 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: LBH
Date: 2001-09-09 05:02
Hey !
Well.. i cracked my B45 mouthpiece.. My teacher gave me one of her old Bay's to play on till i get a new mouthpiece.. I really like it, but are they worth $200 ? I mean.. my band director told me don't change off the B45, he has no complaints wiht my playing and sound, but i dunno, i like the tone of the Bay better.. Are they worth the cash ?
Laur
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Author: Robert Small
Date: 2001-09-09 05:14
What's an extra $100 or so if you can be happy with a mouthpiece for 20 or 30 years? I play a Bay on bass and am pretty happy with it.
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Author: mw
Date: 2001-09-09 05:35
One mouthpiece is machine-finished, one is hand-finished. If you get a very good B45, it's a nice mouthpiece. If you get a very good Bay, it's about the best money can buy. Spending money is very subjective. If you can easily afford the extra money, great. If it's a hardship, well you will have to pass. If it's in the middle of those extremes, you will have to make a value judgement. mw
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2001-09-09 14:12
I recommend the Bay. You'll be happy with it all through school and beyond. I have a Bay that is about 20 years old and still sounds great! As mw said, it's a hand-finished mouthpiece and the B45 is machine cranked out. They're both good mouthpieces and far superior to stock stuff, but the Bay is worth the $200.00. However, if you can find a Bay for less (perhaps a used one) jump on it.
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Author: William
Date: 2001-09-09 15:21
My Bay was "custom" made by Charles in 1971, while he was still in Ithica, NY. The facing is a copy of my Kasper #14, but the rest of the mp is strictly Bay. I played that mp from the time I got it until about 1995 when I grew tired of my sound and sarted experimenting with other mp makers. Most recently, I have been playing my old Kasper !4, using my Bay as an alternate. Now I am playing a Greg Smith Cicero model, but I gues my point is, that with all of the different mps I have gone through since my college Kasper days, the one the Charles Bay made for me in 1971 has always performed well for me. I would join the rest in recommending Bay mps over the B-45s, but would also recommend Smiths Cicero Kasper mp for its sound, response and initial cost (a little cheaper than Bay). Considering that you will play a good mp for many years, the price you have to pay is reasonable expensiture. Your band director may be correct in recommending that you stay with the mp that produces the sound that he likes, but perhaps he would like the Bay or Smith sound better. Good Clarineting with whatever choice you make.
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Author: Katherine
Date: 2001-09-09 19:14
If you're considering spending that much money on a mouthpiece, I might try a few different brands. I've never played on a bay, but I know people who have been very happy with them. But whichever brand you end up buying, even if you only try the bays, I'd reccomend trying out a few of them, mouthpieces of the same brand can vary, and you might be happier if you tried out a few, everyone's embourchure is so different. Good luck!
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2001-09-09 20:05
Both Charles Bay and Greg Smith will be happy to talk with you via telephone and find out what would be best for you. I've spoken with both of them before ordering mouthpieces and have been very glad I did. Greg's a sponsor, and easy to get in touch with. Send him an email.
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Author: Ed
Date: 2001-09-09 21:23
You state that you feel your tone is better on the Bay, so that may contribute to your decision. As to if it is worth the money, it is hard to put a pricetag on those things. You need to decide. Sometimes there are old Bay mpces on ebay. Good Luck.
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Author: Jill
Date: 2001-09-10 02:06
My daughter aquired her Bay mouthpiece when she broke her Genusa on the day of her recital. Her teacher had a Bay and let her play it that night. She absolutely loved it, sounded great, and we bought it.
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Author: Grover
Date: 2001-09-10 13:57
I'm somewhat of a mouthpiece hog. I actually had 2 Charles Bay mouthpieces. I liked my first one, but didn't truly appreciate the Charles Bay mouthpieces until I got my second one which I feel is far superior to the first one I had! I ended up selling the old one for about $100 a couple years ago. I've been alternating between my Bay, a nice Larry Combs, and a Wells Chicago. I use a B-45 for backup and try to keep one in my car, "just in case." My latest acquisition is a Chedeville, which has yet to arrive here, but which I'm anticipating should prove to be an interesting mouthpiece.
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Author: Iceland clarinet
Date: 2006-11-02 03:34
Spending 200$ on a mouthpiece is not much. Peter eaton's mouthpiece cost's more than 400$,Bradford Behn's vintage mouthpieces costs around 600$ and also the Backun mouthpieces. For me when I changed from Vandoren to Bay I could use a lot more reeds in each box and I got a lot grater projection. For me when I play for 4-5 hours per day then each mouthpiece lasts about 2 years then they will become much less reed friendly. But the best thing is when you take say 4 vandoren B45 mouthpieces they almost sound the same. When you take 4 Bay's say H1 MO-L they sound different. You can choose resistance and tonecolor. After a year or two Bay's reed succes compared to Vandoren's have payed them up. If you can't affored Bay professional model I would try Bay Nuance costs around $100 or even less and they have fairly the same reed success but they don't project as much as the professional models.
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2006-11-02 20:10
I have two Bay mps. The first i bought was for my basset clarinet, this one made the basset notes really ring. The second i also bought was a different colour, like a browny type of colour. Anyway it sounded great in the shop then I had it bored out for the 1010 bore as i play on Eaton Elites. This completely changed the feel and response so i ended up back on my Hite which is not a bad thing. Wonder if Bay would make a special wide bore version?
Peter Cigleris
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2006-11-04 09:22
Iceland Clarinet, I have two Eaton mpcs. I got these when I chose my instruments from his workshop. They sounded quite good in his living room but when i actually got into a concert hall they really wern't what i wanted. I must say that i was also a little pushed into taking these two mpcs. I wouldn't get one now i don't think because there are quite expensive. Maybe when my Hite has had it.
Peter Cigleris
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Author: nickma
Date: 2006-11-04 16:22
I would certainly go somewhere where you can play test a whole number of mouthpieces before deciding which one sounds nicest and feels most 'second nature' to you. You could easily like one facing from someone like Bay and hate the next. You might prefer Bay's H1 mouthpiece, or plump for his H2 or Model T. Personally I think Eatons are massively overrated, but for around $150 the world is your oyster. Why not try a whole bunch, including those that are on the mouhtpiece section of this Board?
Nick
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2021-10-09 06:34
i am using bays on Bb alto and bass now. these are far and away the best mpc i have played and i have a huge mpc collection. i got them all used so didnt spend a lot of money. 100 for the bass-75 for the alto -and a mere 30 for the Bb. check ebay often as these come up from time to time
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Author: LFabian
Date: 2021-10-10 00:32
I have a duckbill Bay mouthpiece that was voiced for an R13. The mouthpieces I have besides Backun, Fobes, and Wanne don’t even come close to it. The accompanying tuning barrel is customized to with the rest of this instrument.
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