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Re: Nick Kuckmeier Playing His Own Mouthpieces

Author: Micke Isotalo ★2017
Date: 2020-11-09 23:16

Personally I've been very sceptic about acrylic mouthpieces and thought hard rubber was superior until I got an opportunity to try out basically the same mouthpiece where one was acrylic and the other one from hard rubber. In a tone by tone comparison from recordings of the chromatic scale I was greatly surprised not to detect any but random differences. The mouthpieces involved was the Maxton Schorn-Klinser and the Gerold G03, where the former was acrylic and the latter from hard rubber - but with the same facing and as I understand also otherwise the same design.

This doesn't of course rule out that other mouthpieces could perform better when made from one or the other material, or that also the ones I tried out could have performed differently on either other clarinets than mine or played by another player. Anyway, after this experience I'm no longer just assuming that acrylic is inherently inferior. Still, when it comes to Maxton I've found their current mouthpiece material to sound better than their previous. I don't know what that new material is, but at least it doesn't feel acrylic but rather something more or less in between hard rubber and acrylic.

When it comes to feeling, I've never liked how an acrylic mouthpiece feels in my mouth or against my teeth, but that's apart from sound.

By the way Paul, my Wurlitzers from 2002 came still with rubber mouthpieces and I ordered also some a couple of years later - but at least nowadays and for some years they are making only acrylic ones.

Post Edited (2020-11-09 23:22)

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