 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: SecondTry
Date: 2023-07-04 07:03
I suppose some of you also got Brad Behn's recent email blast where he talks of his new reed cases, and mouthpieces (and bells).
He seems to have also thrown his hat into the ligature space, although unless you're at ClarinetFest it doesn't seem like it's been posted to the internet yet.
The clarinet cases are really nice in form factor. https://www.clarinetmouthpiece.com/product-page/behn-reed-case
https://youtu.be/TjpU8IRkycM
The ridges in some designs where the reed table sits and the holes where this reed table sits, (whether on a ridged or flat surface) seem to maximize the reed's exposure to Boveda packs.
I'm not sure that sticking reeds in individual holders in a sealed (food) container or zip lock plastic bag with such Boveada packs is inferior to promoting reed life than Mr. Behn's cases, but he really packs a lot of reeds into a small form factor.
While not a ligature guy, Mr. Behn always carefully thinks about design. I'd be curious to see what features he's put into his ligature that he felt other ligatures were lacking, especially since he sells Ishmori and Bay ligatures too.
Anyone have 411 on this product?
Post Edited (2023-07-04 07:05)
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Author: donald
Date: 2023-07-04 08:46
I spent 2 days at the Reno clarinetfest last year (on my way back to NZ from the Oregon Bach Festival) and Brad had a bunch of his Hard Rubber ligatures for people to try/buy. I didn't try one, which I really regret. At the time I didn't have funds for any clarinet gear (medical expenses in Eugene when my baby got sick) and so didn't want to be tempted....
But I should have tried one so I'd know in the future...
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Author: JTJC
Date: 2023-07-04 12:35
I saw another ad of Brad's where he was now offering an improved version of his $900 mouthpiece. If I'd paid that for a mouthpiece I'd have expected a man with his knowledge, skill and experience to get it right the first time. There's only so much you can change.
As ever with all such gear, 'improved' is probably not so much 'better' as just different. Same old hype about 'new' gear.
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Author: symphony1010
Date: 2023-07-04 14:00
The clarinet world has started to go the way of high-end audio. In the latter, many issues were sorted beyond audible difference some years ago. This applies particularly to amplifiers, digital audio converters (DACS) and audio files themselves. Now we have much talk of lossless files, mains conditioners for equipment and very expensive cables to name but a few.
In the clarinet world there are now very expensive mouthpieces, ligatures and various add-ons. Most of us don't use these with one reason being that our equipment would never be paid for by our work!
Thinking of the players in the UK I have worked with most recently I found all using OEM barrels and bells. Many make their own reed cases. The most variable items are mouthpieces. There are various favoured makers or people they trust to re-lay the mouthpiece to their liking. I see very few pros using anything but Vandoren reeds, mostly V12s.
Mention of high-priced add-ons usually raises a wry smile. We note the company artists who promote these products and benefit financially from the experience. We also know many who use quite different setups in their day to day work!
I'm beginning to think that most 'improvements' are purchased by wealthy amateurs or students/young pros who haven't had that much experience yet.
For a professional, change is a risky endeavour! Note the fact that most of us are still playing on Klosé system clarinets from 1839! If we introduce an unknown into our daily routine the changes will take time and may affect our confidence. Obviously there are exceptional people who can do what they do on all manner of setups but I would say these are in the minority.
I remember well going to an audition where one of the panel had given me some consultation lessons a few years previously. He expressed surprise that I was doing the audition on new instruments, having seen me on different ones a few months before. He was genuinely amazed as he'd had the same instruments for 40 years!
Post Edited (2023-07-04 14:02)
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Author: Ed
Date: 2023-07-04 15:40
Quote:
While not a ligature guy, Mr. Behn always carefully thinks about design. I'd be curious to see what features he's put into his ligature that he felt other ligatures were lacking, especially since he sells Ishmori and Bay ligatures too.
FWIW- while listed on his site, the other ligatures have been listed as out of stock for quite some time.
