 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: diz
Date: 2001-12-19 03:22
Hey people. Now, thanks to some very sage advice from "sneezy" I'm just about to purchase a preloved E flat soprano clarinet - wow, can't wait to take delivery. I was wondering about crystal mouthpieces ... when I played the clarinet in the late 70s early 80s - they were "all the rage" - now, I rarely hear about them.
If you know - from experience - about crystal mouthpieces - can you please give me some advice - are they better for tone production, do they feel "odd" on your teeth? etc.
thanks
diz
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Author: bob gardner
Date: 2001-12-19 03:26
i have a M. Lurie and i don't care for it at all. It is not as free blowing as my other mp. I have an m2 and m3 M. Lurie which are just fine.
Try one before you buy it.
happy holidays.
bob
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Author: diz
Date: 2001-12-19 03:32
Thanks, Bob, very sage advice - I will try before I buy.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2001-12-19 04:13
diz...I play primarily on a fantastic Vandoren crystal which I selected from about 20 in the mid 1970's. My back up mouthpiece is a Fobes.
There is a tremendous variance in crystal mouthpieces in the same facing / same manufacturer. I would assume it has to do with the actual manufacturing process and the lack of "control" of the raw material.
That being said, if you are lucky enough to find that 1 in 20 (or 30 or 40), the sound can rival any mouthpiece on the market. Unfortunately though, the Vandoren crystal mouthpieces are no longer being made. I cannot attest to any of the new models (Pomarico / Lurie etc...)
I do not find it uncomfortable on the teeth- rather, I find it quite pleasant.
The downside...the obvious...don't drop it...GBK
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Author: David Spiegelthal
Date: 2001-12-19 13:07
I happen to be a fan of crystal mouthpieces, although I have to preface that by stating that I do my own refacing, and have refaced all my crystal mouthpieces to work the way I want. I play crystal Pomaricos on Bb clarinet and a crystal Mitchell Lurie Premium (which is made by Pomarico) on bass clarinet. Using a mouthpiece patch, I really like the feel of crystal, and I especially like their dimensional stability (no changes with temperature) and the resistance to scratching. However, as has been pointed out, they chip and break easily. Sound- and response-wise, they can be as good, bad, or indifferent as hard rubber (or wood, or plastic, or stainless steel, or brass, or.......) mouthpieces, those parameters are really a result of the internal and facing designs, not the materials. (Yes, this is a controversial point, but I stick with my opinion that the material alone has little or no bearing on the final sound and response).
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2001-12-19 17:56
I also agree with Dave, points well taken pro and con. I have fond memories [only] of the glass O'Brien that my teacher parted with along with his Penzel-Mueller Full Boehm to this mediocre student. So I tried several more O'B's [too close and short], and found a good-playing Selmer Clarion and alternated with good hard rubber mps for years. I recently had an OB refaced [in Italy!], sounds fine but somewhat "resistant". I bid up and won a glass BASS mp , a "GG Italy, 1" which I also believe is a Pomarico, Dave, and I have adopted it as my preferred bass mp. It plays similarly to my C* and Bundy 3, and it produces NO [poorly-fingered ?] squeeks. Needless to say I am VERY careful of it, and resort to the H R's when playing above a concrete floor !!! Don
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2001-12-19 19:55
I played on a Pete Fountain crystal for a while, and loved it at first--then lost my love for it over time. I didn't like the "hard" texture--but never thought about using a mouthpiece protector as Dave S. mentioned. That would have made a difference. I also was unaware that crystal mouthpieces could be refaced. That would have helped a bit as well. I dropped it and broke it, so it doesn't really matter anymore, does it? However, I have heard some great things about crystal mouthpieces lately and would recommend trying one on the Eb. That would be an interesting combination.
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Author: David Spiegelthal
Date: 2001-12-19 19:56
Don,
I have heard that the GG's were made by Pomarico, you could find out for sure by emailing them (they're Sneezy sponsors and their English is good!). I lost my first bass clarinet crystal mouthpiece to a concrete floor ---- my then-toddler first daughter was coming down the stairs to the basement where I was working (with the mouthpiece in my hand) --- she tripped, I dived to catch her, I did catch her just fine but the mouthpiece hit the floor and was history.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2001-12-19 20:12
Yes...The old Pomarico's were faced with GG numbers 1, 2 or 3. At one time, I owned a Pomarico GG3 (open) Bb clarinet mouthpiece, but sold it to a colleague many years ago. It was a fine mouthpiece...GBK
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Author: Suzanne
Date: 2001-12-19 21:49
Hey BOB!! Is that the ML I sold you?? Sorry if you don't like it! :(
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Author: Ken
Date: 2001-12-20 02:43
I played on Borbecks for 10 years (11s and 13s that Ron Ruben etched minor adjustments on) then at the time; I switched to a Pomarico #1 because I suddenly got a rash of calls for Dixie gigs. At first, it was a challenge getting used to. Very resistant like playing into a peashooter, a lot brighter, my tone spread like crazy from high C to double C and I had to drop down from 5s to 3 1/2s before busting blood vessels. I thought, peachy, I need a more flexible piece to at least help widen vibrato and maximize dynamic range and I'm already having control problems with this melted-down coke bottle. After about a month of religious use I got it back together and after another 10 years been on Pomaricos for everything, although I admittedly cheat and use the open Ruby for the jazz and closed Emerald for legit. You really can get just as dark, and as rich a sound from them as any hard rubber and ligature combination. I wouldn't recommend them to any beginner though, they have a high potential of screwing up chops in training.
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Author: Mike Harrelson
Date: 2001-12-20 03:44
I played on a Selmer HS** crystal for about twenty years.They are very easy to break, one little rap and its gone. After I broke the 2nd one I gave up on them. I always thought the high notes were clearer and "spoke" better (on the crystal). But, that was probably more in my mind than the actual sound. But I did like the mouthpiece, I used it for everything- Band, Orchestra, dance gigs.
But for the past twenty years its been hard rubber, with no worries about chipping and breaking. Now, if I could just find a good reed....
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Author: David Spiegelthal
Date: 2001-12-20 14:40
Mike,
There are lots of good reeds out there --- if none of them are working for you, then I would look for a new mouthpiece! As I've preached before, a really good mouthpiece should result in maybe 70-80% of the reeds in a box (from any of the better manufacturers) working for you. A mediocre mouthpiece will only work with maybe 10-20% of the reeds out of a box, and of course a really bad mouthpiece won't work at all with the best reeds in the world.
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Author: Daniel
Date: 2001-12-21 01:31
I have an old Lelandais crystal mouthpiece in my arsenal. I have to use old Mitchell Lurie 4.5's (alot softer than Vandoren 3.5's), or soft Morre's. I can't seem to get Vandorens of any kind to work on it. It plays quite a bit sharp, but the tone is worth using a longer barrel. I have to use a 68mm barrel, and once it gets warmed up, i have to pull out a bit.
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Author: Casey WooooooO
Date: 2001-12-22 00:54
my friend has a crystal mouthpiece.....i dont like it much...
BUT....it is awesome cause you can see the spit going from your mouth to the barell!!!!!!!! WooooooO!
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