 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Liquorice
Date: 2022-09-18 18:52
I've been playing on Wodkowski mouthpieces for at least 10 years now. I got the new models N1 and N2 a few months ago and absolutely love them. They have a slightly different feel, which I think might have to do with a different design in the chamber. The initial feeling for me was that they take less air, but once I got used to this I realised that I was getting something in the sound (it's difficult to describe in words - "depth and presence"?) which I haven't experienced in a mouthpiece before. So I'm getting more out of the mouthpieces for less effort. The only problem now is deciding whether I should play on the N1 or the N2! :-)
Post Edited (2022-09-18 18:55)
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Author: klarinetkid
Date: 2022-09-18 19:52
Same for me- I've been fortunate to have played Ramón's mouthpieces for the last 6 years or so... the old model 1 and Philadelphia were my players. The new B1 is my favorite- very flexible, excellent response, pointed, and deep. It's a wonderful orchestral mouthpiece with gobs of projection and color.
V12 3.5's seem to work really well for me on this one- and it tunes really well on my horns (Yamaha CSVR's). I think the best thing about these new mouthpieces for me is that if I'm doing everything right (not always a given... 🤣), they simply respond so much better to my musical whims than anything else I've tried. As a side benefit, I don't get nearly as tired after a long rehearsal or concert- these mouthpieces simply don't take as much jaw pressure (bite) and air as many of the other commercial mouthpieces on the market. They solve that difficult balance of instant response without giving up 'hold' when playing loudly.
Seabreeze- I would like to make one correction and one addition- the last model you listed is B1, not B2, and while the blanks are CNC machined, Ramón still applies the facing, baffle work, etc... by hand. That said, the rubber in these new pieces is just fantastic- very resonant and durable. I've had Vandorens and mouthpieces based on Babbit blanks go really wonky after only a year or less, but these have been much more stable and dependable for me (verified by Ramón when I visited him after a few years for a mouthpiece touchup).
Give 'em a toot!
Post Edited (2022-09-18 19:54)
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2022-09-18 20:15
Klarinet Kid,
I have amended my original statement to correctly identify the 3rd mouthpiece as B1 and have indicated that these models are hand-finished as well.
Thanks for the corrections.
One factor in this N and B series so far is that the models introduced all have a close facing--about 1.02 mm at the tip. This represents a significant move back from the 1.10 mm to 1.20 mm tip range of popular mouthpieces such as Vandoren B40, B40 lyre, and BD5, and the various Nick Kuckmeier models. Wodkowski's offering may help make close facings attractive again, especially when combined with other internal features that improve depth and presence of sound as well as quick response. I know a couple of pro players who were actually struggling a bit on the more open facings and now relish the ease and freedom they are experiencing on the closer ones.
As soon as my budget allows, I plan to try Wodkowski's latest.
Post Edited (2022-09-19 05:22)
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Author: SunnyDaze
Date: 2022-09-20 17:37
Hi,
I was emailing back and forth with Mr Wodkowski the last couple of days. I don't know about the prices of all his mouthpieces but he said this to me:
"I think I have a few models that would work - in the realm of a Hite D.
Price for them is custom hand made numbers - $400 USD."
He mentions the Hite D because that is what I play noew.
He said his waiting list was about a month long, but variable depending on what projects he was involved in the intervening period.
Jen
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2022-09-20 20:01
Hey Liquorice,
Any substantive difference between the N1 and N2 that can be described? I like the idea that he is CNC machining the entire mouthpiece.
ESM similarly does the CNC process for their mouthpieces but they are all acrylic.......not that there is anything wrong with that.
..............Paul Aviles
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Author: Liquorice
Date: 2022-09-20 20:25
Hi Paul. They are done by CNC but then hand finished. This is what I have always appreciated so much about Ramon’s work- the detail. He really understands what makes mouthpieces work and knows how to balance out all the different elements.
Klarinetkid mentioned the new material. It certainly seems stronger to me. I’ve only had the mouthpieces a few months now but I have the feeling that they will remain stable for quite some time. So I think this CNC plus hand finishing is the perfect combination.
Regarding the difference between N1 and N2, it’s hard to describe in words. They are quite similar and both have beautifully centred sound, good quality in all dynamics, balanced registers and easy articulation. I found the N2 immediately comfortable, as if “made” for my mouth. But playing on the N1 I am able to get a more “special” quality in the sound - a wonderful presence.
But I’m sure it’s all very personal. I’ve never been a player of close-tipped mouthpieces, but the Wodkowski models work really well for me.
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Author: Ed
Date: 2022-09-20 21:02
I am glad there are still a few guys who are making high quality mouthpieces in close facings. There are a lot of great qualities to that style facing
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2022-09-21 00:38
Open or closed is less significant that how well it is crafted. I play on a Wodkowski 4sw (open)and it is wonderful.
Freelance woodwind performer
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Author: Ed
Date: 2022-09-21 01:48
The craft certainly is important, but over the years I tend to be more comfortable on the lower facings. My point was that it is good that there are a few great makers with options for that style.
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2022-09-21 05:04
I'm with Ed on this; bravo to the makers who continue to produce close facings, including relatively short French style close facings. The quick response and easy articulation these allow, along with the light embouchure that can easily control them can support a surprisingly large number of different clarinet styles. In Klezmer, you have Giora Feidman with his 1.00 mm glass mouthpiece (those branded with his name are collectors' items) and in classical, in addition to players like McLane, Wright, Gigliotti, Combs et al, who played on facings just under or above 1 mm., you have Stanley Drucker's Alelandais, open 1.03 mm at the tip, that has served him as orchestral musician and soloist for over 70 years, The storied French and Philadelphia Chedevilles typically had small lays that made them easy to play double lip. Close faced mouthpieces are a part of clarinet history that deserves to survive and thrive. It's good to see European musicians like Liquorice discovering and reveling in their merits when they are capably produced by artisans like Wodkowski. Makers like Fobes, Behn, Vandoren, D'Addario, etc. each bring their expertise to realize close faced models in different ways.