Brad is a nice guy and I respect his knowledge and great sense of innovation. His hard rubber ligature seems to break a few of his requirements for ligature design, so perhaps his tastes have changed.
https://www.clarinetmouthpiece.com/ishimori-clarinet-ligatures
I have never played this or any other solid one piece or ring style ligatures. I always wonder how different blank thicknesses affect the fit and performance. If you have thick and thin blank reeds would that cause issues?
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Author: lmliberson
Date: 2023-07-04 22:45
Brad Behn is somebody who makes high quality, well thought out products. And, of course, he’s not the only one who does so.
Some of you will think they make you sound better, some won’t, and some likely won’t be able to tell the difference.
Equipment exists to facilitate whatever abilities we may have, assuming we can recognize it. And, of course, I suppose we’re all searching for the “next great thing.” But equipment is hardly a panacea inasmuch as many (especially by what is posted on this BB) think it is.
It’s amazing how there are some who can sound terrific on what (I bet) a majority of alleged clarinetists (here and elsewhere) regard as dated or sub-standard instruments, mouthpieces, reeds, ligatures, barrels, swabs…
I think I know how they are able to do that - they practice! What a concept, eh?
A friend (and former colleague) of mine, Ted Oien, played plain ole’ Buffet R13s, an inverted Bonade ligature, his own handmade reeds and a Pyne mouthpiece (although I know he dabbled with his large collection of Kaspars). In the nearly 30 years we worked together, I can’t recall any wholesale changes he made in his equipment. And he sounded as beautiful and glorious as any clarinetist I have ever heard. Not only a great clarinetist but a great musician. I would challenge you to sound and play half as well as he.
How did he do it? Duhhh…putting in the miles with the instrument in his mouth.
I vaguely remember a great line heard while attending a Marcellus master class from over forty years ago - something like “If you spend an hour or so practicing (not merely “playing”, btw) Baermann III a day for a couple months, you”ll be a markedly improved player.” (I know these weren’t his exact words so don’t shoot me here).
A “markedly improved player” - no change of mouthpieces, reeds, instruments, barrels, reed cases, etc. - just the grunt work necessary to be able to approach MAKING MUSIC with competence and confidence.
And, really now, isn’t that the goal of playing an instrument - to make music?
Sorry for the semi-rant. I suppose all the incessant “discussions” about equipment has struck me as more than tedious and I also suppose that’s my problem. But, really…
Oh, and I hear that Meta is soon to come out with an adjustable AI embouchure…
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2023-07-04 23:04
lmliberson wrote:
> I think I know how they are able to do that - they practice!
> What a concept, eh?
>
Well, I'm on your side, but there's also the idea that they may have to work harder on the "outdated" equipment, which *may require* more practice.
Karl
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Author: johnwesley
Date: 2023-07-05 00:34
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You speak absolute truth. It's playing consistently and learning the instrument that makes a musician. I was a rock drummer for years and always had "Frankenstein" kits. I even used snare drums for tom toms instead of the usual hanging toms. I mixed brands. Pearl, Premier, Slingerland, and consequently my set up never looked like the standard drum kit. I could however play pretty damned good and that's what counted. Play the music.
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Author: SecondTry
Date: 2023-07-05 01:34
lmliberson wrote:
> Brad Behn is somebody who makes high quality, well thought out
> products. And, of course, he’s not the only one who does so.
>
> Some of you will think they make you sound better, some
> won’t, and some likely won’t be able to tell the
> difference.
>
> Equipment exists to facilitate whatever abilities we may have,
> assuming we can recognize it. And, of course, I suppose we’re
> all searching for the “next great thing.” But equipment is
> hardly a panacea inasmuch as many (especially by what is posted
> on this BB) think it is....
Laurence: these thoughts of yours above are my swan song. No truer words about clarinet play exist here. No more important ones either. Accordingly, I take nothing you've said in a defensive way as I'm this school of thought's most ardent supporter.
It's just that some thread that begins with, "hey, how about those Bearmann III interrupted scales people?" is likely to, in the audio version of same, generate cricket sounds. 
