 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Calabr0
Date: 2011-02-02 14:29
Hi,
I've been playing clarinet for 6 years now. I'm a highschool student and i currently have a leblanc lb7214, and its a good student model. I have no problems with the clarinet itself, rather the mouthpiece. I've been using the stock mouthpiece ever since I got it. It's an abomination and sounds terrible. I've tried different strength and brand reeds, but none sounded any better than the other. I know it's the mouthpice and not the clarinet, I have tried some other mouthpices on the instrument. I've come to the realization that I've simply outgrown the mouthpiece and need a new one. I play in two jazz bands and in my highschool concert band, so I need one that can sound clear and produce a good, centered tone for concert settings and one that has enough projection so that I can be heard in jazz. I've been looking at mouthpieces for about a week now, and I liked the pomarico black crystal mouthpieces (I would buy the star one, its kind of a middle path). If anybody has any experience with pomarico could you tell me how they are? It also says that it is the "perfect" mouthpiece for students, which is clearly what I want. It's also at a reasonable price on wwbw. I'm open to any other suggestions as well.
Thanks!
Jim
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Author: mrn
Date: 2011-02-02 15:42
The only way to know if a mouthpiece will be good for you is to try it out yourself. They are all different--even within the same brand/model. Also, everybody's anatomy and embouchure is different, so what works well for one person may not work well for someone else. Order several from a reputable vendor with a generous trial/return policy and pick out the one you like the best.
That being said, one mouthpiece you might want to try out is the one that I play on, which is an Eddie Daniels ED1. It's designed by and for a player who plays both jazz and classical, and for whatever reason I do find mine easier to bend pitches and gliss on than my previous mouthpiece (which was a Gigliotti P34). I think it's more or less in your price range, too.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2011-02-02 16:09
Pomarico is a good, reliable brand. I have quite a few of their wooden mouthpieces and have developed a healthy curiosity over the Black Crystal (still have not tried it). The other crystals in their lineup have been criticized for being a bit unresponsive. But this has been explained by members of this board as a function of the facings being fairly inconsistant on the crystals. Pomarico may have gotten things more right with the new Black Crystal line (I hope).
..................Paul Aviles
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Author: Calabr0
Date: 2011-02-02 16:35
Mrn, the black crystal is the absolute top of my price range, and looking at the ED1, thats around 220 and I'm only a student and I dont think im ready to drop that much on it yet. But i'm going to keep in mind the idea of trying out mouthpieces, so thank you for bringing it up!
Mr. Aviles, I have never played on any kind of pomarico, but I have heard good things about them. I've been doing some extensive research on them and I've never come across a facing issue, but thank you for bringing it up. If you could say what was inconsistent about them it would be great, but I may just make a leap of faith and go for the black crystal.
Thanks
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Author: mrn
Date: 2011-02-02 16:46
Calabr0 wrote:
> Mrn, the black crystal is the absolute top of my price range,
> and looking at the ED1, thats around 220 and I'm only a student
> and I dont think im ready to drop that much on it yet. But i'm
> going to keep in mind the idea of trying out mouthpieces, so
> thank you for bringing it up!
I didn't pay that much for mine--that's the list price, I think. The mail order places typically charge a lot less. You just have to shop around. Fred Weiner's in NYC (a reputable vendor from whom I and friends of mine have ordered before) apparently has ED1s for around $150.
http://shop.weinermusic.com/EDDIE-DANIELS-Bb-CLARINET-MOUTHPIECE-MODEL-ED1/productinfo/ML1ED1/
Not that it's the end-all of mouthpieces, mind you. I just find that it works well for me for what it is you're trying to accomplish.
