 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: inspiring musician
Date: 2007-04-18 19:36
I know that this is a question that might have been asked before but i dont remember seeing any insight on this. But can someone please describe the sound and playing qualities of the Charles Bay H2 (Chedeville Model) Mouthpiece??? It was reccomended by my teacher who played one years ago, and I was just wondering what the sound qualities were. My teacher kept talking about it creating a dark sound that projects alot esepcially for orchestral music. But response and intonation is what concerns me??
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Author: Iceland clarinet
Date: 2007-04-18 19:59
For me the Bay(Both H1 and H2 models) require a developed air support and lot of embochure pressure. They have long facings (long facing being 23mm and medium long being around 20mm) while most Zinner based mouthpieces have around 16-19mm long facings. So since I've had played Bay for 3 years and swithced over to Grabner mouthpieces(Zinner based) I now don't have to strive as much to get proper result. I've tried Kaspar 13 and 14 and SW1 personal and AW personal mouthpieces and of these mouthpieces AW is most difficult to control and Kaspar 14 most easy to control but none of them as difficult to control as Bay. On Bay I used to use V-12 reeds and now I use Gonzalez on the Grabner and both companisons give me similar darkness to the tone but with the V-12 which "I" don't like on the Grabner(but lot of other people I know do) you get darker tone than on the Bay. I also feel that you can use a lot more varied type of reeds on Grabner than on the Bay where you need to use long facing reeds(For example Vandoren classic blue box are too short faced while V-12,Rico Reverse and Alexander double cut give much better result). Try as many mouthpieces as you can since I've heard people tell me that they feel Grabner doesn't blow responsive and freely enough for them while Fobes do the job for them and both makers use Zinner blanks.
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Author: inspiring musician
Date: 2007-04-18 20:04
thanks for the helpful information!!!
But could you kindly explain the sound characteristics of the H2?? and the projection??
thank you so much
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Author: Iceland clarinet
Date: 2007-04-18 21:35
They project very well playing in orchestra in large hall more than Grabner Kaspar but not alot more. The H1 has more direct sound projection than H2 which is darker and you need a slightly heavier reeds on it. I don't know much about the difference between black rubber and the brown ones since my H1 is brown and the H2 is black. I've heard someone say that B40 is more darker than the Grabner AW personal which I don't agree with. I tell you this because people have different taste and you "Need" to try these and a lot of other mouthpieces yourself. If you like a bit resistant mouthpiece like the Bay but easier to controll you might like Genussa Excellente(about 1/2 the price of Bay) and they do not have as covered sound as Zinner based mouthpieces check out www.redwinejazz.com . I deffinatly don't have the same setup as my teacher and he is just ok with it. He loves V-12 reeds on Grabner mouthpieces I don't. I love more shorter faced reeds like Gonzalez FOF(just a tiny bit shorter) and Glotin GIII.
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Author: William
Date: 2007-04-19 15:44
I play on a vintage Kaspar Chicago #14 and a Bay Ithica "custom" on which he copied (1970) my K14 facing and have had good success with VanDoran V12s and Trads, 3.5. I also have a Bay H2 which I purchased sometime in the 80s that I do not like. It has a dark, rich sound but lacks in both "projection" (when played in the ensemble setting) and dynamic flexability. It"s sound loses focus in the softer passages and is difficult to play louder. Like most of Charlies mpcs, it articulates well, but this H2 just doesnt give me the freedom for musical expression like my old Kaspar does.
BTW, I do have two Greg Smith mpcies--"Kaspar Cicero" & "Chedeville" models made from Zinner blanks--that are excellant players and much better than my particular Bay H2. If my old Kaspar ever wears out or is damaged beyond repair, they will both be in my clarinet case full time.
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Author: Iceland clarinet
Date: 2007-04-19 17:26
William your description on the Bay H2 is just like I feel after playing it for a year and changing to Grabner apart from it projected ok for me. It's VERY difficult to play soft and sensitive passages on it. H1 projects more than H2
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