 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: GBK
Date: 2018-06-08 23:40
Fortunately I found my primary mouthpiece/ligature combination about 40 years ago and still use it today for performances, concerts, etc...
I do have a few backup mouthpieces but never went overboard in buying or trying many, being satisfied with what I originally found, and spending the time learning to play that one rather than experiment with dozens of others.
However, I continually meet and hear of clarinet players who have dozens of unused/rejected mouthpieces/barrels/ligatures, etc... which they bought and no longer need and are now trying to recoup some of the cash. Just a quick look at the Classifieds shows many players who are selling equipment they do not want.
Are you one of them? Did you buy numerous mouthpieces, ligatures, barrels, looking for just the right one, and now have an drawer full of expensive unwanted equipment? Do you regret spending the time and money?
...GBK
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2018-06-09 00:52
GBK,
I've traded some stuff with you and with several others on this BB and made
sales as well. But I have some ligatures and several nice mouthpieces that I will sell in the coming days. Using the BB For Sale ads has been somewhat effective but it seems that everyone is looking for prices that are just too low. Sure, negotiations are fine but...
HRL
Post Edited (2018-06-09 18:41)
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2018-06-09 19:37
I have close to a dozen mouthpieces I purchased over the years that I bought for my students when looking for new mouthpieces for them to try. I probably had three dozen but over the years sold them to students. I have no regrets because I was doing them a favor and making it easier for me to get them the equipment that worked best for them. I sold them for the price I paid even if it was years later. I never stocked barrels other than the ones I changed to and since I was Rovners "Guinea pig" whenever he developed a new design or experiment with his ligatures I have a draw full even after "giving' my students what ever they liked for many many years.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2018-06-09 21:01
Quote:
Are you one of them? Did you buy numerous mouthpieces, ligatures, barrels, looking for just the right one, and now have an drawer full of expensive unwanted equipment? Do you regret spending the time and money?
I was DEFINITELY one of those folks. I still fight my mouthpiece addictions to this day, but I'm doing well battling those Gear Acquisition demons so far!
About a year ago I got rid of all of them (donated to a music shop to hand out to high school students). Probably about 30 mouthpieces, 10 or so barrels, 10-15 ligatures.
All in all, I don't regret it. I regret the money I spent (sometimes), but looking back at it, it gave me a lot of experience trying out different combinations, and it helps to build up knowledge for conversations with students in the future. It also made me very flexible and adaptable. Because I tried so many (and at one time in my life, so many within a short time period), I tried to "get used" to setups quickly to see if I liked them. And now, I feel a LOT less stressed about having the 'perfect' setup.
I know that I can make any decent setup work for me. Some will be easier than others (learned through MANY trials). But if my mouthpiece were to break tomorrow, I know I could go to any music shop, buy something off the rack, find a reed that matches decently well on it, and perform. It might not be my best performance, or the easiest, but after trying 30+ mouthpieces, I know that I was able to make ALL of them work (with the exception of one or two) and reflecting on that, I feel a lot less stressed when it comes to equipment.
Overall, I regret the money I spent (not all of it, just certain mouthpieces), but not the time or experience. It was genuinely fun!!!
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2018-06-10 04:36
Yes, count me into this category, have lost count of he number, and in some cases the location, of the mouthpieces I have bought over 50+ years
I must have at least 8 Vandoren Crystals for starters, mostly A1s and A2s.
I did recently sell the only A3 I had in my possession, but that was back to the guy who had sold me the Buffet RC complete with this mouthpiece and then found he was missing it.
Alexi, couldn't help noticing your signature line...
When you grow up will you become a "Big" Group Leader 
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Author: TomS
Date: 2018-06-10 17:28
Have a tackle box full ... about my 3rd one. I've (like an idiot) given away/sold a bunch of barrels and MPs over the years, thinking that I'd never look back ... wish I'd kept my all Pynes, original Hites, B44s, B45s, B46s, 5RV-lyres, refaced MPs, Bays, Morgans, and O'brien crystals ...
Keep your stuff!
Tom
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Author: Allison
Date: 2018-06-11 05:56
I cleaned mine out and sent them along with a bunch of reeds that I did not like, brands And reed strengths that I never used, with a friend to Cuba. She passed them along to some musicians there for me.
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Author: Tom H
Date: 2018-06-11 08:39
I have all kinds of junk. Some of it from my days of trying out different mouthpieces, ligatures, etc. Some of it I collected from my Band Teaching days (unclaimed stuff, etc.)--swabs, brushes, clothes, neck straps, you name it. Too lazy to try to sell it online, but maybe someday when we desperately need money.
The Most Advanced Clarinet Book--
tomheimer.ampbk.com/ Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001315, Musicnotes product no. MB0000649.
Boreal Ballad for unaccompanied clarinet-Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001314.
Musicnotes product no. MNO287475
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2018-06-11 23:10
Maybe 200 mouthpieces. But not too many barrels.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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Author: bsnake1956
Date: 2018-06-12 03:19
Unless you are a mouthpiece maker like Greg Smith or any of the great artists that do the same, there is no point in having a boatload of mouthpieces. I have about 10 -12 , most of which are Robert Borbecks, that I used when I played in an orchestra. I now use Greg Smith mouthpieces, which work well for me. I don't understand collecting piles of mouthpieces.
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2018-06-12 04:57
bsnake1956 wrote:
> Unless you are a mouthpiece maker like Greg Smith or any of the
> great artists that do the same, there is no point in having a
> boatload of mouthpieces. <snip> I
> don't understand collecting piles of mouthpieces.
