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Re: Vandoren Masters Mouthpieces Facing Specs

Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2014-11-19 12:20

I personally don't let details get in the way of enjoying the experience of playing the clarinet. So maybe I find myself "flailing around" a bit from time to time, but I also find combinations of things that work that may not normally be recommended by the manufacturer.

that was the first point

Another issue being missed here is that there are A LOT of factors that influence the response of reeds on a mouthpiece: rail thickness (thicker = more resistance), baffle configuration (concavity = more resistance), volume of the tone chamber (smaller = faster response). And then there is the affect of the combinations of all those on each other. I was fortunate enough to spend a few minutes with Brad Behn and he really opened my eyes (and EARS!) to all sorts of acoustic nuances and the reality of there not being just one way to get at a certain characteristic you want out of a mouthpiece (probably Vandoren's motivation in this instance?).

second point

and........ the Master's Mouthpiece is the ONLY mouthpiece I have ever played where my wife had made an unsolicited comment of approval (she's a professional singer) saying it had an "Oooo sound" (as in the word moon).

So what's the point?

You cannot 'spec' your way to exactly the way you want to sound. I wish that you could add up a bunch of numbers and come up with exactly the sound you're looking for (or response, or durability or whatever) but it doesn't work that way....at least not for me.

Oh and I was just being snippy about Amazon. But really, wouldn't you rather work with a music dealer than a second rate Alibaba?

................Paul Aviles

Post Edited (2014-11-19 12:32)

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