 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: MGT91123
Date: 2013-11-11 19:50
Good or Bad? Why? Close to 5RV Lyre? If so, which model do you use and why? Good MP For under $20? Or do I get what I pay for? Any other toughts would help too.
Buffet E-11
Buffet Moening Barrel, 65 mm, Backun Protege 65mm
Vadoren BD5 Mouthpiece
Vandoren M/O series gold Lig.
Gonzala's FOF Reeds 2.5
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Author: SteveG_CT
Date: 2013-11-11 19:57
The Rico Grafonite mouthpieces for clarinet are typically pretty lousy (saxophone models are actually pretty decent). There are much better options in the same basic price range. I would personally spend the extra money and get a Fobes Debut, Gennusa Mezzo, or Behn Overture. All of these are plastic mouthpieces in the $30-$35 range and are vastly superior to a Rico Grafonite.
Post Edited (2013-11-11 19:58)
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Author: GBK
Date: 2013-11-11 20:07
The Rico Royal Graftonite mouthpieces have to be the ABSOLUTE WORST clarinet mouthpieces ever offered for sale, anytime, anywhere, any century.
When first marketed in 1986, they were given out by the thousands - free to band directors, most of whom immediately threw them in the trash.
(I had thought I got rid of all of mine - but just noticed I still have 4 new ones on the shelf in my studio. I truly hope they are not multiplying)
They were Made from Graftonite™ - a graphite/rubber compound.
They should have left the graphite in the pencils.
Thick rails, thick tip, very resistant blowing, badly designed facings (the A7 had a tip opening of 1.40 and a facing length of 20mm), raised reed table, thin sound - nothing good whatsoever about them, except that they were (sadly) indestructable and impossible to reface.
Toss it in the landfill where it belongs.
I think that the the half-life of lead is 22 years...GB
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Author: gkern
Date: 2013-11-11 20:45
Is it only a rumor that Arnold Brilhart had a hand in their design?
Gary K
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Author: acermak
Date: 2013-11-11 22:06
I actually liked mine OK, but only played on it for a few months when I was just starting. I liked it better than my 5RV, that's for sure. I much prefer my B45 and even my Fobes Debut to the Graftonite though.
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Author: cyclopathic
Date: 2013-11-12 13:23
>Good MP For under $20? Or do I get what I pay for? Any other toughts would help too.
Hite Premiere.
Graftonite isn't as bad as they say. Well it could be, depends which facing?
And I have to disagree with Steve, IMHO clarinet MPCs are better then sax ones; at least the ones we tried.
If you decide to try Graftonite, try A3 facing. It is more closed then B45 and will be closer to your 5RV. And it doesn't feel bad with VD 3-3.5 reed good luck
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Author: Katfish
Date: 2013-11-12 14:43
They were reported to be indestructable, so my students and I had a throw the mouthpiece against a brick wall as hard as you can contest. We never broke it or put a mark on it. We knocked the cork off. It was the worst mouthpiece I have ever played.
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Author: Ursa
Date: 2013-11-14 18:39
Mr. Brilhart did indeed have a role in the design of the Rico Royal Graftonite--it says so right on the box that they are packaged in.
Having vintage Brilharts in my collection that play very well (in certain situations), I obtained a Graftonite--a C3, thinking the small chamber might be useful for blasting away when playing outdoors.
The Graftonite C3 proved to be one of the very few undamaged mouthpieces that I find myself unable to play with any degree of artistry.
In this age of entry-level mouthpieces from Fobes, Ridenour, and Gennusa offering performance that comes tantalizingly close to professional level, equipment such as the Rico Royal Graftonite and Selmer Goldentone is best considered as functionally obsolete relics from bygone times.
Unfortunately, firms managing fleets of rental instruments will ensure that these bottom-dollar mouthpieces continue in production and end up in the hands of unsuspecting beginning clarinetists--making clarinet playing needlessly difficult for students needing all the help they can get. That's the real shame here.
Post Edited (2013-11-14 18:42)
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Author: sax panther
Date: 2013-11-30 16:44
I haven't tried a graftonite, but I do have a rico metalite mouthpiece. I have a couple that I use on tenor and bari sax and they're actually quite good (for jazz/latin etc) so thought I'd try one out on clarinet. I haven't really given it much of a chance, but playing it for 15 minutes or so I really didn't get on with it. I have three mouthpieces that I use regularly on clarinet - a Grabner K11*, a vintage chedeville which was refaced by Scott Kurzweil, and a Rico Reserve X10. The Rico reserve is nothing like the old rico royal pieces - it's very, very nice to play and only about the same price as a vandoren. I'd save your money for one of those - it's probably the best mass produced mouthpiece I've tried in that price range.
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Author: cyclopathic
Date: 2014-02-01 12:03
@Gary K
>Is it only a rumor that Arnold Brilhart had a hand in their design?
Having just acquired a xerox copy of Saxophone Journal, vol 13, #5 fromMarch/April 1989 I will quote from Mel Martin's article about Arnold Brilhart (who designed the Graftonite and Metalite mouthpieces).
"When I joined the Roy Maier Corporation (Rico), I had enough knowledge to try and develop a different principle of making mouthpieces which could be made with a limited amount of handwork that would be highly consistent; that would be low enough priced so that there would be leeway for promotion, that would help the teachers in terms of being so consistent that a teacher or a player could order a dozen mouthpieces and they would all play the same. ....We came up with a combination of rubber and graphite materials which we trademarked as "Graftonite". This new compound allows us to do things that couldn't be done before. No other material had given us this consistency and durability and, most importantly, the ability to hold dimensions. The facings are done on special equipment using curves designed to make one after the other with tolerances that do not exceed one half thousandths of an inch in the tip opening......this type of mouthpiece offers something never before available. As soon as players and teachers realize how well these mouthpieces play and are reasonably priced as these are, this line of Rico Royal Mouthpieces should become very popular." All this was said by Arnold Brilhart to Mel Martin.
Mr. Martin then describes the three chambers (A =Dark, B=Medium and C=Bright) and the three openings, 3, 5 and 7. Then he mentions that: On the way are chambers similar to the old "Level-Air" design .... The "Metalite" M7 and M9. According to Brilhart....His idea with the Metalite models is to get that extra punch and yet maintain the intended resonance.
Mr. Martin mentions that he has tried the entire range of mouthpieces and can confirm the high consistency and good intonation. "In fact, the pricing allows any player to own several models for different needs as well as matching them for different horns. Besides all this, they are guaranteed for life with reasonable use."
This issue of Saxophone Journal can be obtained in xerox copy from Dorn Publications ( http://www.dornpub.com ) if anybody is interested in reading the whole article.
Personally, I have tried the Graftonite and the Metalite for tenor, alto and for clarinet and I join many others on this forum that these are surprisingly good mouthpieces in view of their modest price.
http://forum.saxontheweb.net/archive/index.php/t-69102.html
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