 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Peter
Date: 2001-10-24 00:31
I have an old Normandy and an old Edgware, both pretty good instruments, however, both barrels are too tight to accept standard Bb mouthpieces easily.
All my other clarinets, older and newer alike, have mouthpieces individual to them. Both, because some instruments sound better with a matched mouthpiece, and some barrels are wider in the mouthpiece joint than others. Mechanically speaking, those others are just a matter of cork thickness.
The two I specifically refer to here are too narrow for the actual mouthpiece shank to fit properly, not the cork.
The shank fit is not so tight that I couldn't force the mouthpiece to seat, but it is certainly too tight to do so without taking a chance on damaging or splitting the wooden barrels.
The two mouthpieces they came with (which were new when I got them,) a Hite Premier (Edgware) and an E-Z Tone ( Normandy,) barely fit.
But their barely fitting doesn't help much, as I find both instruments difficult to play with those mouthpieces.
I've had these two instruments for some time and have not been able to replace the mouthpieces with better ones.
Both instruments are Bohem systems. Of course, the Edgware is made in England and the Normandy in France. Each barrel has the correct manufacturer's logo stamped on it and each match the rest of the logos on their respective instruments, both in depth and design, so they probably have not been replaced.
Still, could they have some common history behind them? Could they have been made for the narrower German mouthpieces? Did they do such a thing?
I don't know about the Normandy, but the Edgware should have an English bore and a narrower mouthpiece shank doesn't seem quite feasible (?).
I'm open to suggestions.
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Author: john gibson
Date: 2001-10-24 01:00
Peter...
I've had the same problem....sort of.....I go to pawn shops and places where I can find wooden barrels and bells...and usually find them reasonably priced...took my clarinets in to one the other day to try some wooden barrels they held for me...
neither would fit the tenons on my horns...so I didn't buy them. Too bad because both were in excellent condition...(one was a really nice conical shape) and I could have picked them up with a "no name" wooden bell for $15.
Anyone have any suggestions for me and Peter?
Thanks.....John
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Author: Joris
Date: 2001-10-24 12:14
I don't know how it is for other German manufacturers but at least the Wurlitzer clarinet barrels require a mouthpiece with a larger outside diameter (allthough the inside diameter is smaller)
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Author: Dee
Date: 2001-10-24 12:59
The Normandy, at least, should accept any modern French mouthpiece. It is made by Leblanc and should be standard. I have a 1950s Leblanc Symphonie II, an early Vito, and a metal Noblet and all take standard mouthpieces. So perhaps the problem is with that individual specimen. In addition, I have a variety of older clarinets of other brands, including some Albert system ones, that go back to the early 1900s and all accept standard modern mouthpieces. There is some slight variation in the cork thickness required but that's it.
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Author: Peter
Date: 2001-10-24 21:21
Hi Dee,
I took the Normandy to my repair person today so he could replace a pad and a cork under a key, which he did on the spot. However, when it came time to try out
the instrument, he had to use his own barrel because he could not get his mouthpiece to fit into it without forcing it past the end of the shank.
I agree, it is strange, but true!!
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Author: Bart Hendrix
Date: 2001-10-24 21:22
I had a similar problem with my 80+ year old Kohlert when I wanted to go to a newer mouthpiece (one that was not worn out). I had been using a couple of mouthpieces I purchased in the 1950's -- they both measured slightly smaller than the new ones I could find. Some people assured me that all Bb clarinets were made to a standard dimension for the mouthpiece tennon while others admitted there were variations and I might need to get the barrel altered to fit mouthpieces currently available.
I finally got up the nerve, found a repair tech who went into the business after a career as a machinist and had him turn the barrel a tiny bit larger to match the one on my Selmer (something like 0.2 mm of diameter made all the difference). It was relatively inexpensive and well worth the trouble.
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Author: Tim Kelley
Date: 2001-10-25 00:56
My Malerne Professional has the same problem. My Selmer mouthpiece was a very, very tight fit. When it was in the shop to have a spring replaced the repairman suggested enlarging the joint at the top of the barrel. Haven't gotten the clarinet back yet, but he's confident that is the best solution.
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Author: David Spiegelthal
Date: 2001-10-25 16:52
I'm surprised your mouthpiece won't fit in the Edgware, I've restored half a dozen Boosey & Hawkes (four Edgwares, a 1010, and a Stratford I'm currently playing on) and all my mouthpieces fit the barrels just fine.
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Author: Peter
Date: 2001-10-25 17:46
David,
I know, it's bizzarre. And it is the original barrel.
Mouthpieces that fit my other B&Hs with room to spare (except at the cork, of course) get too tight right at the thin strip of plastic that sticks out under and beyond the cork at the end of the mouthpiece shank!!
I've tried several mouthpieces on both instruments, different makes and models. All with the same result, except the ones that came with the instruments, and those are snug in the same way, but not so tight they endanger the barrel.
Well, at least, by hearing from others who have had sililar encounters, albeit, with other instruments, I know I'm not going crazy, that such things do happen.
Without wanting to appear like I'm kissing "up," it's neat to have a place like the BBoard to exchange ideas and hear intelligent thoughts from others who may have had similar experiences and/or have greater knowledge of certain subjects.
I guess eventually I'll just have to have the top barrel joint enlarged a fraction of a millimeter, just enough to accept currently manufactured mouthpieces.
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Author: David Spiegelthal
Date: 2001-10-25 18:13
You can enlarge the barrel cavity yourself with sandpaper, it's been described elsewhere here on the BB.
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