 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Malaya
Date: 2002-12-28 00:42
Hm... Santa bought my boyfriend a Pomarico Ruby, and now I'm considering one. He let me (and ONLY me) try it out the other day, and it sounds really great. I have almost enough Chisrmas money left, and I'm just wondering if it's a smart move for a Soph. in High School. (I'm looking for a new mouthpiece anyways.) I doubt I'd use it in everyday concert band, since I tend to be a bit of a klutz, and I don't trust leaving it while I'm away from the band room for class. I'd like to have it for solo festival etc., but I know nothing about picking out mouthpieces. Woodwind/Brasswind sells them, but I don't know about facing and chamber openings and all that nonsense. I'm pretty much looking for a warm, bright, even sound. (Like Benny Goodman... But maybe I should pray for a miracle?) Just something that doesn't sound forced and airy. I've never ordered anything through a catalog, but have heard great things from WW/BW... Will they allow me to try one, and send it back if I'm not happy, and recieve another? Also, are crystals sensitive to "pirrhanna grip?" I tend to chomp down on mouthpieces, and had to get a rubber thing-a-ma-bob to save the mouthpiece I have now from Jaws-like teeth marks. AND (last question, I promise!) any idea on the ligature/reeds I'll have to use? I have a Rovner Dark-1R lig. (?) and I'm pretty comfortable on a Vandoren 3 1/2 reed. If you all could answer my plethora of questions, I'd love you forever. (And it would save me from making an 80$ mistake!) Thanks a lot!
The girl with all the questions,
*~*Malaya*~*
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Author: john gibson
Date: 2002-12-28 14:29
Malaya
Only you can decide which MPC is right for you. Crystal is my favorite. I have 3. Two Pomarico and one Selmer.
contact me at the e-mail above and I'll put you in touch with my friends at Pomarico.
Keep in mind that crystal is unforgiving and once broken, that's it.
However, it never warps r changes shape and will last a lifetime.
sincerely
John
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Author: Stan
Date: 2002-12-28 15:32
I had a Pomarico crystal and didn't like the sound at all, not to mention that it sickened me to stare at my saliva all the time.
If you want a good student mouthpiece, try Hite Premiere or Gigliotti Advantage -- they are both priced around $30.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2002-12-28 16:06
Crystal mouthpieces, due to the difficulties of maintaining very close tolerances when working with the heating and cooling of the material, can be extremely variable within the same facing. Try a large number of samples before deciding on one.
The odds of finding a "perfect" one on the first try are less than with hard rubber mouthpieces.
Be persistant and don't make your choice before trying a few.
When I selected a pair of Vandoren crystals in the early 70's, I went through about 30, before finding 2 which matched, and that had good intonation, color, tuning, and projection...GBK
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Author: Ken
Date: 2002-12-28 19:20
Stan wrote: "I had a Pomarico crystal and didn't like the sound at all, not to mention that it sickened me to stare at my saliva all the time."
--LOL, maybe Pomarico should consider marketing colored crystal to match their model names, Ruby, Emerald etc...that might help a little. I wash mine out after every session or they begin looking like a terrarium. <;-) v/r Ken
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Author: john gibson
Date: 2002-12-29 01:18
Alright...
You can see through crystal....shouldn't you "swab" after every "blow" anyway? YUK or not. Crystal MPCs are the best. ALTHOUGH....I've found my wooden BUFFET to be excellent AND probably the BEST match for my R-13. I love crystal MPCs....and wood MPCs......HARD RUBBER .....is in my opinion...BOTTOM OF THE LIST. It's all UP TO YOU!......try 'em yourself.
John
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Author: Terry Horlick
Date: 2002-12-29 04:52
I've never tried a wooden mouthpiece so cannot comment.
I have two crystal mouthpieces and several hard rubber/other black material ones. One crystal came to me in the case with a 1925 clarinet I purchased at a swap meet. It plays stuffy and is nothing special, in fact I never use it for anything.
I have a "Pete Fountain" crystal mouthpiece which plays very well, has a bright open sound and is free blowing. I purchased it from Weiner via the mail after trying about 8 others. That mail order house did send me several different mouthpieces to try, you can try three at a time and only pay $3 each for restocking, plus shipping charges. I find this an excellent deal if you live far from a retailer who can allow you to trial them. It even gives you the opportunity to play the piece on your set-up in a rehersal if the trial period allows.
You will find that a rubber pad is almost required in order to play one of these as they are hard on the teeth and feel uncomfortable without one. Use a black pad and the inside of the mouthpiece is less visible. As far as being "grossed out" by the "saliva" inside the mouthpiece... get a life! That is not saliva, it is condensation for the most part, saliva would run down the reed surface and not be visible... and no one is looking inside your mouthpiece even though it is crystal.
One of the biggest selling points of a crystal mouthpiece is their unusal appearance, and to be frank, that is really meaningless and unimportant. Another point is they are very stable and don't vary much with temperature changes... I really have never noticed any changes in any mouthpiece with temperature so that really isn't important either. They won't wear out with swabbing... come on, you clean it out periodically with warm soapy water and a soft cloth... I have never had any noticable wear or changes in playing charicteristics in any mouthpiece I've used in the last 40 years, let's be honest about it!
The purpose of a mouthpiece is to work with your embochure, your horn, your reeds, your ligature, your barrel, and your playing style to produce the sound you want to have. The smartest thing is to evaluate your sound now. If you are happy then make no changes. If you are not happy with your sound then change things; change embochure, try other horns, change reeds, change ligatures, change barrels, work on your playing style... and yes try another mouthpiece. Mouthpieces can be pricey so try several and <B><I>listen</I></B> to the sound they make. Then decide.
For orchestra I like my Greg Smith, for jazz I like the P.F. or some of the other no name pieces I have... whatever works. Be honest with yourself and listen... do you like the mouthpiece because it is expensive, looks cool or unique, makes you seem to be among the more advanced players... or do you like it because it makes the sound you are striving for?
Now Ligatures... I have a handful of them. I bought one of the Rovners, had some old no-name ones, bought some inverted Bonades etc. I really like the Bonades when they are carefully bent to allow only the tone rails to touch the reed. They are also very inexpensive... in the range of $8 or $10. They sound good for me. About a month ago I finally tried string.... hmm, better than any lig to date! So I did it, I invested $1 in a length of nylon tent cord (classy black color) and had three ligatures! That string makes a more mellow, pretty sound than any ligature I have ever played. The expensive cloth Rovner?... sounds just awful, dampens out the reed and makes the horn hard to play and muffled. This is for me... just try several things until you find what works (but don't be surprised if that is a free piece of string rather than a $45 ligature). Yes, I am the guy who is pushing making your own case for $20... that is because it gives you a better case. I push the string ligature for 30 cents, because it is better for many folks (heck, if not you are out 30 cents, isn't that better than getting a $45 one and not liking it?), I have lucrative employment and can afford to get 5 or 6 of any or all the ligs I want to try, but the string and the Bonade make the sound I want.
It does not matter what grade you are in, what matters is what sound you want to make. The look or material of the mouthpiece matters not a whit... unless having a gooney looking mouthpiece will get you to practice more then ok... unless with that additional practice you still can't make a beautiful sound.
IMHO, Terry
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Author: Jamie Talbot
Date: 2002-12-29 09:19
For a few years,I played a Pomerico on a R13.
I liked the sound but found it difficult to play up to pitch.
This was remedied by using a short barrel but it sounded better on a long barrel.
Bit of a dilemma eh?
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