 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: vparker86
Date: 2014-10-23 20:59
I own a Robert Scott 112 mouthpiece and want to know of any mouthpieces equivalent to what I own? I played on some pricey brand($200+) at tmea once and felt it was similar but I forget the name.. Any other brands? Thanks!
Victoria
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Author: tims
Date: 2014-10-23 23:12
I'm not familiar with Robert Scott mouthpieces, but its not clear if he is still making mouthpieces or is even still around since most of what I was able to find about him on the web dates from about 15 years ago. He apparently worked in the Lansing Michigan area and maybe some of the people here on the board from that area could tell you more.
My advice is to find someone in your area to simply do basic measurements of the mouthpiece, that is, determine the tip opening and the length of the lay. Since you mentioned TMEA, I assume you are in Texas and unless you live out in Marfa, you are probably near someone who could do this for you (and even in Marfa, I would guess that there is a good chance that whoever teaches clarinet at Sol Ross could do it for you). Use this information to narrow down your search. My guess is you probably already have the tip opening, "112". It is common to express tip openings in 1/100 of a millimeter. This would place your mouthpiece somewhere between a Vandoren 5RV Lyre and an M30 Lyre. Unfortunately, experience has shown that what maker's claim for measurements often don't match the actual measurements of their products, so it is still a good idea to get your own measurements.
There are also mouthpiece makers who specialize in copying favorite mouthpieces for customers. The good ones aren't cheap.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2014-10-24 02:06
tims wrote:
> Unfortunately, experience has shown that what
> maker's claim for measurements often don't match the actual
> measurements of their products, so it is still a good idea to
> get your own measurements.
>
It isn't that the makers' claims and the "actual" measurements differ, it's that tip opening gauges, typically tapered wands that are inserted between the mouthpiece tip and a piece of plate glass, are notoriously inconsistent. The dial gauges I've used don't seem to be much better. So what is "actually" read on one gauge may differ from what is "actually" read on another. Maybe big companies like Vandoren and D'Addario have more reliable measuring instruments, but most people, including custom makers, who sit at their desks or work tables measuring one mouthpiece at a time are using those taper wands.
The same is true to an extent of the feeler gauges that are used to measure the curve length. The measurement from one person to the next is only as consistent as the feelers are.
It *is* sometimes useful to know what the actual measurements are of specific mouthpieces. But it's not much help to have other people do your measuring for you, unless the same person does them for you consistently with the same gauges. If you really want to know with any precision, you should buy your own equipment (it's not prohibitively expensive) so that comparisons you make are based on reliable measurements made by the same gauges each time. Otherwise, you're just as well off taking the manufacturers' claims as ballpark descriptors and make your own decisions by playing them.
Karl
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Author: kdk
Date: 2014-10-24 02:12
The Vandoren mouthpieces I've measured are rarely as short as 16 mm. I think last time I measured one of their "medium ling" mouthpieces it was 18 mm. I think (but am not sure) that medium would be more like 17 mm and medium short might be 16 mm, although in my experience lengths shorter than 16 mm are custom facings. I've never run into one on a standard mass-produced French-style mouthpiece.
A millimeter, btw, makes a noticeable difference in a mouthpiece's feel. So, IMO, the difference between 16 mm and 17 mm isn't insignificant.
Karl
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