 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: SecondTry
Date: 2026-07-25 21:10
Yes, it's a double entendre on mouthpiece, I'd like to think credit for which goes to Jon Manasse, who in fairness and potential conflict of interest is a Vandoren artist, playing both their reeds mouthpieces, and ligatures, etc.
The adage, "mouth peace of mind" derives itself from the following notion, which you can choose to agree with (in part) or not.....that paraphrases Jon I believe, much that I can't find the internet reference:
'Vandoren makes so many different mouthpieces that the player is apt to find, from stock, one that fits the vast majority of their needs, such that, heaven forbid, if something happens to that mouthpiece--seeing that it's not custom made--the player simply goes out and purchases another of that model.'
This post is inspired by a recent one that talks of mouthpiece refinishing.
With this said, do you think that a mouthpiece refinisher, albeit for the most discriminating of players, adds enough value over some stock mouthpiece that it justifies having less mouth peace of mind over a stock mouthpiece that gets you 95%+ of the way there, that can be interchanged more easily?
The adage need not, of course, solely apply to Vandoren. If say, Clark Fobes, or Brad Behn, or whoever has a popular "stock" mouthpiece the question here no less applies. And I suppose "stock" is a relative term as even such mouthpieces might be subject to small amounts of work prior to sale.
And sure, Vandoren (manufacturers in general) discontinues mouthpieces now and then, witness the Masters series (e.g. CL1, CL2), so there's that.
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Author: farabout
Date: 2026-07-25 23:39
There's nothing special about Vandoren mouthpieces. Ditto for their reeds & ligs.
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Author: Chris Sereque
Date: 2026-07-26 00:29
If you are a Vandoren artist, you can try out hundreds of mouthpieces, and find truly excellent ones, and take them to a mouthpiece refinisher to further enhance their qualities. What's not to like?
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2026-07-26 03:11
As an older fella, I find it odd that Vandoren mouthpieces get "dingged" as much as they do. Back in the day the constancy was not present there at all but you could still find a really good.......let's say 5RV Lyre or B45 if you tried three or four at your local music store. Today I find the quality is good enough to trust the first one out of the box.
That said it IS great to find a flavor of Vandoren you like for the replaceable factor. I also top out at about three hundred dollars for a mouthpiece so it doesn't matter to me how great a four hundred dollar mouthpiece might play. I'll stick within my mental limit.
.........Paul Aviles
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Author: SecondTry
Date: 2026-07-26 03:56
farabout wrote:
> There's nothing special about Vandoren mouthpieces. Ditto for
> their reeds & ligs.
This was the actual question in short:
Is the cost and difficulty in replicability worth the performance gain from mouthpiece customization?
In my description of Vandoren mouthpieces getting the player "95% there," I hoped to convey them to be very good, not special as you say, like maybe some rare find original Chedeville or Lelandais mouthpiece.
In fact nothing about this thread really sought to single out Vandoren, or portray them as "the" premiere mouthpiece maker or even the premiere stock mouthpiece maker.
I thought I made that clear when I named other strong mouthpiece competitors in my OP.
Rather, in Vandoren providing considerable mouthpiece variety, such that most players can find something they like (if not love) stock among their offerings, and with said stock, the ability to more readily and affordably find a replacement mouthpiece need be, I sought people's opinion in whether custom mouthpieces, given not only their expense but difficulty in reproducing (and that customization could be on some stock mouthpiece or not) tends to be worth it.
I know "posts go where they go" but to single Vandoren mouthpieces out, let alone their ligatures and reeds is off point. Nobody claimed Vandoren mouthpieces as something special.
So, would people rather a mouthpiece that's easier to replace that gets you 95% of the way there or is customization that worth it to them that cost and difficulty in reproducing is worth it?
If mouthpieces are like reeds, as more players opt for synthetics, I'm wondering if reliability trumps that holy grail mouthpiece nobody can recreate.
I also spoke before about discontinued mouthpieces. I once played a now discontinued Vandoren Masters mouthpiece for a while, but was able to find other Vandoren models to replace it that while different, I did not consider subordinate, all pros and cons considered.
Much that I don't wish to climb down this rabbit hole with you, I don't hold much regard for the otherwise not mentioned by me ligature market adding much value, although I do use a Vandoren M/O because its double thread makes getting reeds on and off faster.
As for their or any maker's reeds: I tend to see reeds like a woodworker sees lumber at a big box store: like some starting point raw material that first needs to be jointed and planed, or the case of clarinet reeds, sanded for strength and balance.
I think Vandoren uses good cane, as I believe several other manufacturers, who se reed products I switch around use of, do as well.
Post Edited (2026-07-26 03:58)
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Author: farabout
Date: 2026-07-26 06:08
De gustibus non est disputandum. Or, as Vandorians would say: à chacun son goût.
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Author: SecondTry
Date: 2026-07-26 18:02
farabout wrote:
> De gustibus non est disputandum. Or, as Vandorians would say:
> à chacun son goût.
Let's translate.
The first sentence says in English: there is no arguing about tastes, the second, to each their own taste.
Great; also irrelevant.
Nobody said you're not entitled to your opinion. What was said is that your opinion is off topic and not one that anyone otherwise differed with.
The question was whether custom mouthpieces are worth it given their cost to make and potential difficulty to reproduce. No vendor's stock mouthpieces were claimed special for you to offer dissent; it's not even relevant.
Let me offer an analogy: somebody goes on a forum and says, "I like shopping at Harbor Freight for screw drivers. If one breaks you get a new one for $3.25. It may not do what one from PB Swiss Tools does but it costs 1/3 as much."
Then you reply, "I like ice cream," defending it as opinion.
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