 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Pete
Date: 2002-07-29 01:43
Once again I would like to call on the collective wisdom of this board. I am new at the clarinet. I also play a little saxophone (read, not all that well, by higher standards). I知 progressing nicely and want to buy a new mouthpiece or two. Till I知 a lot better I shall be satisfied with Vandoren痴. Perhaps I値l try the more exotic later.
My question is: do I want traditional or Profile 88痴? Does my background on the sax have any bearing? Do any sax doublers feel certain mouthpieces lend themselves to switching?
Anyone considering answering should know that I知 a pretty fair piano player, a moderately good sax player, and a great clarinet student because I知 measured by progress, not how well I play.
Thanks again to the most entertaining board on the net.
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Author: Ralph G
Date: 2002-07-29 03:43
I'm not a doubler, but here's my two-bit opinion:
I played on an HS* from 1979 until earlier this month. Last Friday I tried out a few Vandorens at the music shop and settled on the M13 Lyre. For a week before that I played a secondhand B45 a friend gave me. The M13 comes only in Profile 88, but I didn't know that until after I bought it.
Frankly I didn't even notice it was a Profile 88 until after I played it and saw the 88 logo on the side. But I did notice my articulation was a zillion times improved. I aced the 16th note tonguing runs on the opening of the Mozart and parts of the Concertino (always stumbled on the HS*) and my sound was much clearer and not as breathy as before.
The shallow beak angle is very subtle, enough that a mouthpiece rookie like me didn't even notice until after I played it. To saxophone players, it'll still feel like a clarinet mouthpiece. My friend who gave me the B45 did have me try another mouthpiece (the name of which I can't recall; I'll find out this week for you) that had a VERY shallow beak angle and felt like a sax mouthpiece. I didn't like that one at all and concluded the Profile 88 would be just like it. So I was pleasantly surprised by the nice feel the 88 had when I took it for a test drive.
Bottom line: try it for yourself, but don't expect it to feel just like a sax mouthpiece.
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Author: tim k
Date: 2002-07-29 14:14
Please keep in mind the following advice is worth what you are paying for it. Years ago I was a clarinet player who also played tenor sax (How does a clarinet player make money? Learn the saxophone.) I restarted about a year ago on clarinet and was doing reasonably well with a close-tip mouthpiece. Then I decided to concentrate on tenor. After concentrating on tenor embouchure, I started practicing clarinet again. I cannot play confortably on a close tip, and 115 seems to be the absolute minimum for me. I think it's not umcommon for sax players to find open tip clarinet mpcs much more comfortable than close tips. I'm about to try mouthpieces in the 120-130 range.
Of course, if your goal is to play in a symphony, ignore everything I said.
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2002-07-29 15:43
Pete -
I played a Morgan clarinet mouthpiece for several years, which has the a "duckbill" shape that has the same angle as the Vandoren Profile 88 mouthpiece. I eventually returned to a standard profile mouthpiece because I thought I sounded better with my jaw a little more open.
This is a very individual thing. You go with what works for you, which will often be very different from what works for other people. Play several Vandoren mouthpieces with the same numerical designation, in the standard and Profile 88 versions, and pick the one that works best for you. That's all that matters.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Pete
Date: 2002-08-01 22:31
Thanks, guys. Not many replies, but all helpful.
Pete
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