Post Edited (2011-02-02 16:49)
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Author: Evans
Date: 2011-02-02 18:06
I use an old Vandoran V360 (from around the late 80's, early 70's) which works incredibly for me. The B45's (about $70) and B46's ($70-$80) are the newer version of it. They work well with size three to three-and-a-half reeds. Hope this helped, Evan
Evan B. Stanfill
1971 Noblet 45
Vandoran V360 Mouthpiece
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Author: Clarimeister
Date: 2011-02-02 20:16
I would reeeeally like to recommend Mike Vaccaro's line of mouthpieces based out here in Southern California. He's not a big name mouthpiece maker, but I definitely at least recommend trying some of his out. Give him a ring mikevaccaro.com, who also sponsers this board.
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Author: Ursa
Date: 2011-02-02 20:25
Hi, Jim:
I also have a 7214 and use it for outdoors gigs. With careful regulation and a good mouthpiece, these clarinets can be quite good indeed. Finding non-LeBlanc mouthpieces that play in tune on a 7214 can be challenging.
I've found the best mouthpiece FOR ME on a 7214 is a Yamaha YAC-1208. It is a hard rubber piece with a rather open 1.32mm tip opening and a medium 18.26 facing length. It easily plays well in tune on my horn, I can get just about any kind of tone and response desired via careful reed selection, and the projection is simply outstanding--for jazz and big band stuff I've had little trouble cutting through.
These take a little searching to find but can be ordered online for about $40. Might be worth a try.
Regards...Ursa
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2011-02-02 20:57
Dear Calabr0,
I misread your original post. I thought you tried the Pomarico and just wanted some personal experiences with them.
There are quite a few good mouthpieces for UNDER $100 starting with the Vandorens. I've had good experiences with the M13, 5RV Lyre and M15 (in that order). Also the Genusa Excellente is wonderful and only about $80 on WWBW's website.
It is helpful to keep in mind that $$$ don't necessarily equate to more quality. In fact only you can determine which will work best for you by TRYING them out !!!!
...........good luck,
........................Paul Aviles
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2011-02-02 23:23
Are you near a music store of some sort? Or can you drive/get someone to drive you to one? Vandoren mouthpieces are plentiful, almost every store has some in stock, and they are cheap. I recommend the any Vandoren mouthpiece that starts with "M". M13, M15, and M30 are among those that I've tried and I personally like the M15 and M30 best.
It'd be a good starting point and vandorens are at the bottom of the price range. Also, you should be able to try a few side by side instead of just ordering one or a few and hoping.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: Calabr0
Date: 2011-02-02 23:26
evans, ursa, and paul,
thanks for all the helpful advice, and I have decided not to get the black crystal. Maybe another time because I am interested in trying one out, but I dont want to spend that much and have facing issues. Ursa, I agree that it is hard to keep the 7214 in tune on foriegn mouthpieces, but I think I'm going to get a Vandoren B45 Lyre, profile 88. It's a 1.27mm opening, and the facing says medium long, which is clearly subjective to the manufacturer. I think that this is more of what I was looking for than a custom made, extremely expensive one because Im a student and Im still developing my sound.
Thanks again,
Jim
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2011-02-03 00:10
Just one last bit of advice. The B45 (and particularly the Lyre version) is pretty open. It should not be a huge issue with soft reeds but do yourself the favor of trying 3 disparate sizes if you can. My suggestions would be (from smallest to largest) M15, M13, B45 (Lyre if you must). And it is best to start from smaller tip opening first. If you go the other way, you may "fake yourself out" into thinking the smaller tip opening is not adequate.
..................Paul Aviles
P.S. I meant to say the older Pomarico crystals had some issues (the sizes that are Ruby, Emerald, Saphire). The Black Crystal has not really been adequately reviewed by many on this board yet.
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Author: Evans
Date: 2011-02-03 01:55
Good choice, thank you for reading mine, Evan
Evan B. Stanfill
1971 Noblet 45
Vandoran V360 Mouthpiece
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Author: Ursa
Date: 2011-02-03 03:52
Good luck, Jim, with the black crystal Pomarico. Please let us know how it tunes and plays on your 7214.
For the record, the Ridenour Encore piece tunes accurately, is delightfully responsive, and delivers a rich, very focused sound on on the 7214.
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