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Author: donald
Date: 2023-07-05 12:47
I have to agree with Mr Liberson, much as I like to have a good mouthpiece/reed/ligature/barrel setup (and have gone to some trouble over the years to get something I like).
- the best exercise EVER for me has been quite simple. Bring a note in from "air", crescendo to FFF, then diminuendo back to "air". Especially helpful is doing this on altissimo notes. If I do this on various notes for 10min a day, my tone, control and even my articulation improve markedly.
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Author: spikey1973
Date: 2023-07-06 04:34
@ all,
(this is a general thought, not only applicable to playing clarinet or any other instrument)
A great tools is half the job.. this is (IMHO) very true!
But we should never forget that this is only a half the job done..
for the rest of the job you need experience and skill!
Every time you swap tools, you need to redo / retrain this experience.
So in my humble opinion it is good to look at getting the right equipment,
but at one point in time you need to consider if going from that one good tool, to that other slightly better tool is worth the change at all.
On the other hand, if you are dealing with some sort of issue from your own limitations (NOT lack of skill or experience) and there is a tool (intentionally or unintentionally) designed that can help you overcome this limitation.. it will always be worth it as you won't invest time to get experience that you will never be able to achieve.
this is what always keep in the back of my mind when I decide if I need to get something.
taken that.. there is also the wanting vs needing and since the wanting is absolutely unjustified, there is also no logical reasoning about it, but it won't get you anything else but those 5 secs of bliss when you get it and then move onto the next wanting.
kind greatings
Matt
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Author: Max S-D
Date: 2023-07-06 22:05
Setting aside the obvious truth that the player matters infinitely more than the equipment (at least where functional equipment is concerned), Brad Behn's products have always been, in my experience, consistently excellent and Brad has, in every interaction I've had with him, been honest, transparent and unwaveringly professional. I don't want people who don't know this about him to read this thread and think he is some kind of snake oil salesman.
I've got a Sono Bb clarinet mouthpiece that is outstanding and clicked for me and the way that I play right away. Brad and I had a good conversation about what I was looking for and he delivered something perfect for me at the time.
He also made me a very custom bass clarinet mouthpiece with an open tip (around 2.3mm) after another lengthy phone conversation. That one uses an acrylic blank of his own design with an "S-curve" baffle that I think was a precursor to the design he is using in the new mouthpieces. It's the finest bass clarinet mouthpiece I've ever played, and I've been fortunate to have played some excellent stuff. That was well outside of what he normally does, but he listened to me, applied his expertise to the design and construction and produced something just right.
Neither of those was the severely expensive "Epic" line, but I'm sure if one of those was in the budget and was a good fit for what I wanted to do, I would have been happy with them. Brad never tried to sell me on a more expensive mouthpiece and, if memory serves, the bass clarinet mouthpiece uses a less expensive blank than the Sono that I originally inquired after. So he effectively made a "downsell" to get me the right end result.
I hope most people aren't feeling like there is pressure to drop what they are playing and go buy the latest and greatest, since I don't think that's what most of these mouthpiece makers are doing. If you are looking for something new, however, I don't think it's a bad thing for us to have the truly outstanding options we have available to us. With the shuttering of Zinner, it seems like mouthpiece craftspeople like Grabner, Fobes, Behn, Hawkins (with Backun), etc. were left with no choice but to make their own blanks, which has resulted in more original designs than we've seen maybe ever before. We've got a wide range of styles, from the dark, covered sweetness of the Hawkins/Backun options, to the vibrant brilliance of Clark Fobes and Brad Behn's offerings. One might argue that we are in a new golden era of mouthpiece craftsmanship, on clarinet and on saxophone.
I've had the chance to have long, extensive conversations with a number of great saxophone and clarinet mouthpiece makers and it's clear to me that, while they are making a living, none of them are getting rich off of this, even the ones selling mouthpieces for over $500. Most of them are just passionate obsessives who have spent their lives thinking about how to achieve incremental gains here and there and, in many cases, making significant investments in tooling and R&D in pursuit of those gains. Whether that is worth it to you is not for me to say.
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