=======
Post Edited (2022-09-21 06:52)
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Author: Ed
Date: 2022-09-21 06:05
Yes, some people are under the misconception that to make a big sound or to project, one needs a large tip opening. A larger tip can create a somewhat different feel and different tone palette, but a well made close tip can be incredibly versatile. Besides the players that you mention in classical music, last I knew, Eddie Daniels used a mouthpiece in that ballpark as well.
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Author: SunnyDaze
Date: 2022-09-21 11:38
Hi Seabreeze,
Would it be okay to ask what you mean by "small lay" in this line:
"The storied French and Philadelphia Chedevilles typically had small lays that made them easy to play double lip."
I googled, but the webpages that I found are not very clear about it.
Thanks,
Jennifer
Adult learner, Grade 3
Equipment: Yamaha Custom CX Bb, Fobes 10K CF mp,
Legere Bb clarinet European Cut #2.5, Vandoren Optimum German Lig.
Post Edited (2022-09-21 12:35)
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2022-09-21 18:29
A small lay is one that is neither very open nor very long--so close and no more than medium length. Typically about 1.00 mm open and not longer than about 16.5 to 17 on the Eric Brand scale. Since the total distance of the reed from the rails is small, such a lay is easily managed by moderate amounts of lip pressure. Alexandre Selmer in his booklet "Instructive Talks to Clarinetists" had such a lay in mind when he said that the clarinet embouchure was like a rubber band or drawstring gently pressing against the reed and mouthpiece. Chedeville mouthpieces of the 1920s and 30s generally came with these kinds of close, mod. short facings. Selmer himself probably played the Selmer model A mouthpiece which had a very close tip (0.88 mm or less) and about a 16.5 length total curve. I have one of these and it is without question the easiest mouthpiece I have ever played on.
But physically and psychologically, people are very different. Some players cannot even get a sound out of a Selmer A piece. They complain the reed jams shut against the mouthpiece. That's because they have a need to apply force against resistance. They cannot relax enough to find the sweet spot where the reed will vibrate. They feel fine battling a 1.20 mm 21 length big lay facing. They value the struggle. So let them! I can't get a sound out of their big lay 1.20 mm -21 monster. I blow in but the thing doesn't vibrate. I resist the terms of their mouthpiece speaking. I don't want to drive the truck with manual shift transmission. They love the thrill of pressing forward against opposition. Some terrific virtuoso players like resistance in their set up. These include Steven Williamson, Ricardo Morales, and Martin Frost. They play open mouthpiece and hard reeds and like battling knights they slay the opposition. Other players like Stanley Drucker and Yona Ettlinger have used lighter setups that respond without the heroics. Neither one is right or wrong in any absolute sense. Human beings are an eccentric race. They have to do what works for them, though there is always a price to pay for it. Knowing what you have to do as well as accepting the price make rational living possible. I skip the heroics and play small facings on easy-blowing mouthpieces. Reserve X0, Vandoren M13 and M13l, Clark Fobes Cf and Cf+, Behn close, the Espina Chedeville Elite F0 facing, the Wodkowski B1 all fit that category.
By the way, not all the players in A. Selmer's generation played "small lays." Louis Cahuzac, one of the best, played the medium open, medium short 5RV Vandoren Diamond Perfecta, open about 1.06 mm at the tip and medium length.
But he favored easy emission, not heroic striving against resistance.
Post Edited (2022-09-21 20:26)
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Author: Hunter_100
Date: 2022-09-21 20:34
Shouldn't the choice of reed type and strength also be a critical part of this discussion? I would think that several strengths and profiles of reeds should be tried on each mouthpiece before it is accepted or rejected. Is this being done already?
edit: sorry I meant this comment for the other similar thread about mouthpieces. I will duplicate it over there.
Post Edited (2022-09-21 20:38)
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Author: ScottS
Date: 2023-12-12 20:15
I realize that this is an older string, yet it is all about Ramon Wodkowski, so thought I would post my question here.
I am awaiting two Mouthpieces to try out:
His new B1 and N2.
There is excitement in my heart given what so many of you have shared above. I think that I've read this string three times in the past month.
My current set up is:
Buffet R13 (from the 70's, yes I have now given away my age!)
Clark Fobes CWF (no star or mark above one of the letters) Clark said a 1.0 tip opening
Kaspar Ann Arbor (intermittently)
Ishimori & Bonade Inverted Ligatures
Legere Euro Cut 3.5
I've not used cane for over two years. Here in Minnesota with our weather changes, choosing my concert reed was like having three pitchers for your World Series Game #1, and not being sure who's going to get the call. The consistency of Euro cuts has me very happy, and very secure. I've been in touch with Brad Behn who has encouraged me to at least try his Aria reeds! Also one day, I will try out an Epic.
Can anyone comment or suggest your set up, your joys or challenges with Wodkowski models that I have coming? I can't wait see if one of these mouthpieces plays like a dream.
I'll be quiet now and welcome any insights on what is working for you, or thoughts on my set up. Thank you so much! It's been a few years since I've been "here!"
Scott S
Clarinet
Central Lakes Wind Symphony
Brainerd Lakes, MN
Post Edited (2023-12-13 17:48)
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