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 Does the mouthpiece cap really matter?
Author: derf5585 
Date:   2016-06-03 06:39

http://www.silversteinworks.com/product/omnicap/?Saxophone%2C+Mouthpiece

fsbsde@yahoo.com

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 Re: Does the mouthpiece cap really matter?
Author: Chris P 
Date:   2016-06-03 06:56

In protecting your reed and mouthpiece rails when not in use, then yes.

Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010

The opinions I express are my own.

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 Re: Does the mouthpiece cap really matter?
Author: TomS 
Date:   2016-06-03 06:59

MP cap should protect the MP while not scratching it, not make a loud sound if it is accidentally dropped and make a good seal over the MP and reed to keep the reed moist. Sounds like this one fits the requirements.

Tom

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 Re: Does the mouthpiece cap really matter?
Author: alanporter 
Date:   2016-06-03 07:16

Is this surposed to be a serious question ?

tiaroa@shaw.ca

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 Re: Does the mouthpiece cap really matter?
Author: Ken Shaw 2017
Date:   2016-06-03 15:34

Only if it's made of cryo-treated platinum and costs at least $1,000.

Ken Shaw

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 Re: Does the mouthpiece cap really matter?
Author: ClaV 
Date:   2016-06-03 16:12

Ken Shaw wrote:

> Only if it's made of cryo-treated platinum and costs at least
> $1,000.
>
> Ken Shaw

....and endorsed by at least a dozen of eminent clarinetists who find the difference in how it just feels for a player subtly essential.

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 Re: Does the mouthpiece cap really matter?
Author: kdk 
Date:   2016-06-03 16:45

I'm with Chris and Tom on this one. According to the website ad, it does everything a cap needs to do and costs next to nothing. Looks to me like one of the better new products to hit the market in a long time.

The only question the ad doesn't answer is whether or not it fits within the mouthpiece compartment of most clarinet cases.

Karl

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 Re: Does the mouthpiece cap really matter?
Author: Hurstfarm 
Date:   2016-06-03 16:48

I suspect the reality (which won't be in any marketing blurb) is simply a recognition that the plastic caps so far supplied with their ligatures are too big and cumbersome to fit the mouthpiece recess in any normal case. This will solve the problem, and at $12 the pricing seems a lot less "ambitious" than has tended to be the case with these guys. The risk is that their new caps are so tiny and bouncy they may be prone to disappear without trace, thereby ensuring a steady trickle of repeat business!

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 Re: Does the mouthpiece cap really matter?
Author: fskelley 
Date:   2016-06-03 17:07

I was ignoring this thread as silly, but I must say it looks like a good product at a fair price.

One requirement not addressed (except the silent when dropped bit) is- how quickly can you remove it and start playing if you forget and your exposed solo is in 1/2 second? (war stories, please)

Stan in Orlando

EWI 4000S with modifications

Post Edited (2016-06-03 17:42)

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 Re: Does the mouthpiece cap really matter?
Author: Hank Lehrer 
Date:   2016-06-03 17:30

I just ordered three; one of each color. Let's see if the black gives me a darker sound.

HRL

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 Re: Does the mouthpiece cap really matter?
Author: WhitePlainsDave 
Date:   2016-06-03 17:32

Tom Ridenour actually, I think, raised a good point in one of his videos where her argued that one of the purposes of the mouthpiece cap is to help keep the reed moist when then instrument is not in play.

I've seen many caps with holes in their tops, by design, I would think to let the mouthpiece "breath" under said cap, even if said design defeats to some extent Ridenour's aforementioned ancillary reed wetness benefit from the cap.

He actually wraps the cap sometimes in electric tape to not only facilitate this goal, but to help keep the cap tightly enough on the mouthpiece so that is stays on even when the clarinet may not be oriented with the mouthpiece closest to the sky.

Other than this, the device utterly doesn't affect play such that one might go out and spend extra $ on one like the mouthpiece it protects--which can enormously affect play.

There are though crappy caps--and a cap, like a lig, should always pass some basic tests of staying on the mouthpiece with the right firmness and not damage or compromise the lig, reed, or mouthpiece (i.e. not do harm.)

Taking the OP's question literally though, my answer would be that caps matter enormously for all the people who don't have war stories to tell about a reed being damaged 2 seconds before their intro, but matter little in people's comparison of one competent cap versus another.

I have though decided to blame a couple of stray fingers I previously reported while doing Bearmann, not on my bell (as originally reported), but now--not on me either. Clearly, it was my mouthpiece cap's fault. [wink]



Post Edited (2016-06-03 17:40)

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 Re: Does the mouthpiece cap really matter?
Author: Philip Caron 
Date:   2016-06-03 17:35

"Let's see if the black gives me a darker sound."

It will if you leave it on the mouthpiece when you play. Your sound will be so dark it will be invisible.

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 Re: Does the mouthpiece cap really matter?
Author: BartHx 
Date:   2016-06-03 18:26

I believe it was The Doctor who offered a mouthpiece cap for awhile that was somewhat different in design but similar in concept. Those had the addition of spring-like plastic arms that came around the mouthpiece just above the ligature. Those arms were vulnerable to damage if not treated carefully. However, I have been extremely happy with mine. It has the added advantage that it can be dropped, unnoticed, into my shirt pocket when I am playing. And, yes, it fits easily into the mouthpiece recess of my case.

