 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: gerardo1000
Date: 2017-09-22 16:51
I am a beginner and I have the opportunity to purchase for a heavy discounted price a brand new Leblanc 4L hard rubber mouthpiece for my new Buffet Crampon Premium student clarinet. The Buffet mouthpiece that comes with the clarinet seems very good to me, but I am tempted by a special offer that will allow me to get a hard rubber mouthpiece for less than $ 25. As far as I understand from the web, the Leblanc 4L has a tip opening of 1.10mm and medium facing. But I cannot find any reviews. Can you give me some opinions ? Thanks !
Post Edited (2017-09-22 19:04)
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Author: jdbassplayer
Date: 2017-09-22 17:16
I had a 2L (purchased from the same eBay seller because it was very cheap) and found it to be quite a poor mouthpiece. The facing looked like it was molded and not finished in any way. This isn't to say anything bad about Leblanc. They made great instruments, just not good mouthpieces.
The urban play is actually quite a decent mouthpiece. I actually use one on my basset horn because it is so free blowing. If you are looking to upgrade I wouldn't recommend d anything less than a handfinished Clark Fobes, Grabner or a Ridenour. The Leblanc would be a downgrade.
-Jdbassplayer
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2017-09-22 20:02
The student model mouthpieces offered by Clark Fobes, Grabner, Ridenour, and Behn are all good. If you're looking for a discounted mouthpiece that plays well, you can also try a Vandoren 5RV lyre or the closer 5RV. You can often find these on the famous auction site for $50.00 or less. They generally play and tune well and will be of service to you as you progress in your studies. The Vandoren 5RV lyre has a medium length lay, open about 1.09 mm at the tip.
Post Edited (2017-09-22 20:04)
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Author: gerardo1000
Date: 2017-09-22 20:45
Thank you for the suggestion. So far, it looks like nobody has played a Leblanc 4L. For sure it is not a popular mouthpiece! Or perhaps it has been discontinued ? The 4L measurements look very similar to the ones of the Vandoren 5RV Lyre, but at one third of the price. That is why I was interested in buying one.
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2017-09-23 03:49
Gerardo1000,
The Leblanc mouthpiece has been discontinued, and the Leblanc brand, I believe, is now owned by Conn-Selmer. Ii is unlikely that nobody on the list has played a Leblanc 4L, since that design goes back at least to the early 1960s. More likely, hundreds have tried it and the other Leblanc facings L1, 2, 3, and most have not been impressed enough by their quality to comment. You try one, shrug, go on to another brand or model that you prefer, and that's the end of the experience.
I got to try about two dozen Leblanc mouthpieces of about the same design but with closer facings, when the Army band I played with ordered two dozen Leblanc LL clarinets. I got to pick the best mouthpiece out of the two dozen, actually preferred it to a Vandoren I had and played it for a few months until I found something better. Most of the other players just put their Leblanc mouthpieces aside and played whatever they preferred.
Through the years, I've bought very low priced LeBlanc mouthpieces, including three with the 4L facing, from the big web site, and when comparing them, have been most impressed by their obvious inconsistency. They vary considerably in table shape and tone chamber design. Vandorens are much more consistent. Vandoren has mostly been in the business of producing reeds, mouthpieces, and more recently, ligatures. Leblanc sales, by contrast, have always been based on the quality and design of their clarinets, not their mouthpieces.
Buying a used mouthpiece online finally comes down to a question of probability. The probability that a Leblanc 4L mouthpiece will play better than a very well-known, widely used Vandoren model like the 5rv lyre or 5rv is rather low. But it is not zero. Your Leblanc 4L might play better than one of these but the odds are against that.
Trying mouthpieces that you can return is the only remedy against this uncertainty. Hand finished mouthpieces offer another level of probably that they will play well. There is at least one mouthpiece tech who finds old 4L Leblanc mouthpiece he likes, treats them like blanks, does extensive reworking on the table, rails, and chamber, and sells them for over $100.00 on Internet.
Post Edited (2017-09-23 05:41)
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Author: gerardo1000
Date: 2017-09-23 09:23
Thank you for your detailed reply that helps a lot. Actually, it looks like the 4L mouthpieces that are on sale on the Internet are brand new, not used. May be Leblanc decided to produce them again, I do not know. Any way, I bought from the seller the Leblanc 4L, listed as brand new, and also a brand new Gigliotti Maestro 4, and I spent less than $70. Both of them are returnable, therefore I hope that I am not taking a big risk. If I will not be happy with both of them, I will return them and will probably order a Vandoren 5RV. Thanks again !
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