 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: brian robinson
Date: 2005-11-19 17:45
I am thinking about purchasing this mouthpiece. I have been using a B45 for quite a while, and it was suggested to me that I get the 5JB because it was more open than the B45, and allowed me to blow more air through the instrument. If anyone has used the 5JB, comments on its quality would be greatly appreciated.
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Author: Fred
Date: 2005-11-19 18:00
The 5JB is good for what it is intended to be - a very wide open mp designed for jazz band (thus the JB). It can do some pretty amazing things paired with a #2 or #2.5 reed, but those same amazing things would be very out of place depending on the playing venue.
Nice to have in the arsenal, but not always appropriate.
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2005-11-19 20:22
My experience with the 5JB is simple - it takes more air to keep this mouthpiece playing and significant volumes.
If you have the wind support, it can be a monster.
If not, it can make my best reeds sound anemic and timid...
Your mileage will vary.
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Author: MikeH
Date: 2005-11-19 21:52
Be warned, it takes iron chops to play this mpc. I used one when I was playing lead alto in a big band and had to double on clarinet from time to time. You can produce tremendous volume with it. Going from a B45 to a 5JB is a huge increase in tip opening. I stopped using it because it was causing jaw pain. I moved down in tip opening to Portnoy #3 which measures .048 and is plenty satisfactory for jazz playing. The 5JB in contrast is .058 a huge difference.
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Author: Connor
Date: 2005-11-20 16:34
I find it very pleasing to play, however, it is a little difficult to get a good altissimo. I also noticed that i play a lot flatter than usual with the 5JB.
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Author: john gibson
Date: 2005-11-21 14:01
All the advice above is good....you should try it ouit before you buy. I had one....and though I do have good breath control and lung capacity.....I fouind it a real work out. I currently use a Pomarico crystal....the diamond model with a medium open tp and facing with Mitchel Lurie Premium reeds with strnegth of 2 1/2 --3. It's plenty loud and a lot easier to control.
I was under the impression that the more open the mouthpiece, the more Jazzy you couild be until I learned that Artie Shaw recommended a close tip mouthpiece with stronger reeds......and listen to what he accomplished!
John Gibson
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Author: FrankM
Date: 2005-11-21 14:38
I agree with John G. I thought the way to play jazz was on an open mouthpiece and tried the Vandoren 5jb and the Morgan J series and thinner reeds. I found I get a much better sound with thicker reeds on a more closed mouthpiece. ( Morgan 06 and 10) BUT..... I play in a big band with a guy who plays a Vandoren 5JB with a sythetic reed of some sort and he sounds great with LOTS of volume...as always, try and see what works for you and your set up.
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Author: Ken Mills
Date: 2005-11-23 02:14
Dear Brian; I am using the 5JB. The B45 Lyre is the next open mpc and is quite good with the #2 Marca reed a V12 type reed. The stock 5JB does not work with that type of reed that has more power so that the Traditional Vandoren reed is more responsive while the altissimo is worse, The Company wants you to play their reeds on it, I suppose. I filed the side walls apart next to the top of the 5JB mpc's bore. You should compare the size of Vandoren chambers into the bore: small. But now I made it better in my attempt at a hotrod. This combined with the shallow baffle already in the chamber's tip makes it better to drive a V12 type reed, a #2 Marca is not too soft (really) and quite noticably good (and needed on a mpc that comes with a long facing) to get the altissimo. Are you playing a puny French style small bore clarinet for a Vandoren mpc? More Power To You Too, Ken
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Author: Bnewbs
Date: 2005-11-23 02:53
I have a good friend playing a Leblanc Pete Fountain with a 5JB, and man can he play out. When I tried it, it felt really akward (I am not that much of a jazz guy, really more into chamber and classical stuff). A .590" bore with a big chamber open tip mouthpiece is unfocused like none other, but it's warm and jazzy with some unreal projection, if you can fill the thing up. It really felt more like an alto clarinet (which I do play a fair bit) or even an alto sax than a clarinet in the air required to play. When I play (or try to anyway) a jazz piece I usually use a Selmer C95 with my 10G, which works really well for me anyway. If you are into softer reeds and a lot of projection and really don't care much about focus I think you would love it.
Ben
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2005-11-23 11:33
A lot of clarinet players that have come to clarinet after sax have gone for the wide mouthpiece with soft reed setup - and their tuning is flat above G5 (and they really struggle in the altissimo register where there seems to be no fixed pitch!), so they compensate by having the barrel shortened to around 58-61mm which throws the intonation out the window.
