 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: ben
Date: 2002-04-13 21:40
What effect to the sound and playability does a mouthpiece's polished interior have?
If having this shine is a good thing to maintain, how does one best do this? For instance, would it be better to clean a mouthpiece regulary in cool water than to swab it out after use?
I would be interested to know what Greg Smith and other mouthpiece makers think regarding the short and long-term effects of swabing out a mouthpiece.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Melanie
Date: 2002-04-13 21:46
I am no expert, but my teacher caught me swabbing out my mouthpiece one day, and she stopped me immediately. She said that it will eventually wear down the finish and change the shape of the mouthpiece.(over long periods of time) My new teacher rinses with water and wipes out with a tissue periodically. It seems to keep the mouthpieces clean and won't change the mouthpiece.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Don Berger
Date: 2002-04-14 14:38
We have discussed mp cleaning before, I still use vinegar to remove/soften deposits followed by soft-brushing [if needed] and drying by an old handkerchief, and havent noticed significant damage to HR or plastic mps. I do the same with my glass mps, and believe if I dont drop them, they will outlive me!!! Don
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2002-04-15 17:34
Ben -
Most machine-made mouthpieces have the interior polished to a high shine. Hand-made mouthpieces sometimes have a high interior shine, but most of them have places where the maker has worked on them and stopped when the mouthpiece played right. Any attempt to restore the "original" shine would mean additional material taken off.
The upshot is that a dull interior indicates wear on a machine-made mouthpiece, but indicates custom finishing on a hand-made mouthpiece. Older mouthpieces, such as Chedevilles and Kaspars, usually have a shiny interior. Deep grooves are always bad, and you simply must get a money-back guarantee on an older mouthpiece off eBay.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: David Dow/Symphony nb
Date: 2002-04-24 02:09
Many of my Kaspars have grooves inside and this has really hurt the tonal quality not to mentionn tuning...alas I think its good to seek a newer model that is working and not worrysome...whether or not polished surfaces adds anything to tone or reflexion in the chamber is open to much debate...not that I closed to this idea, but when you hear Anthony Pay on a boxwood clarinet from 1788 sound good it really makes me wonder what my excuse for bad sound (at times) is with all this technology of today!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
