Author: Brad Behn
Date: 2018-08-03 02:50
I am so pleased with how the O-rings are working that I am no longer making mouthpieces with cork tenons. I have abandoned cork altogether.
O-rings provide many improvements over cork. Indeed a faulty O-ring is credited for the space shuttle's disaster but just imagine a rocket engine with a cork seal...That's not a problem solved!
And with mouthpieces, the fit is more secure, the air-tight seal is NEVER in question, the fit never changes (wears out), and with occasional lubrication applied to the inside of the barrel socket, the mouthpiece inserts and removes with far greater ease.
And IF one O-ring happens to break, I have triple redundancy where only one ring is necessary for the seal, two rings are needed to create a secure wobble-free fit. I make my tenons with three or four rings (depending on mouthpiece size: Bb, Eb and Bass). And we offer replacement parts (in various sizes) on our website for convenient,inexpensive solutions.
O-rings are available in different sizes allowing options for over and undersized barrel sockets. If there is an issue with the mouthpiece fitting inside the socket, just easily remove the rings and reinstall a different size. We offer several different sizes on our website, but have found only a few cases where changing is necessary. Most barrels seem to accommodate the fit of my mouthpieces without issue.
That said, the most important benefit of O-rings is in the improved energy transfer. They simply don't dampen the vibrations and overtones like cork. I often get complimentary comments like: "I can feel the vibrations in my fingertips."
And O-rings are easily removed and reinstalled by you - the player. There is never need to go to a repairman to replace a cork.
A pet peeve of mine is when the tenon is beveled by a poor quality cork replacement. All too often the repair tech sands the cork down for improved fit, and in so doing also bevels the tenon's edge. This problem is no more.
A bit of news... This month, we will begin production on mouthpiece blanks that we will make available to other mouthpiece makers and refacers. They will only be available with O-rings.
Brad Behn
http://www.clarinetmouthpiece.com
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