Has to be said they use a sax embouchure on clarinet and make that slack-jawed sound - they might have the volume, but tone quality and tuning are seriously lacking.
But that's just a minority. There was another player last week saying he needs a wide mouthpiece in order to play Kletzmer as 'you can't do all the pitch bends with a close mouthpiece' - which I replied 'yes you can'.
And seeing that Artie Shaw managed to do what he did with a more 'classical' setup proves the point.
I'd like to take these people aside and start them at the beginning, that's using a clarinet embouchure and not a sax embouchure.
Then there are sax players who believe the only way to have control is with a wide mouthpiece and hard reed - and the result is they can only play at one volume level - FF! Ever heard 'Pink Panther' played with no control or dynamics? I have, and flinched with every note.
I'm just about to try out some Vandoren M15s and M30s to see which one I like, I'm currently using a 5RV Lyre.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2005-11-23 11:55)
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Author: BelgianClarinet
Date: 2005-11-24 16:49
Chris,
you really should give the B40 a try, I didn't believe it either, but since I'm using it I only got positive comments, (even from people that didn't know I changed)
Peter
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2005-11-24 19:58
I tried a B40 ages ago, but it was a bit too wide - I used to use a B46 when they first introduced the 'Profile 88' beak, probably one of the first of it's kind in the UK. All went well until I shattered the tip and side rails, then superlgued it all back together but it wan't the same and a good replacement was hard to find, so I went back to a 5RV Lyre.
I'll still try one out though to see how it compares with the M15 or M30 - and other makes.
Ok, I've tried most of the Vandoren range (all were French-style mouthpieces), three Lomax and a couple of Portnoys (there were no others - I should hve had a better selection sent to try) - and the M15 is the one I bought - it works well with the V12 3 reeds. The 2.5 (which I use on 5RV Lyre) was a bit too soft, but a 3 gives me the tone I'm looking for, and crisp staccato, jumps wide intervals easy as well as fantastic control in the altissimo. I'll have to try some 56 Rue Lepics as well
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2005-11-25 17:33)
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Author: Steve Barbone
Date: 2005-12-10 02:00
I am using a 5JB with my Selmer Series 9 and series 10G clarinets. Have used them for several years with 2 & 1/2 to 3 and 1/2 reed strengths. Love the volume and the altissimo to double high C . Kenny Davern uses a 5JB with a 4 to 4 and 1/2 reed strength and he can do it all on clarinet.
Steve
Steve Barbone
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Author: Ken Mills
Date: 2005-12-12 21:45
Dear Brian again; On the 5JB I want rapid legato tonguing and a dark clarion register of the left hand notes that is not unruly or squeally in that high pitched way. So a medium reed on the relatively open facing sounds the best to me. A soft reed for staccato tonguing on the other hand is good for somebody like Stanley Drucker, I bet. The 5JB needs to have the sidewalls further apart to allow the air column to do this. Those upper clarion notes just tend to sound the worst -- rinky dinky, but not by Pete Fountain. I prefer a natural vibrato, however. The Vandoren B45 Lyre is the next open with a long facing too and is excellent with the #2 Marca reed as well in my experience. When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping, Ken Mills
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Author: Ken Mills
Date: 2005-12-13 23:21
Dear Bnewbs; I finally see somebody mention the Selmer C95 mpc. It is a radical mpc with the huge chamber and very deep baffle. I guess that it has been discontinued and replaced by the CP100. As we know the altissimo register has modes that overblow in fourths so that after ascending up to the F above the staff the F# starts the next higher mode based on the C# fingering a fourth below. This is where the C95 is not a champion. But it has a rich sound in those lovely even numbered harmonics, I bet. I used the Marca #2 reed on it too as I like it with the Vandoren B45 Lyre and my modified (not the facing) 5 JB. The 5JB, as I have it, has more power for acoustical situations. All of these mpc facings are good for the Moree type heavy bodied reed as the Marca or V12. I am pushing this kind of setup. Listen Here, Ken from San Francisco, no phone number, sorry
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Author: Bnewbs
Date: 2005-12-14 01:20
I use Oliveri's and Oliveri elites, not just with the C95, but with everything (#3 on the C95, #3.5 on M13 and Grabner/Hill). I love it's big, rich projecting sound great for jazz, in the lower registers (it is a little quirky way up above G). I like it alot better than B45s or 5JBs, haven't tried a CP100. I really never go above a high G or A in jazz playing, but I never play the really hard jazz charts (I have never been good at improvitation, but I try) .