For some of us it's simply wanderlust or curiosity. I can't beat Bob's 200, but I probably have "a pile." I am not a maker like Greg Smith but there was a point to each of the mouthpiece purchases I have made over the decades - I wanted to know first-hand how those particular mouthpieces played.
Karl
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2018-06-12 06:04
As a mouthpiece maker you kinda collect mouthpieces, measure them, play them, just to make your designs better or perhaps the best.
The collection I have ranges from Kaspar's Chedeville's to some that play really well, including German mouthpieces and mouthpieces with no names on them at all, but surely play equal to the old Cheds and Kaspar's. Glass mouthpieces as well. There is something really nice about some crystal mouthpieces.
I find that as times change, such as the designs of clarinets, some of the old mouthpieces really fit well with the large bores.
Same with reeds, I have reeds going back to the 1940's which I've measured and some from the 1970's that have not been opened. You often learn so much this way.
I've thought about selling all of these on ebay, but I'm glad I haven't. These are probably like a getting a college degree worth of knowledge and information here.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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Author: sax panther
Date: 2018-06-12 13:07
I only have 3 mouthpieces. I do like buying and selling them, but I buy them used from the auction site and never go above a price that I'm confident I can sell them on for.
There's a lot of wisdom in 'finding a good mouthpiece and sticking with it', but it's fun to try different gear.
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Author: Klose ★2017
Date: 2018-06-12 15:52
I think a collection of 3 to 4 is ideal for most professionals. I have 4 at this moment for different styles as well as for a backup purpose, but for most of the time, I use only one mouthpiece...And for ligature, I only use string, which saves a lot of money, haha! I guess for companies like Sliverstain, which releases new ligatures like cell phone, they must hate players like me...
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Author: jbutler ★2017
Date: 2018-06-12 20:58
My woodwinds prof in college cured me of that. I brought in a new Selmer metal mouthpiece with matching ligature and played it for my sax lesson. I was really hyped over it and was waiting for feedback from him. Towards the end of the lesson I asked him if he liked the tone of the mouthpiece and his response was, "It'll make a good paperweight".
jbutler
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Author: A Brady
Date: 2018-06-12 21:01
I have a substantial collection of mouthpieces, barrels, and ligatures which I've acquired over the years, not only for clarinet and bass clarinet, but for SATB saxes.
I feel this is important for me as a pro player to have a variety of options available. I do tend to play on the same setup for a substantial period of time, but I will periodically run comparison tests with various combinations and sometimes alter my equipment.
I will frequently have chamber sessions with my pro colleagues here, duet up to quartet, and we will try one another's gear, another very useful measuring tool, and, as someone previously stated, this can also be very useful for our students.
One thing that I do regret is that a few times in the past I've sold or traded away a mouthpiece that had been my number one choice for a while. I feel this is a mistake, as something that worked well for me at one time may very well serve that function again at some point, and things do change over time. I've also had mouthpieces reworked by refacers that had been originally made or refaced by top craftspeople. I regret this as well, as it only sometimes results in a substantial improvement, and frequently results in real harm.
I've never understood the idea of finding the "holy grail" and immediately selling off everything else you own, as I know that precious grail may vary from year to year.
Works for me.
AB
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2018-06-12 22:22
jbutler wrote:
> My woodwinds prof in college cured me of that. I brought in a
> new Selmer metal mouthpiece with matching ligature and played
> it for my sax lesson. I was really hyped over it and was
> waiting for feedback from him. Towards the end of the lesson I
> asked him if he liked the tone of the mouthpiece and his
> response was, "It'll make a good paperweight".
>
>
> jbutler
So, in hindsight was he right? Have you ever gone back to that mouthpiece to see if you agree with him based on your own experiences since?
Karl
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2018-06-12 22:31
How can the person playing tell how a mouthpiece sounds? Maybe they can tell its resistance, response, intonation, etc., but isn't their perception of its sound strongly affected by bone conduction, proximity, etc? Or is it routine for everyone trying all these mouthpieces and setup parts to consult third parties and/or record themselves?
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2018-06-12 22:45
Philip Caron wrote:
> How can the person playing tell how a mouthpiece sounds?
You can't tell completely. But you can compare the sounds that you get naturally from different mouthpieces and get a pretty clear idea of the differences. Experience will give you some of idea of how a mouthpiece that sounds one way when you're playing it will probably sound at a greater distance.
Karl
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Author: kchan ★2017
Date: 2018-06-13 05:02
If you don't live on the continental US, it's pretty hard to try a mouthpiece without outright buying one and returning one can be pretty costly and time consuming. I'm old, but a I'm just little too young to have gotten a good Kaspar from Kaspar. I did get a Bay from Charles Bay, but I had to wait over a year for it and I didn't get to pick the one that I got from a bunch ... you just got the one. Of course, I'd like to try a real vintage Goldbeck, Henri, or Charles Chedeville, but it's not like you can borrow one just to try and not buy. If you learned something from the experience, it's pretty hard to have regrets. ... well, I like to think so.
Post Edited (2018-06-13 05:11)
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2018-06-13 14:17
It's interesting that I happened to think of Marcellus. He bought Kaspar's in lots of 8. He's keep his favorites and give a few to his students. He had a huge drawer full of mouthpieces. Then he had an area where there were his very special mouthpieces. I guess he had about 50 to 150 at most times.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2018-06-13 18:25
To J Butler, So you had a sax mouthpiece along the lines that Marcel Mule and Fred Hemke used. There’s no guarantee it would be great for you. I am of the opinion that it would have had some characteristics of the famous players equipment. There are pros and cons for all choices. Labelling it a paper weight shows a definite bias without any details.
Freelance woodwind performer
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