 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: S.Wilson
Date: 2014-05-17 01:00
This is my first post on the Bboard, and while I normally avoid talking about equipment too often, I recently had a very good experience working with Brad Behn after playing on one of his Vintage model mouthpieces for a long time. I am happy to report that Mr. Behn's integrity as a craftsman and artist is what led me to write this review, and it is with my hope that others will find this helpful if they are considering the purchase of a Behn Mouthpiece.
I bear no affiliation with Behn Mouthpieces, and I am simply writing as a satisfied customer. I haven't posted anything until recently simply because I wanted to explore the benefits of using this mouthpiece in the long term.
I began my university playing career on a Vandoren M15 that I had acquired in high school, and quickly discovered that it was causing me a lot of undue strain due to the fact that it seemed to only attain a focused and clear sound with a very hard reed. Later on in my first semester, I was encouraged to try one of Mr. Behn's Zinner mouthpieces, which offered a lot of improvement in my sound and reed selections. I played this mouthpiece until the end of my sophomore year, when I began to consider a change once more, as I was still trying to reduce the strength of reeds that I used at the time with the goal of finding more ease in my tone production.
After collaborating with older students at my University I found myself going through a selection of Vandoren mouthpieces, M13 and M13 lyres, but found very little that offered any true difference other than accepting a slightly softer reed (Dropping from a 4 to a 3.5 or 3), but still not giving me the kind of sound that I wanted... and let me take a bit of time to explain that at this point, I had always felt a little held-back, with a clear concept of how I wanted to sound, where I wanted to be in my playing... but that I always fell short of my goals.
While I still needed to develop skills like any other undergraduate, I was frustrated trying to find the equipment that simply WORKED for me, as it didn't seem to exist... at least in the $85 price range.
On the advice of some high level pedagogues who occupy seats at major universities, I was told to stick to Vandoren or other mouthpieces, Zinners, etc... but in my personal experience, those offerings did not give me what I wanted. Say what you will, we are artists, and the tools we use simply need to function for us in order to access our best.
So, after visiting Mr. Behn in Lyons, CO in August of 2010, I purchased a Vintage Model C. I understand that this model is no longer offered, but it is roughly equivalent to the LC (Large Chamber) offering, with a facing length of 37mm and a tip opening of 1.01. The mouthpiece offered a sweet, yet focused sound with a strong range of dynamics and a remarkable ease of register change. I used Vandoren traditional reeds in strength 3.5, and for two and a half years, the mouthpiece propelled me into the upper seats at my first university, and after I transferred, I won most of the auditions at the institution where I finished my bachelor's degree. After years of struggling against frustrations and assuming I lacked some special bone in my body for great clarinet playing, I was finally free to start learning to play MUSIC, rather than being bogged down thinking about the mouthpiece. Yes, I paid a significant price tag to get there, but I reminded myself that I could have spent more on a rare mouthpiece with no guarantee that I could get it to play for me... and don't even get me started on the other expensive options I could have explored such as a new instrument altogether--I play on a 2006 model Bb, and a 1984 A, not exactly a matched set, but they've been well cared for and wonderfully set up.
This is my only mouthpiece. The way I saw it was, I may as well play on the mp that offers the greatest ease and feel combined with the ability to create the sound closest to my ideal.
Then, nearly four years later and halfway into my Master's Degree, this ugly chirp seemed to find its way into my sound. I started to blame reeds, but had little luck--I was still getting a great sound and placing high in school auditions. Still, this squeak was most prominent in a particular set of repertoire, namely my quintet literature, all centered around chalumeau attacks and pointed articulations in the low register... No matter what happened, it was always there. I observed my embouchure, hand position, and generally worked myself into a panic (as I am prone to do) over everything but the mouthpiece... and I swore that I was doing something wrong... until this week, when I finally took the time to bring it back to Mr. Behn and have him work on it.
As it turns out, the facing had warped significantly from nothing other than HARD use--no scratches, nothing like that--but the rails were not where they used to be, and the tolerances had changed. Like all good mouthpieces, it simply needed to be refaced, though a bit sooner than I had expected--in my mind, 5 years would have been more accurate, but I underestimated how much wear I would put on this. After consistent weeks of 6 hours per day or more for nearly 4 years, I would say that it was time for some work.
I left the mouthpiece in his care for one night, and came back to it the next day having had it completely refaced--FREE of charge--and playing like a dream, with that remarkable ease and a special ring to the sound that first attracted me to that particular mouthpiece in August of 2010. I'm not trying to romanticize, but to quote one of my earlier teachers, Bil Jackson, "the sublime ecstasy of perfect recognition" was what I experienced. The chirp was gone. Everything simply worked again.
This is not superhuman magic--it's simply the result of someone who knows what he is doing, and delivers consistently on the promises he makes. I played on his Zinner mouthpiece for a number of years before switching, but I suspected that the Vintage series had something in store for me. As it turns out, I was right.
I writing this review, I am simply expressing the fact that this mouthpiece was the right decision for me, just as I had suspected. I can happily report that Mr. Behn delivers on his promise.
Now, I cannot say that my mouthpiece is exactly the same after being refaced... and I believe that all players change over time, so naturally refacing is a part of life. This works out to a business model for some, with regular refacing being a way to capitalize. What I like about Behn Mouthpieces is the fact that after the initial investment, the mouthpiece keeps paying for itself, with free adjustments for life.
...and they are done remarkably well. The way this mouthpiece plays is difficult to describe, but I have to say that it is better than what I remember, and that it feels like after these first four years and the first refacing, it may very well be the last mouthpiece I ever buy. (Well, not counting the drawer full of old ones that I am starting, but we all need to have "hobbies.")
I have only good things to say about my purchase of a Vintage model from Mr. Behn, and if in fact you are considering one of these mouthpieces, all I can say is: Try them. If you think they will suit you well, you are most likely correct. If you are a student facing similar dilemmas to the ones I faced, I can only encourage you to explore this option, as it has done wonders for my playing.
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2014-05-17 01:11
There are many recommendations based on short term evaluation. This post has some real substance.
Freelance woodwind performer
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