 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: ben
Date: 2001-05-29 20:49
I know that there have been written a number of books regarding how to make reeds from tubes/ blanks (i.e. Opperman), yet I do not know of any book on learning to face, voice, tune, etc. mouthpieces.
Is there a good book out there I am unaware of?
The closest thing I have found thus far are articles explaining what happens in general when an internal or external dimenision is changed (ie. Ridenour, Educator's Guide). Yet I have not found any literature regarding the actual methods and techniques used to make these changes.
So, how have mouthpiece makers learned their skills? Have some people taught mp making currently or in the past, or does each person have to learn on their own through trial and error?
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2001-05-29 22:44
Ben -
Mouthpiece work is a lot trickier than reed work. There's pretty much only one way to make a reed, and lots of ways to make mouthpieces. If you ruin a reed, its not the end of the world - a dollar or so at the most. If you ruin a good mouthpiece, it's $75 or more. If you mess up a reed, you can clip the tip back and start over. I've yet to see that work on a mouthpiece :-).
I ruined several mouthpieces experimenting with them - fortunately most of them Buffet stock mouthpieces and other junk.
Ralph Morgan sells a mouthpiece refacing kit. You can try it, but first go to a large music store with a repair shop, which will have a drawer full of junker mouthpieces to learn on.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: joevacc
Date: 2001-05-30 01:45
The Erick D. Brand "Band Instrument Repairing Manual" has about 20 pages on the subject. Plus what looks to be a good selection of tools needed. I have not delved into refacing mouthpieces yet but in learning to repair clarinets have found that one source on the any given subject is not enough. I hope others can give you some more suggestion's. Read what you can then go for it. I would not start on your grandfathers Kasper just yet! ;~)
Good Luck,
-=[Joe Vacc]=-
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Author: Ken
Date: 2001-05-30 12:08
Speaking of Ralph Morgan, he's cloning BG pieces now with original specs.
http://www.ralphmorganmusicinfo.com/benny_goodman.htm
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Author: Anji
Date: 2001-05-30 12:52
"Abandon all hope, ye who enter here" - Dante
"You want to what? Turn back before it's too late; it will ruin your life!" - E Matson
So I cleaned up my first mouthpiece facing about 8 months ago, and it played surprisingly well. "I'm a GENIUS." I thought.
Since then, I have begun to learn how little I actually know. The facing of the mouthpiece is pretty straightforward. The Morgan kit has some instructions and you can get immediate feedback from playing your handiwork. ($160)
What happens inside the the mouthpiece is another matter entirely. (Priceless)
There are no published facts or figures about what taper to use in the bore, how far apart the side walls should be at any point, what slope the baffle should have, yadda-yadda.
Personally, I think one of the Kaspars made a side deal with the spirit world.
In short, it does seem to be trial and error with precious little hard science attached. Chris Hill, Clark Fobes, Dave Spiegelthal et. al. really know what they're doing, just buy their stuff and forgeddaboudit .
anji
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Author: David Spiegelthal
Date: 2001-05-30 22:45
Many years of experimentation, many dozens of lousy and/or ruined mouthpieces along the way. But worth it in the end.
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Author: Hiroshi
Date: 2001-06-01 04:50
Hans Zinner sells mouthpiece blanks at 35$ or so (perhaps at International Musical Suppliers?) and this may be better to experimet on rather than on already finished ones. Besides, his material seems good.
But at first, tooling preparation would be necessary. Micronmeter, vernier, sand and emmery papers, inside cutters or hand reamers. You cannot do this with ordinary carpenter tools.
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Author: David Spiegelthal
Date: 2001-06-01 13:44
I beg to differ with Hiroshi on tools. It is possible to reface mouthpieces with nothing more than various grits of wet-or-dry sandpaper and a thick, flat piece of plate glass. For interior work, one can make the following tool: Take an old reed and trim off the sides to make it narrow enough to fit inside the chamber. Cut a strip of sandpaper to the same size as the bottom of the 'former' reed, and glue it to the bottom of the reed with superglue. Presto!--- A reed interior sanding tool.
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Author: ben
Date: 2001-06-01 14:37
Thanks for the info.
Aside from what has allready been mentioned, are there any people who allow you to study with them their methods of making mps?
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Author: Eric Satterlee
Date: 2001-06-05 20:00
You can also obtain the mpces refacing kit at ferreestools.com.. If you need the mpce refacing book that was published by Eric Brand in the 60's let me know and I could have mine copied...
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