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Re: The Vandoren Masters Mothpiece Specs Are In

Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2014-12-16 12:43

I don't mean to parse words with Vandoren, but "L" is NOT a technical spec. I would still like to to see what length the lay is in mm or inches according to Vandoren (of course they've NEVER provided that for ANY mouthpiece).

My next points are NOT intended to be argumentative at all but rather to keep a wider level of understanding amongst everyone reading this thread.

I would also like to take some issue with the contention that 1.10 is "REALLY open." This is just about in line with the 5RV Lyre which is still a reasonably standard tip opening. It is also important to keep in mind that balancing out all the other factors; such as rail thickness (thicker=more resistant), baffle contour (deep= more resistant), and tone chamber size (larger=more resistant); is vital to the end result of a mouthpiece's 'feel' and response. Tip opening is only ONE element that works in combination with the others.

And also there is HOW you get from the tip opening to the point where the mouthpiece meets the reed. This SERIES of dimensions (or facing contour), yes SERIES OF DIMENSIONS, plays a significant role in how a mouthpiece ultimately responds (none of you would care for the results if this were a straight line). Who refaces a mouthpiece and how they do it is QUITE variable and cannot be boiled down to simply making a tip opening smaller (which is quite a bit trickier than making the tip opening bigger).

Finally I still bristle at the contention that one needs to "hunt" for a good Vandoren. On the contrary, you would have to try at least six CL4s to find one that MIGHT not play as well as the other five.

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

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