 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Matt Locker
Date: 2018-09-04 17:40
I always check out the instruments when we go into a thrift store but until recently had never find anything interesting. I always look though, just in case! So, a couple weeks ago I found a Woodwind Larry Combs LC3 that looked to be in really good condition in a case along with basically a wreck of a clarinet. It was an Artley but needed serious work. I convinced them to sell me the mpc, which they priced at $5. I finally got it fully cleaned & disinfected and got to play it yesterday. Holy Moly! A beautiful mpc, easy to play through every register including the long notes above the break and in tune to boot! I played for about 2 hours and was stunned by how enjoyable it was to play. I am hoping that long term it brings me the enjoyment I found yesterday. If it does, I'm never going to need another mpc!! Here's hoping.....
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Author: donald
Date: 2018-09-05 08:23
I noticed a mouthpiece made from a (genuine) Chedeville blank on a clarinet on the NZ version of ebay, bought the whole thing for $40, sold it for $40 without the mouthpiece... it is a future project as it needs refacing, but even from playing in its current state you can hear that it's going to be a real beauty when the facing is sorted out....
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Author: Matt Locker
Date: 2018-11-02 04:21
I like the idea of getting a copy made.
It's been almost 2 months and the LC is still my everyday mpc. It still amazes me how nice it is.
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Author: Matt Locker
Date: 2019-04-27 21:04
It's now been 8 months & I am still loving this mouthpiece. What a lucky find!
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Author: fernie121
Date: 2019-04-28 00:08
Even if you don’t get a copy made, you should have someone look at it and get an idea what about it makes it so playable for you.
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Author: ruben
Date: 2019-04-29 14:33
Dear Matt: I found a brand-new Larry Combs mouthpiece in my collection: never been used. It's yours for free; your birthday present! Just e-mail me at my personal address and I will send it to you. Hope you like it. Ruben
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: Bill
Date: 2019-05-01 02:30
Woodwind Co. mpcs from the 1970s were wonderful. The Marcellus' are dynamite.
Bill Fogle
Ellsworth, Maine
(formerly Washington, DC)
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Author: ruben
Date: 2019-05-01 12:37
dear Bill: What was this "Woodwind" company? A branch of Leblanc? It's funny that in my country-France-there is only a monopoly mouthpiece maker: Vandoren, of course. I've only known one maker of handcrafted mouthpieces: long gone, I'm afraid. The stock mouthpiece that used to come with Leblanc clarinets wre 4L: and they were pretty good! I wonder what ever happened to them.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: Bill
Date: 2019-05-01 23:50
paulyb wrote:
> The Woodwind Company was based in New York and manufactured
> various clarinet and saxophone mouthpieces. According to this
> site it was acquired by Leblanc in the late 60s.
>
> https://www.nicolastrefeil.com/woodwind-co-museum
>
Yes, that's them.
Bill Fogle
Ellsworth, Maine
(formerly Washington, DC)
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Author: Matt Locker
Date: 2019-05-16 18:00
Yes, I am hoping to some day understand what makes this special. For now though, I am just thankful that I found this mouthpiece.
A little follow-on. I just purchased a couple Legere European cut reeds. They play amazingly well on this mouthpiece. I had tried my other Legere's on it and wasn't really happy with the results despite them playing reasonably well. The European cuts are great though. Amazingly, they also work well on other mouthpieces that didn't really like the Classic's or Signatures at all.
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Author: Remy
Date: 2019-05-18 21:10
Hi all the pros,
May I ask how to clean/sanitize an used mouthpiece?
Thanks!
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2019-05-19 11:15
As I usually recork used mouthpieces before I use them, this is my method. After removing the cork I soak the mouthpiece in lemon juice for an hour or so. This loosens up any deposits on or in it. A light scrub with washing up detergent with a child-size toothbrush helps with this. This will generally bring the mouthpiece back to a clean condition, but if there is any doubt remaining then buy some of the sanitizer used for baby feeding bottles and soak it in that as per the instructions. Note, never use hot water on a hard rubber mouthpiece as the sulphur in the rubber will cause the material to change colour to a sort of muddy brown. It may also taste a bit sulphury.
Several times I have had people express alarm and even disgust at the idea of playing on a previously used mouthpiece. I ask them if they believe that when they enjoy a cup of coffee at their favourite restaurant, do they imagine that they are the only person to have ever used the cup they are drinking from? I've seen some strange expressions as they work this out.
Tony F.
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Author: ruben
Date: 2019-05-19 16:44
Tony F: the company "the Doctor's Products" had a powder you put in warm water that you would soak the mouthpiece in and that cleaned it out beautifully (without doing damage to it-very important!). Apparently, it was the same chemical as is used by barbers to clean their combs. So it might be used if you have to play the clarinet part in "the Barber of Seville"! Isn't lemon juice a bit aggressive? I'll try your solution on an old mouthpiece of my very extensive collection. Thank you!
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: Remy
Date: 2019-05-19 23:16
Thanks Tony and Ruben!
Post Edited (2019-05-19 23:16)
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Author: Mojo
Date: 2019-05-20 16:22
Doesn’t the acid in the lemon juice turn hard rubber brown?
MojoMP.com
Mojo Mouthpiece Work LLC
MojoMouthpieceWork@yahoo.com
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2019-05-20 18:30
Mojo,
Never has for me. I've also used white vinegar for the same purpose and it works just as well, but I prefer the taste of lemon juice to that of vinegar.
Ruben,
Lemon juice and vinegar are frequently recommended as cleaning agents for mouthpieces. In either case you're using a mild acid (Citric acid in lemon juice, acetic acid in vinegar) to dissolve the alkaline deposits in the mouthpiece. I've cleaned many hundreds of mouthpieces this way and never had a problem yet apart from one chocolate brown Selmer HS* from when I failed to check the water temperature, but it still plays OK. I've had a problem sourcing the Doctors products in Australia, the shipping costs are uneconomic and the USPS won't allow the posting of liquids.
Tony F.
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Author: NOLA Ken
Date: 2019-06-24 21:10
One caution I want to pass on about cleaning hard rubber mouthpieces. I have several times used a few drops of Dawn Non-Concentrated dish detergent in about a half cup of cold water to wash out my hard rubber mouthpieces with great success. The Dawn Non-Centrated liquid has been known for years as mild enough to use to clean oil-covered wildlife. Recently, however, I unthinkingly grabbed the bottle of Dawn Ultra Platinum dish detergent my wife bought and used it to clean a newly-acquired vintage hard rubber alto clarinet mouthpiece. I was careful to use cold water, but much to my dismay the mpc started turning olive green after only a few seconds and despite my rinsing it off it was a good olive green in only a couple of minutes. There must be something in the Dawn Ultra Platinum detergent that is not on their low-priced Non-Concentrated product.
Dawn Non-Concentrated dish detergent - safe for hard rubber mouthpieces.
Dawn Ultra Platinum dish detergent - not safe for hard rubber mouthpieces unless you want it to match your olive drab fatigues or the olive in your martini.
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