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 Re: Does the mouthpiece cap really matter?
Author: David Spiegelthal 2017
Date:   2016-06-03 18:52

The mouthpiece cap induces a magneto-acoustic field into the ligature, which in turn can induce non-linear Gaussian wave disruptions into the mouthpiece and thus destroy the carefully-calibrated tone color of the clarinet. But this disastrous effect only on occurs on Buffet R-13s. So anyone else is safe (except of course from the Buffet Mafia, which is always trying to hunt you down).

The only known shielding for the magnetic disruption caused by the Silverstein ligature is the Hamilton plating on some Yamaha clarinet keywork.

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 Re: Does the mouthpiece cap really matter?
Author: Hank Lehrer 
Date:   2016-06-03 19:28

Phillip and David,

Thank you for your sage technical advice. Perhaps the white cap is the one to use for a totally colorless sound.

HRL

PS The clear would probably be too transparent.



Post Edited (2016-06-04 01:02)

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 Re: Does the mouthpiece cap really matter?
Author: derf5585 
Date:   2016-06-03 19:42

Should this cap be on Shark Tank?

fsbsde@yahoo.com

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 Re: Does the mouthpiece cap really matter?
Author: WhitePlainsDave 
Date:   2016-06-03 20:30

While I strongly infer satire regarding a mouthpiece cap Shark Tank presentation, the sales market's just too small even assuming the markup was high to attract such non-musician celebrity investor capital.

Smaller venture capital "fish," might offer a deal with demands for sizeably greater returns and lesser risk than the Sharks might give/accept.

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 Re: Does the mouthpiece cap really matter?
Author: D Dow 
Date:   2016-06-03 21:13

My wife is an engineer..and I a clarinetist..I think their is way too much voodoo here for me to be comfortable...if the climate is incredibly dry say minus 20 degrees below zero and low humidity the reed is going to be dry
quickly. Sadly the public is a victim of science here. Play what works..if you spend alot and think it is better than so be it.

David Dow

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 Re: Does the mouthpiece cap really matter?
Author: nellsonic 
Date:   2016-06-04 00:32

Just bought one, thanks for the heads up! As Hurstfarm mentioned, this solves the problem of the huge Darth Vader cap that comes with the Silverstein ligature and wont' fit into a clarinet case. Looks like a good product at a reasonable price. I'll try to remember to post a review when it arrives.

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 Re: Does the mouthpiece cap really matter?
Author: dubrosa22 
Date:   2016-06-07 14:34

The Francois Louis Smart Cap is excellent in providing simple protection and versatile fitting on many different sized or shaped mouthpieces and/or ligatures:

http://francois-louis.com/ligatures/saxophone-accessories

V



Post Edited (2016-06-07 14:35)

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 Re: Does the mouthpiece cap really matter?
Author: Hurstfarm 
Date:   2016-06-08 23:27

As a user of Silverstein ligatures on Bb and Eb I ordered a couple of these. First reactions:

- Immediate solution to the problem of capped mouthpieces not fitting in the case, so I'm a convert. I see no further use for the caps originally supplied.

- They are as small and bouncy as I imagined. As I've ordered black ones I'm sure to lose them soon.

- They grip onto the vamp of the reed, so time will tell whether the soft material wears with this contact.

- The close fit and tiny ventilation hole should help to retain reed moisture between playing sessions, but a potential breeding ground for all sorts of nasties for those who normally pack their instrument away with the reed on the mouthpiece.

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 Re: Does the mouthpiece cap really matter?
Author: Tom Puwalski 
Date:   2016-06-11 01:03

I sound better when the new silverstein omni-cap is on my mouthpiece. I actually really like the new cap, it stays on the mouthpiece which is a good thing, I've had trouble with the size of the regular caps fitting in my Lomax cases. not a problem on Sax or bass clarinet. But you don't need a ligature to use this mouthpiece cover which is a plus if you want to grab an extra MP for a particular gig. These omni-caps are inexpensive and will work with what ever ligature you have. I must admit I hate trying to find the correct cap for whatever size horn or mouthpiece I'm using.


Tom Puwalski

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 Re: Does the mouthpiece cap really matter?
Author: Tony F 
Date:   2016-06-11 03:38

My clarinet sounds really good with one of these caps. Unfortunately, when I take it off the instrument sounds really bad. I think it must be a design problem.

Tony F.

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 Re: Does the mouthpiece cap really matter?
Author: Hank Lehrer 
Date:   2016-06-11 04:59

Tom mentions a significant problem that being finding the right cap to mate properly with the ligature. With these little guys, the ligature dimensions are not in play.

Maybe we are on the verge of an equipment revolution/evolution of sorts.

HRL

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 Re: Does the mouthpiece cap really matter?
Author: WhitePlainsDave 
Date:   2016-06-11 19:18

Tom--know that I know of how advanced a player you are---military service and all.

And yet, I don't think you meant this tongue in cheek, as if to say, that the cap's presence on the mouthpiece, affecting your ability to make ANY sound, is better than the running joke of how my "nephew's best trumpet solos are during the times he has rests in the music." (cymbal crash)

What causes and affects do you suspect might be in play for you here to draw connection between how that which covers the mouthpiece, reed, and lig during non-play, improves play when said cover is set aside?

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