Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2017-04-28 17:02
Musikat wrote:
> is there a way (and is it even worth it) to try to somehow
> learn to make a good tone on 3.5's to work less hard, or is my
> particularly mouth/setup just "set" to 4's? I do like the easy
> response of 3.5's but that is about all!
If Greg Smith and Walter Grabner feel that optimal playing is possible on their mouthpieces with a #3.5 V.12, then that would seem to be the direct answer to your question.
For any given mouthpiece, there is a range of reeds you can use with good result, and a #4 on the mouthpieces you're trying is probably not out of the range. It depends a little on your individual concept of tone. Kazooey-sounding reeds typically are too soft, but "thuddy" articulation is typically a symptom of too-heavy tongue pressure and flat altissimo notes may be the result of the way you're "loosening" your embouchure. There still needs to be enough firmness in the embouchure muscles and enough air flow to maintain the pitch and ensure that when the tongue releases the reed for an "attack," there is air pressure at the reed to drive it.
The bottom line is that, while Walter Grabner and Greg Smith are both very qualified to attest that their mouthpieces can sound good and articulate easily with a #3.5 reed, you're the one whose comfort level as a player is what's important in the mouthpiece you choose.
You might concentrate on playing on the #3.5s as nearly as possible the same way you play on the #4s. You may be over-adjusting based on what you expect to be a different feel. The funny thing for me is that I can play-test a box of #4s and a box of #3.5s on my mouthpiece and find some reeds in each box that feel acceptable. Also, kazooey-sounding reeds can be a characteristic of the profile design of the reed, and a different brand or even model of the same brand may sound better to you at #3.5 that the V.12s.
And, always, things may come back to your sound concept. It isn't that your mouth is "set to 4s," but it may be that your ears are. Your kazooey may be someone else's centered, and your full and "dark" may be someone else's dull. In the end, choosing your equipment is as much as anything else about how you want to sound.
Karl
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