 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: tjones
Date: 2005-04-28 15:56
I'm shopping for both a new mouthpiece and ligature. Does anyone have suggestions on good products? Also what kind/strength reeds do you use? I have a Buffet R13 Prestige clarinet and I'm looking for a very consistent sound for soloing and concert bands. I'm open to any price range. Thank you!
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Author: Tyler
Date: 2005-04-28 22:44
Hi. Let me open with what most other people will reply to you with in the following posts in this thread:
You may have to try lots of things to find what's right for you.
But here are some high-quality and widely accepted products:
Mouthpieces
Vandoren M15 M30, M13, B45, B45 lyre, which work will with reeds and mostly have a dark, warm sound (B45 considered to lack character by some)
Eddie Daniels- very very dark, chocolately sound
Gigliotti- a little more resistant, but very deep and velvety tone
Gennusa Excellente
Pomarico Crystal- great acoustical qualities, but shatters if dropped
Richard Hawkins- great depth and core sound, with alive "ring"
Hite, especially D facing- liked by many
Ridenour products- very innovative, many options for facings/chambers
Clark Fobes Nova CF+ facing
Redwine- similar to Gennusa Excellentes
Greg Smith- great handmade/custom mouthpieces
These are just a few.
Ligatures
Fabric-darker sound
Rovner- Dark, Light, and others
Metal ligatures-slightly brighter, usually cheaper and very easy to use
Bonade- regular, inverted (screw not on reed side of mouthpiece)
BG- Metal Tradition (gold)
Mitchell Lurie
Leblanc
Vandoren Optimum ($$, but great lig)- interchangeable plates
Hybrid (highly recommended)- fabric with metal contacts or inserts
BG- Revelation, Super Revelation
Rovner- Eddie Daniels II (what I use)- great projection, but dark upper reg
Other
Oleg
Boise- too much reed vibration in my opinion
Woven such as Vandoren Klassik
Ultimate
Pomarico Light Clarinet Ligature- will not scratch a crystal mouthpiece
That's as much as I can find right now, but good luck in your search.
Keep in mind that equipment matters, but nowhere near as much as tone concept and embouchure development! Oh, and practice!
-T
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Author: Tyler
Date: 2005-04-28 22:46
in the ligatures part where it says fabric, metal, hybrid, and others, those are categories, not specific ligs
sorry for any confusion!
Best wishes,
-T
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Author: Tyler
Date: 2005-04-28 22:53
Here, let me answer your question about reeds as well, since I forgot about that part in my previous posts.
The strength of reed you use primarily depends on the length of the facing of your new mouthpiece (the part that actually curves away from the back of the reed). The longer this part is, the harder of a reed you will want to use. It works like if you would change the position of the fulcrum on a diving board. The closer to the tip the fulcrum is, the stiffer the board would feel.
Vandoren M15's (what I use right now), M13's, Gigliotti, Hawkins, I think are mostly if not all long-facing mouthpieces. You will simply need to find out what facings are available for which mouthpieces, and decide if you like the sound of short facing/soft reed better or long facing/hard reed.
I usually don't worry too much about something called "tip opening" (how far the tip of the reed is from the tip of the mouthpiece) because it basically goes hand-in-hand with the facing. Longer facing=closer tip opening.
I use Vandoren V12 4's with my Vandoren M15 mouthpiece with quite a bit of success. Some of them are hard for a long time, until they get broken in. To check out different brands, though, go look up a reed strength comparison chart online. Strength numbers are inconsistent across brands.
Good luck!
-T
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2005-04-29 03:57
For many years, I hated my 1960-ish Buffet R13; I lusted for the free blowing response I imagined a Selmer would give me (based on my experience with Selmer MK VI saxophones.
Then, I started buying a variety of mouthpieces on eBay. To enable A-B-A comparisons, I got a second ligature.
OOPS, the new Rovner ligature changed the instrument's response as much as a different mouthpiece. (I'm comparing the Rovner to the Buffet metal ligature that came with my R14.) SO, I got a second Rovner.
Then, I started to do mouthpiece comparisons. Many, many combinations. I set up two mouthpieces, each with a Rovner ligature and swapped reeds until I got both mouthpiece/reed/Rovner-combination to play well. Then, I'd play passages on the two set-ups and see which seemed easier to play and which sounded better. I also played arpeggios checking each note against my Korg tuner to check intonation.
When one mpc/reed combo seemed better than the other, I'd set the losing set-up aside (noting reed strength) and fire up another.
I ended up (for now) with a Mitchell-Lurie M3 and a Mitchell-Lurie 4-1/2 reed (which was recommended by the seller to "fit" this particular mouthpiece. Caution, your mileage will probably be different, because this M3 appears to have been refaced. The table and rails have been abraded, and the chamber shows evidence of handwork from the tip well past the lower edge of the window.
Still, this set-up is the best I've ever played. I've completely reformed my general lust for a Selmer, and I get compliments on my "sound" from other players.
Also (speaking to another thread), my Buffet has an F-serial number indicating that it is tuned to A442 or A444. Except for the blasted throat Bb, all of the notes I can reach come in within 15cents of being in tune. The details of intonation change with reed selection.
Also, this mpc is soo easy to play. It responds like a crow call; easy to blow, and it makes big jumps better than any of those in my "quiver" (actually a cardboard box on my desk); and it plays pppp like (excuse me) Reginald Kell.
I've found other uses for my mpc collection. I loaned it to a student, and she spent days with it before picking out an old Brilhart 5* and a Rovner ligature. I've also gone through the quiver to pick out a mouthpiece for my back-up horn (a Selmer).
An alternative is to ask a dealer to send you a few mouthpieces on approval and play test them, keeping the best you encounter. I would, however, commonize the ligature before testing.
Now, I'm going in search of the optimal barrel.
Bob Phillips
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Author: tjones
Date: 2005-04-29 18:15
Thanks for your help! This at least gives me a place to start. I've heard a lot of good things about Gonzalez FOF reeds, any opinions on these or how they work with your suggested mouthpieces? Thanks again! Terri
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