The Clarinet BBoard

The Clarinet BBoard The C4 standard

New Topic | Go to Top | Go to Topic | Search | Help/Rules | Smileys/Notes | Log In

Previous Message | Next Message

Re: Mouthpiece volume

Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2020-02-14 20:53

For me, the issue is one of achieving more vibrancy from the action of the reed.

Two key aspects that I found to be consistent with more vibrancy are, thin rails (side rails and tip rail), and a SHALLOWER baffle (or more contour with fairly shallow slope close to the tip before the steeper grade moving into the bore.

The reason thin rails aid in a more vibrant sound is because there is less surface area contact and therefore less mouthpiece material to dampen the sound. I think you go through your mouthpiece collection you'll find consistency with this premise.

The shallower baffle aids vibrancy because it allows a quicker negative pressure cycle for the reed, or "slap back." The essence is that the reed vibrates more efficiently when it can move BACK into place faster. [back in the day, jazz saxophone players would place small wads of gum on the baffles of their mouthpieces to give them more projection] The converse of this is an effect shown to me by David McClune. There is a depth of baffle that you cannot exceed. If you do, the reed won't vibrate properly and there is nothing further you can do to salvage the mouthpiece. I convinced David to do this to one of almost three identical mouthpiece I had from ESM. Sure enough........he was right........of course!

.........................Paul Aviles

Post Edited (2020-02-14 20:56)

Reply To Message | Avail. Forums | Flat View

Newer Topic | Older Topic

Topics