 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: paulyb
Date: 2026-02-08 00:10
Attachment: IMG_20260207_154235153_HDR.jpg (394k)
Attachment: IMG_20260207_154155321_HDR.jpg (352k)
I have a few different Vandoren B40 Lyre mouthpieces of different vintages - one from when they were recently released (maybe 2003? Stamped with B40 and a picture of a lyre next to the table), one from about 10-15 years ago, one from about a year ago, and finally the new HD model (on trial). The last three are stamped B40 L next to the table.
The first two appear to have both been manufactured in the same way using a traditional blank, machine facing and hand baffle work. The latter two have what looks to me like CNC machining marks in the baffle (miling lines parallel to the long axis of the mouthpiece).
What is interesting to me is that while the older two mouthpieces both have a fair amount of material in the baffle immediately behind the tip rail (what saxophonists would call a short roll-over baffle), the more recent pair have pretty much a straight baffle up to the tip rail (I'll attempt to attach some photos - we'll see if that works).
The result of this is that the more recent mouthpieces are significantly less bright than the older ones which have a focus and ping that I generally prefer (with the same reed etc). Has anyone else noticed / experienced this? Do we think this is a deliberate change in design (given the trend towards a less bright sound) or inadvertent? At least in the days of hand finished baffles you could find examples with more or less baffle material according to taste - the uniformity of the new mouthpieces makes this impossible.
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Author: paulyb
Date: 2026-02-08 00:16
Disclaimer: photos of baffles can be hard to take! Those photos are the oldest and newest and there's a pretty obvious difference (the dark section on the older one near the tip is where the gradient of the baffle "rolls over" towards the tip). The difference is more obvious in real life. The other two mouthpieces are very similar to these two.
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