 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: mmatisoff
Date: 2016-06-17 20:59
As I was practicing last evening, I decided to try an off-the-shelf mouthpiece that I was given to see if it made any difference in my playing. It did. It was a lot worse. I'm currently using a Vandoren M15 mouthpiece with Rue Lepic 3.5 reeds. I tried V21 4s; however, I can barely get any sound out that combination. Even when I balanced the reeds, they are still difficult to play. I noticed that my reed do not cover the tip rails. Is that typical?
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2016-06-17 21:11
In many cases the width of a mouthpiece's tip will be wider than your reed (also depending on the reed).
So you are trying something OTHER than the M15 that is not working? Have you tried harder reeds (like the #4 21s) on the M15? Similar results?
In general a new mouthpiece needs some getting used to EVEN if it initially plays great for you upon a first test. Make sure you do a SQUAWK test to know where best to place your embouchure, and use reeds that allow it to play easily (softer reeds).
.............Paul Aviles
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2016-06-17 22:15
If the reed doesn't cover all the way around, that's bad news. The corners at the tip are the most likely leak points.
First, move the reed up enough so it covers at the corners, which should improve things a lot. Then reshape the tip so it matches the mouthpiece. This is relatively easy to learn. I use a Revlon diamond nail file I bought 40 years ago, but a fine emery board works well.
Courdier reed trimmers usually match mouthpiece tips well. I almost always jog the reed butt left and right, trimming one side at a time, to match the mouthpiece tip curve.
Ken Shaw
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2016-06-17 23:02
To be clear, trimming wood off the tip to match the mouthpiece shape will change the resistance of the reed.
Karl
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Author: WhitePlainsDave
Date: 2016-06-17 23:35
"I noticed that my reed do not cover the tip rails."
I'm interpreting this to mean that the reed lacks the necessary width relative to the mouthpiece such that when the reed's centered with respect to vertical, and otherwise brought to the mouthpiece tip, the reed still allows aspects of the mouthpiece rails, near the tip of the mouthpiece, to remain exposed.....
Maybe that's wrong...
...so a Vandoren reed's not matching a Vandoren mouthpiece???
I'm not sure this is the source of your problem, but something doesn't sound right...
has the reed or mouthpiece been adjusted such that the former's been narrowed and/or the latter widened with respect to each other?
Pictures???
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2016-06-18 04:07
I think that over time the shape of the reed tip has changed. I have several reed trimmers, some recent and some going back to the 20's and 30's and I notice that several of the older ones trim the reed to a more pronounced curve than the recent ones. Reeds trimmed with the earlier ones on a modern mouthpiece are more prone to squeak. I also have some old mouthpieces in my junk box that correspond closely to the curvature of the older trimmers.
Could this be the case here?
Tony F.
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