 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: ZGriffin
Date: 2017-02-01 04:39
Ok clarinetists around the globe. After I heard the selmer C* for bass clarinet was no longer being produced I teared up just a little. I know that many bass clarinetists use and worship the C*. As I'm looking for one, my only option is getting one on Amazon for ~400 which is a little crazy. Does anyone know of any mps with a similar facing? I hear the Fobes RR mouthpiece style has a similar facing? Can anyone compare?
Thank you!
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Author: donald
Date: 2017-02-01 13:12
I too love the C* (and have had several- including one that was ruined by being refaced by a well known mouthpiece craftsman) (not the Mcclune I recently sold).
I found the Vandoren BD5 easy to swap too- I have a BD5 and a trusty C* that I switch between depending on the music/ensemble (I find the C* really super projects, but the BD5 easier to blend with the orchestra when I need to double bassoons/cellos... also slightly lower in pitch than my C* so better for summer playing).
I you wait, a used C* might turn up in the classifieds sometime soon (NOT my precious!), and there are always a couple on a certain auction site that could be returned to specs if found to have a poor facing....
dn
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2017-02-01 18:26
I used a McClune Selmer C* voiced by him for many years and had the Forbes RR facing as my back up. I liked them both very much but settled on the C* after playing both for about a month so yes, it's pretty close. McClune may be making his own now that would be like the C* as well since he can't buy the Selmers either.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2017-02-02 01:17
Since you're most likely not going to want to play on a C* with the factory facing, which means you're going to get the mouthpiece refaced regardless, why do you need a C* at all? Plenty of good 'blanks' out there, I like Bundys (which are Babbitt blanks), or any other mouthpiece made from a Babbitt blank (e.g. Conn "Precision", etc.), or any made from a Lelandais blank (many brands out there, e.g. "Coast" of which I have several).
Ultimately it's the facing that makes the mouthpiece play; the blank you start with is secondary. I've just made a really nice mouthpiece out of a humble Brilhart "Ebolin" plastic mouthpiece, and several other very good ones from generic Chinese mouthpieces.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2017-02-02 18:26
Some C* mouthpieces played very well right out of the box but they were inconsistent. ( Which MP isn't?) If you find a good one it could be terrific.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2017-02-02 19:45
Statistically, ANY brand/model of mouthpiece could play fine right out of the box. The difference is: The better the blank from which the mouthpiece is made, and the greater the skill and care of the refacer, the higher the percentage of mouthpieces that will play well.
Crappy mouthpiece brand/model? Maybe you get one out of a hundred that plays well; but somebody out there is playing on that one 'golden' mouthpiece right now, and loving it.
Good mouthpiece (e.g. Fobes, etc.)? Probably more than half will play really well, as reported by a spectrum of players. So you as an individual player wouldn't have to try 100 samples in order to get one good one. You'd probably find one you like by trying just a few.
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