 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Jan
Date: 2001-04-03 15:38
hi guys
i have seen several of these obrien crystal mouthpieces coming up on ebay lately. are these good? or is it a personal opinion what works for you, like any other m.p. any opinions on this m.p.? anyone out there use one?
jan
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Author: bob gardner
Date: 2001-04-03 16:17
i have a Michael Lurie crystal mp, and I'm not to happy with it. Number one it is heavy and #2 not all reeds seem to work with it.
i don't know if this is true with all crystal mp.
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Author: jbutler
Date: 2001-04-03 17:03
O'Briens were popular back in the late 60's and early 70's. I didn't particularly understand why, but it seems to me that they had an asymetrical facing on the. I think some of our in-house mouthpiece experts can shed more light on them.
John
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Author: Lynne
Date: 2001-04-03 22:31
I have a Vandoren crystal mouthpiece which I've used for nearly 20 years. It is simply stunning! I use a James Pyne ligature with it, one of those funny looking woven ones, and the sound I get is amazing. It is very free-blowing, warm, rich and velvety. I don't know if this is the same for the O'brien, but my set-up works wonders for me.
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Author: Bill
Date: 2001-04-03 23:35
I have a Pomarico (ruby mellow) which I'm very happy with.
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Author: Terry Horlick
Date: 2001-04-04 00:05
Can a mouthpiece guy reface a crystal mouthpiece? What is involved? Can you predict how well a mouthpiece will play before sending good money after bad?
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Author: Anji
Date: 2001-04-04 12:38
Jan,
Drop me a note off-line and I'll give you my impressions.
I have one that I play (it is NOT in constant rotation), and could give you a relatively unbiased review.
anji
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Author: David Spiegelthal
Date: 2001-04-04 14:43
O'Briens, like any mouthpiece brand (crystal or otherwise) can be good, bad, or indifferent. Generally, IMHO I think they're pretty good. Most of them could benefit from a slight refacing, however. And yes, it is certainly possible to reface crystal mouthpieces (I've done maybe half a dozen, myself) but it's a LOT of work --- that stuff is HARD to sand! As for the "off-center bore" of the O'Briens, my personal theory is that it has absolutely no bearing on how the mouthpiece plays -- I think that O'Brien obtained a bunch of crystal blanks that were improperly blown, and he tried to turn a potential (perceived) flaw into a marketing advantage by claiming they were intentionally asymmetric! Good marketing, if true.
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Author: Chris Hill
Date: 2001-04-04 17:31
I've also refaced some crystal mouthpieces, and have had some successes. They're difficult to reface, and another problem for me is that I don't have the ability to do anything in the chamber of the mpc. However, one of my students is playing on an O'Brien that I refaced, and he sounds very good on it. I also have a very nice old Selmer crystal mpc that I like.
Chris
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2001-04-04 18:58
I have a couple of OLD O'Briens, #2 and 2S [for short?] which are harder to find playable reeds for, and dont play as easily as a Selmer Clarion, which is a bit similar to a WW G8 and a BG hard-rubbers, my present "favorites". I bought with an EBAY McIntyre cl, a Mitchell Lurie M4 mp which so far with VD 2 1/2 reed is quite resistant?? ?Research is Needed?? Don
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Author: DrBert
Date: 2001-04-04 22:21
I have a Pomarico Sapphire Mellow, and I really like it... it is heavy though!
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2001-04-04 23:15
Jan -
Crystal mouthpieces are molded from liquid glass, which changes a lot when it cools to a solid state. Therefore, there's much more variation among crystal mouthpieces than among hard rubber ones. Some of them are wonderful, but I wouldn't buy one without a chance to play it first and return it if I didn't like it.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: GIBSON
Date: 2001-04-05 05:51
I have a Pomarico "diamond"....an open tipped crystal.....and it is excellent! Blows very well....and clean. I'd recommend it to anyone! They also make other models that are more close tipped. Depends on what you're playing. I prefer the open tip so I can "bend" the notes....
What's all the fuss about weight? So what if they're a little heavier? It's the sound tha counts.....and Pomarico are great crystals.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2001-04-05 14:12
David, how about using a diamond file for refacing crystal mouthpieces. They would attack crystal like cheese. Available from engineers tooling supplies or kitchen/chef suppliers.
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Author: David Spiegelthal
Date: 2001-04-05 14:29
Gordon,
I do use a file to thin the rails (not a diamond one, but a very fine ignition point file), however, for the rest of the facing work I need sandpaper. I've found that 3M Wet-or-Dry silicon carbide paper works the best, generally used wet when working crystal. It's not as difficult as I made it sound, it's just considerably more time-consuming than working with hard rubber or plastic.
The hardest, however, is stainless steel! Try refacing a Berg Larsen or Lawton steel sax mouthpiece sometime --- now THAT'S work!
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Author: John
Date: 2001-04-22 15:55
Hi, I own a Pomarico Diamond (mellow) too. I like my mpc very much. However, my only complaint is that I find it difficult to project my sound. It limits my dynamic range. No matter how much air I pump into the mpc, it still cant go as loud as my Vand B45.This makes it difficult for me to be heard when I am playing in a band.How is it possible for the sound to cut through? Do other Pomarico owners have this problem?
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Author: Riccardo Clerici
Date: 2001-04-23 13:33
Dear John, probably your problem is not only the mouthpiece, but the mouthpiece and the reed that you usually use on your B45. You know, the response of the materials are always different. I mean, if you use the same reed when you try an ebonite or an ebony wood or a crystal mouthpiece it will work always in a different way.
Or, if for you is possible, you can try a "Brighter". It is different from the mellow.
Regards
Riccardo Clerici
Pomarico s.n.c.
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