Ben
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2005-12-14 13:57
I agree with the above posts about tuning on the 5JB. You need to really play with the tuner in front of you for a while to realize how you'll tune in real situations. It's not great in the altissimo, and it is a jazz mouthpiece--not really an all-purpose mouthpiece.
There are other mouthpieces out there that do what the 5JB does with better intonation. Walter Grabner's CXZ_K14 is an excellent pop, jazz and classical mouthpiece and it's in tune in the uppers.
The Ponzol mouthpiece is a better sounding mouthpiece (IMO) than the 5JB and has better intonation, although it's still a bit out of tune on some notes.
If you're looking for something a bit more open than the B45, but a great sound and great intonation, I'd get the Grabner. I play one all the time.
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Author: Nevertoolate
Date: 2023-05-10 16:19
If I have a basic Clarinet mouthpiece on a non wood clarinet but I'm wanting to get a 5JB mouthpiece....my question is I'm relatively new to the instrument but by pure chance seem to be able to get a fairly decent sound at this early point using the provided mouthpiece and Vandoren 2.5 Reed. Is there much of a difference and would it take long to overcome said differences. Please answer from the stand point of novice Clarinettist that is mainly into early Jazz styles. Thanks in advance.
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Author: Ursa
Date: 2023-05-10 21:48
Quote:
If I have a basic Clarinet mouthpiece on a non wood clarinet but I'm wanting to get a 5JB mouthpiece....my question is I'm relatively new to the instrument but by pure chance seem to be able to get a fairly decent sound at this early point using the provided mouthpiece and Vandoren 2.5 Reed. Is there much of a difference and would it take long to overcome said differences. Please answer from the stand point of novice Clarinettist that is mainly into early Jazz styles. Thanks in advance.
1. What is your current mouthpiece?
2. What do you believe the 5JB will do for you that your current mouthpiece cannot?
3. Early jazz musicians played whatever instruments and mouthpieces they could manage to scrounge up--quite often having to make-do with inferior gear due to very limited resources. Why not follow in their footsteps by playing jazz with the gear you already own? You just might learn something valuable about how the pioneers of jazz had to approach their craft.
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Author: johnwesley
Date: 2023-05-11 00:45
Ursa, that is the best advice I've read ever. Aside from woodwinds, look at the homemade guitars, banjos etc that they played. I remember some other enlightening words from Artie Shaw. When Benny Goodman asked Artie who he thought was the best clarinetist ever. Artie answered (paraphrasing) Benny you're into the clarinet. I'm into the music, and just use a clarinet to accomplish that end.
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Author: Hugues Fardao
Date: 2023-05-11 01:57
I used to play 5JB for five years, was fantastic with my Yamaha 26II, and then with my Gladiator from H.N. White metal clarinet. The 5JB really suited them. I liked the flexibility and I didn't find it too hard to play, had a deep sound.
But I think it depends also on the instrument, not only the player.
I remember testing it with a Selmer Privilège, a Leblanc Bliss L210S, a Buffet-Crampon E12F, and it was very good... and with a Buffet-Crampon RC Prestige it was horrible.
With my actual old Selmer clarinet, I have many intonation problems with the 5JB, but I tested Selmer mouthpieces and some of them (C85, Concept, Echo, even classic standard series) are matching much better (especially Echo - which I play now - and C85).
Although I think the 5JB is a great mouthpiece, and I like it a lot, it's no more my mouthpiece.
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Author: Ed
Date: 2023-05-11 03:53
Some people like it, but it is a pretty huge tip opening. A famous mouthpiece guy once told me that it was like playing an alto sax mouthpiece on clarinet. Depending on what you are coming from it might be really hard to control and play well
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2023-05-11 07:18
i use one on my conn 424 and its a monster set up. talk about flexability in bending notes and gliss ando. a deadly combo these 2
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Author: Wunderbober
Date: 2023-05-28 10:48
I play on even more open mouthpiece- Vandoren 7jb.
I use it with Rico 1.5
For me-it is the best.
But I do not play classic music at all.
And I use pickup mic.
This setup gives me very vivid and controllable clarinet sound.
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