 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: wjk
Date: 2018-12-25 00:42
Hello and Happy holidays.
I have a Wodkowksi mouthpiece (Zinner) that is probably about 15 years old; I see there is a new Philadelphia model. Any thoughts on how the two might compare? Thank you.
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Author: Ed
Date: 2018-12-25 01:26
Perhaps asking Ramon would get you the best information
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Author: kdk
Date: 2018-12-25 02:50
There are fairly exhaustive descriptions of each of the models he offers on his website. They probably tell you as much as verbal explanations can tell you before you just jump in and try for yourself.
Karl
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Author: clarinetfixer
Date: 2018-12-25 17:53
The new Philadelphia is his new blank. A world of difference from a zinner.
The sound and response are really beyond compare.
As for old/new...I have some of his older mouthpieces that are not Zinners and while the old ones feel and sound great, the Philadelphia was like a lightbulb went off. It was what I’d been looking for and felt like some of my teachers prized Cheds.
Order one and see for yourself.
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Author: RWodkowski
Date: 2018-12-25 17:56
This does make me feel quite nostalgic. The mouthpiece wjk is referring to was made when I was a grad student at the Yale University School of Music. I was 22 years old and had been studying mouthpiece making with Jim Kanter and Everett Matson. I believe it had a medium tip opening, longer facing length, thicker rails - quite a dark, covered mouthpiece.
18 years has passed since then and an ocean of knowledge and experience with my playing, work and creations, so it is difficult to compare the two conceptually.
Philadelphia is quite different and specific in comparison - 100% designed by me, not made from a stock ready-made blank. Philadelphia has a close tip, medium length, narrow chamber - very much in the of style of the vintage mouthpieces of the early 20th century, but made to modern standards and tastes. The closest comparison from my current catalogue to the older Zinner models I made would be my N model - or perhaps new L model, which will be advertised shortly. Both are medium tip, medium length.
Hope that helps - any questions, please contact me privately as I avoid this forum like the plague
R Wodkowski
www.ramonwodkowski.com
Post Edited (2018-12-25 21:42)
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Author: Ed
Date: 2018-12-25 22:56
Quote:
Hope that helps - any questions, please contact me privately as I avoid this forum like the plague
Sorry to hear. While there is some nonsense on here from time to time, overall it is a great forum. Through the years, many very knowledgeable people have weighed in with their thoughts and ideas which have made it a great resource and source of clarinet information.
Post Edited (2018-12-26 06:45)
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Author: Daniel Frazelle
Date: 2018-12-27 00:21
There's very little more that I can add to what's been written already, but I will give my personal impressions of the Philadelphia and where it falls on the current spectrum.
I've had this mouthpiece for nine months now. Every month has brought a greater appreciation for it than the one that preceded it. I think plenty of people here can relate that that is not their experience with most revelatory mouthpiece purchases. I was very happy with the generation of Ramón's mouthpieces that preceded it, specifically the Models 1 and 1B that it most closely resembles. But I have to say, he has achieved a new level with the Philadelphia. It really is a freer-blowing, bigger-sounding, better-focused and more flexible version of what came before. Those qualities are pretty much never all improved at the same time. In this case, they were.
Although I've mainly dealt with his mouthpiece models over the last four years, I've done my fair share of trying Ramón's older mouthpieces, including "Chedeville" blanks from Omar Henderson and some Zinners. It does seem that with each step along the way, Ramón has managed to get more of what he wanted out of the blanks he chose to use. While I tend to gravitate towards traditional, close-tipped styles like the Philadelphia, I am excited to see how he translates his experience on this blank (100% his own design) to other styles of mouthpieces. From his post above, it sounds like he is already doing some work in this regard. I suspect that the OP, wjk, would be very happy with anything Ramón would offer him in the range that he feels most comfortable playing.
That said, for me it's all about the Philadelphia right now. Driving home from my final Nutcracker performance this year, I couldn't help but reflect with a smile at just how happy I was with my setup, particularly the interface with reeds, during what was, for me, a very stressful substitute run. We should all be so happy with what we're playing on.
Daniel Frazelle
Post Edited (2018-12-27 00:28)
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