there claiming that anything closer, for Boehm clarinets, would mostly close up when you really blew.
I am interested why you ask.
Walter Grabner
www.clarinetxpress.com
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Author: fernie51296
Date: 2013-07-12 18:17
That is fairly closed. I've found myself liking closed mouthpieces very much. I tried about a week ago an Austrian mouthpiece on an old Oehler system and wow was it nice. Tip opening was around .80!! And took very very hard black master reed. Again the tone was amazing and it was so comfortable to play. At least for me. So I can't help but to be curious about super closed mouthpieces that would fit a boehm.
Fernando
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2013-07-12 18:25
I tend to like closed mouthpieces.
That being said, the most closed mouthpiece I've ever played and found is the Gigliotti P facing. Cheap too.
Long lay, close-tip. From what I've seen, it goes up from there.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: fernie51296
Date: 2013-07-12 18:46
I'll definitely look into that. Any chance you know the measured tip opening of the Gigliotti P ?
Fernando
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Author: kdk
Date: 2013-07-12 18:55
Supposed to be .98 mm when he designed it. His wife may have changed it since then. Mine from the '70s, measured with my gauge, is .99.
You have to be a little careful about those tip measurements. Tip gauges, as I've learned from both Walter Grabner and Clark Fobes, are notoriously inconsistent. A good one will give you accurate comparisons among mouthpieces that you measure with it, so in that sense the measurements are valid. But it can easily happen that the same mouthpiece can measure .98 mm on one gauge and 1.01 mm or more on another.
Karl
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2013-07-12 22:34
You may want to consider Brad Behn mouthpieces. He prefers mouthpieces that are of a smaller tip opening in general. On his website, the Evaluation Charts seem to indicate that he typically makes them as close as .85 mm, but I'm sure he can provide custom tips of whatever opening you prefer.
The wow factor for me is that they play like much more open mouthpieces.
..................Paul Aviles
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Author: BobD
Date: 2013-07-15 12:43
One can get different readings with any gage. It's usually the user.
Bob Draznik
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2013-07-15 19:20
Sherman Friedland has written that Manuel Valera (Boston Symphony) played a Selmer "A" mouthpiece, the closest one made. Selmer hasn't offered them for years, and I've never seen one for sale, but it would be a start for your search.
Ken Shaw
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2013-07-15 19:25
My Gigliotti P is bright compared to my Backun C which is similarly close. And it's far better than any other Gigliotti P that I've tried - it was picked out by Tony, and even others that have been picked out by him aren't nearly as good as my main one.
Still, bright compared to the Backun, which isn't at all dull.
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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Author: NBeaty
Date: 2013-07-15 23:12
There are many makers that use the " -1 " zinner blank and do not adjust the tip opening. These can range from 0.88 to 0.95, generally.
There are many factors that can make a mouthpiece FEEL more close or more open. Rail width, overall facing (length, type of curve, balance), baffle shape, and bore width...and material...and about anything else you can think of.
I personally play on a mouthpiece with a 0.955 (95 and a half) tip opening. I prefer facings that are below 1.05 or so, due to a number of factors including the response and efficiency of vibration with the reed.
Brad Behn prefers close tip openings as an overall philosophy. He's well equipped to handle any mouthpiece request. My advice would be to send him a mouthpiece (zinner, vandoren, or something else reasonable) and have him reface it in the style you're interested in. I believe he has a discounted rate for vandorens and ricos at the moment.
He does truly artistic work and spends all the time necessary to make every mouthpiece he works on a true work of art in design, execution, and the most efficient way for the player to make their art communicated to the listener.
If you find (or others recommend) other makers that you're interested in, send them a mouthpiece to reface as well. When you get them all back, you'll know what you're getting into with each person and what they're able to do for you.
There are a few reasons why I say to have mouthpieces refaced first:
1) You get to examine their work and decide if it meets your needs.
2) If it DOES NOT meet your needs, move on.
2b) It's possible that the design you're interested in does not suit you, keep that in mind.
3) If it meets your needs, you can stop there! If you like the design but want to examine other blanks\materials etc. you can call them up and set up a trial.
4) BE AWARE: Many mouthpiece makers do not offer this type of facing and would have to reface something in their stock to meet that requirement. Some makers would ONLY do this work if the mouthpiece was already purchased. BUT WAIT: Refacing is whatever you want right off the bat!
5) Some makers will re-work a mouthpiece they just refaced if it doesn't meet your demands. This would likely be the case if the design you're after isn't what you thought it would be! While not all makers accommodate this, it is helpful for your situation especially.
Refacing is relatively cheap (50 to 120 depending on the person), so it's a great way to evaluate someone's work.
While I never expect most to be as much of a clarinet-nerd as me, people should have a good understanding of their equipment. You can learn MUCH from phone or email consultations with mouthpiece craftsman.
It's worth noting that most mouthpiece people will be out of town for ICA in Italy in the not too distant future, so keep that in mind.
Usual disclaimer: I have studied mouthpiece craftsmanship with Brad Behn but have no business affiliation or anything to gain by promoting him in any way.
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Author: clancy
Date: 2013-07-16 02:11
In answer to Fernando's posts:
I have worked on many German and Austrian mpcs over the past few years. They are a completely different animal from French mouthpiece designs, and (in my opinion) the traditional facings do not easily translate onto French mpcs.
The German and Austrian mouthpieces traditionally are under 1mm tip. When I worked with Sabine and Wolfgang Meyer recently, I measured their Wurlitzer and Zinner Deutsche mpcs to be near .87mm at the tip, and quite long when compared to the longest French mouthpieces currently available. Austrian mouthpieces are even longer. The contour of the facing curve is different from most any French mouthpieces - they also have unique requirements when configuring the chamber, baffle, rail thickness, etc. The mpc itself is much slimmer, and also the bore design is different as well.
In my opinion, a traditional German or Austrian facing usually only works on those mouthpieces, not French mpcs. German and Austrian mouthpieces were designed to compliment those particular facings, and when applied to a French mouthpiece, it simply does not have the same character, or in my opinion function properly - the French chamber was not designed for that. * On a side note - many German players today are using much more open, French style facings on their mouthpieces, and softer, French cut reeds. Some are even using French mouthpieces on their clarinets. So what we are talking about here are "traditional" German and Austrian facings - close tip and long facings, requiring a heavy reed.
I have a client who uses a Vandoren Deutsche system mouthpiece on his Buffet. The facing was modified to be a similar facing as what Michele Zukovsky plays (close and long German), and he uses a Vandoren white master reed. He had to make some adjustments and changes with his clarinets tuning, but is happy with the result. There are some pro players in Europe who do use a similar mixture of setup, but not many. You could try that route, but beware of possible tuning obstacles. Avoid Austrian mpcs, as the bores are generally very large, and will introduce a new world of tuning problems - much like trying to play a Boosey 1010 bore mpc on a Buffet, doesn't work well at all.
There are not many manufacturers of German and Austrian mouthpieces - search the internet and you will find them. I will have my own German models available in the future, but not for a few months at least, as I am currently in the midst of several new French mouthpiece projects.
I hope that helps
R Wodkowski
www.ramonwodkowski.com
www.facebook.com/WodkowskiMpc
Post Edited (2013-07-16 02:12)
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Author: morbius
Date: 2013-07-19 02:40
Greg Smith refaced a Kasper that I had. It is magnificent. I've had other orchestral players come up to me unsolicited, and comment on the beauty of sound it produces. Check him out; he is a master.
John Dorch
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