 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Wyatt
Date: 2002-05-31 05:41
If I bought a C clarinet and didn't care for the mouthpiece or reed, what would be my alternatives?
Wyatt
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Author: james
Date: 2002-05-31 06:40
I could be wrong but don't c clarinets use the same mouthpiece and reed? Just use the one from your regular clarinet.. (sorry im wrong)
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Author: William
Date: 2002-05-31 15:14
If you play in an orchestral situation requiring you to switch clarinets (sometimes rapidly), it may be to your advantage to play the C with your A/Bb mouthpiece. Usually, mouthpieces supplied with new clarinets are not the best. Most "pros" use customized, often expensive, mouthpieces that give them the expressiveness, tone quality, intonation and response that they find acceptable for their particular playing needs on their A, Bb, and C clarinets. However, some choose to use different mouthpiece/reed set ups for each individual clarinet--which is probably best for getting the most out of each instrument, but time consuming (searching for reeds) and expensive (searching for mpcs and reeds). Another disadvantage is that your C or A reeds may dry out while you are "slaving away" on your Bb--not good if you have to suddenly switch for a solo entrance. Bottom line--try your regular Bb mouthpiece on your new C before you go through a new "Great Mouthpiece Search." My personal set up--Kaspar #14, V12's 3.5--works great on my Buffet E11 C clarinet. Good luck and Good Clarineting!!!!! (when you get your new D clarinet, use your Eb mpc)
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Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2002-05-31 15:19
There are several other threads in this regard that a search should bring up. Choices are Buffet, Leblanc, Patricola, Stephen Fox. If you are serious about this, try them out first with your mouthpiece and decide if the intonation meets your needs.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2002-05-31 15:34
While your regular Bb/A mouthpiece will generally (note the word 'generally') work on your C clarinet, there are some mouthpiece makers who specifically can make you a C clarinet mouthpiece.
Ralph Morgan is one such manufactureer who specifically makes a mouthpiece for the C clarinet. I personally own one.
A different barrel (Chadash etc.) will also possibly aid in the tuning and response of the C clarinet as well...GBK
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2002-05-31 16:12
First, I would throw away the old reed and buy a new one. That's the cheapest fix and who knows how old the one that came with the clarinet is or where it has been. ;^)
More seriously, the mouthpiece that comes with the C clarinet may not have a comfortable facing for you -- it may be more or less resistant than you like simply because it was not tailored to your preferences. A starting point would be to try the mouthpiece/reed combination you currently use on your Bb. Most modern C's are designed to use a "standard" Bb mouthpiece. Some even come with two barrels -- one for use with a Bb mouthpiece and one for use with a specifically designed C mouthpiece. If your C clarinet has a different size bore than your Bb. It should be possible to make them with the same size bore, a smaller bore or a larger bore but, without any maker's specific measurements in front of me, I don't know what is standard practice. You may therefore find that the mouthpiece that you use on your Bb does not work particularly well on your C because it doesn't match the bore. In this case, you have two choices, at least in theory. The first choice is to try to find a mouthpiece specifically made for a C clarinet. As it turns out, however, these are not easy to come by. There are a few mouthpiece makers (Jerry Hall, if he is still making mouthpieces, and possibly Charles Bay) who make C-clarinet mouthpieces. Most makers, however, do not -- or at least don't advertise the fact.
The second and probably more practical choice is to search for a Bb mouthpiece that works with your C clarinet.
In my case, the mouthpiece that works on my Bb and A clarinets also works pretty well with my C. (As near as I can tell with my crude measuring device, the bore size of my C is the same as my Bb.) I still use a different (Bb) mouthpiece on my C, however, because I prefer a brighter sound (apolgies to Dan Leeson), than my Bb/A mouthpiece/ligature/reed combination provides.
Hope this helps.
Best regards,
jnk
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Author: RS
Date: 2002-05-31 18:01
Ralph Morgan's J (jazz) series mouthpieces work well on the C clarinet as Ralph designs his pieces to play a little sharp in case you have to tune to a sharp fixed pitch instrument like piano. On my Leblanc Esprit in C the Morgan J6 plays right at 440 with everything pushed all the way in. No room to tune sharp but Ralph will make you a C piece if you want more flexibility in tuning.
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