 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: nron
Date: 2016-02-29 17:44
Hello all!
I'm looking for opinions on a mouthpiece that I have an opportunity to purchase. The piece is a Selmer Paris HS star hard rubber mouthpiece
I'm don't know what class it falls under (beginner, pro, elite etc.) but I do know that Selmer Paris saxophone mouth pieces are the good stuff.
Currently I play on a vandoren b45 (would the selmer be a downgrade?) and sometime a glass o'brien which I can't read the facing size markings on it
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2016-02-29 17:56
Mouthpieces are a very individual thing. The Selmer HS* is a decent enough mouthpiece, I used to play one and found it worked well for me, but it's really not possible to say if it would work better for you than your B45, which is also a pretty decent mouthpiece. You'll find people that swear by the HS* and also people who swear at it. Assuming it to be in first class condition, I wouldn't want to pay more than $A50 for it, but you really should try it before you buy it.
Tony F.
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Author: dubrosa22
Date: 2016-03-01 05:52
B45 to a HS* is a big departure in tip opening, facing, chamber size etc.
It'd be like going from a Vandoren Java A45 to a Selmer C* on alto sax.
Both are great pieces but very different in their respective embouchure requirements. This chart may help conceptualise it:
http://www.saxandwoodwind.com.au/images/Clarinet-comparison-chart.gif
Try the HS*, Selmer pieces - like most good quality mouthpieces - sell used for decent prices so losses are low if you can't trial one in a shop.
V
Post Edited (2016-03-01 08:04)
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2016-03-01 06:52
The HS* has a close tip and a short facing. For me, it has lots of resistance. The Vandoren B45 has a medium opening an a long facing. If you like your B45, you will probably not like the HS*.
I favor a more open and easy-blowing setup, and I've never been able to get comfortable on an HS*.
Ken Shaw
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Author: TAS
Date: 2016-03-01 07:04
Honestly, hearing about Selmer and Vandoren mouthpieces is a broken record.
Every pro and rank amatuer alike have their favorite.
If you want the BEST of the legendary Cicero Kasper made by a person who actually knew and has copied the Kasper with a few tweaks, the
Theodore Johnson TJ3 or TJ3+ is what you may wish to look into.
They are both marvelous, with a price of around $235. maybe a bit less wholesale.
I'll bet few folks on this board even knoow they exist, Ted Johnson studied with Stowell as a native of Oak Park, IL and played in the Cleveland Orch. for about a zillion years. He has been making these for a few years now in retirement. I have several Kaspers that rest on my bookshelf..I play the Ted Johnson.
If clarinetists looking for a great mouthpiece don't give this gem a try, they should be confined to clarinet purgatory, listening to an endless stream of Acker Bilk playing Stranger On The Shore..
TAS
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Author: Ed
Date: 2016-03-01 19:29
Many older HS* were very good blanks, but I found that as stock mouthpieces they did not work all that well for me. The late Everett Matson used to do a terrific job with these, completely reworking the baffle and chamber and putting his standard facing on them. Those were fantastic mouthpieces.
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Author: Ursa
Date: 2016-03-01 21:49
I've worn out two HS* pieces over the years. They're very stable in the altissimo register and capable of playing at an extreme pianissimo as well as a rousing fortissimo.
I don't like them on modern polycylindrical-bore clarinets including the Ridenour RCP-576BC, Backun Alpha, Buffet R13, and Yamaha YCL-650. With instruments of this type, they are just too resistant with no special payoff in the timbre department, and often have a tendency towards sharpness.
I do like them on free-blowing cylindrical-bore instruments; the Selmer Centered Tone most notable among them. Cylindrical-bore student and intermediate level clarinets generally play very nicely indeed with the HS*.
All that said, you'll know for sure if it's right for you by test playing one. Compared to a B45, it will be a night-and-day difference.
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