 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2007-10-05 12:01
I was on Pomarico's (sponsor) website and they have a Ebony/Wood mouthpiece. I wasn't even aware that there was anyone making wooden mouthpieces at a high level - has anyone tried them?
Wonder how they do under the high moisture level that a mouthpiece endures?
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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Author: BobD
Date: 2007-10-05 12:51
Me too, David. I have an older "blackwood" mp not Pomarico but I don't play it because of reservations like yours.
Bob Draznik
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2007-10-05 14:21
Greg Smith makes AMAZING mouthpieces out of many different exotic wood blanks that he can obtain from Zinner. I have a Cocobolo that I just can't live without. Moisture is just as much a problem as it is for the rest of the clarinet......that is.......it's negligable. Of course I do bore oil (with non-petroleum based oil such as orange oil) everything once every month or so.
...........Paul Aviles
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Author: LarryBocaner ★2017
Date: 2007-10-05 16:02
My colleague Loren Kitt played on a wood mouthpiece -- from Greg Smith, I think -- for a while back in the '90's. It did sound excellent, but the upkeep to keep it from changing from temperature/humidity issues was so daunting that he switched back to hard rubber after a few weeks. Probably explains why wood mouthpieces are such an exotic item!
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Author: RodRubber
Date: 2007-10-05 18:39
David,
I got a really old wooden buffet mouthpiece that has like the best sound ever, but doesn't project enough really for a large hall. I have used it once to perform the mozart quintet. It went well. You got to give a mouthpiece made a wood a few days off, because they swell. If your reed is swelling, and the mouthpiece is swelling, you got issues.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2007-10-05 18:50
Over the years I had three Pomarico wood mouthpieces. I never did anything to them other than swabing them after playing. One of them cracked. I've tried other Pomarico wood moutpieces and some are very good and some are not so good. I play only rubber mouthpiece now because I don't want to be bothered with oiling the mouthpiece, etc. and worry about it cracking.
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Author: eefer ★2017
Date: 2007-10-06 05:13
I have been playing on wooden mouthpieces since 2000, starting on Greg Smith, and then Lomax, and now Morales/Backun. The wood takes the rough edge off the sound, especially at the high end of the range.
My granddaughter (age 9) is now playing on the Smith. I still use the Lomax on my Patricola clarinets because they sound clearer than anything else and clean up intonation issues. But my favorite is the Morales/Backun (MOBA). It has three little grooves that cross under the butt of the reed that really let the reed vibrate better. The shape is perfect for my mouth, being chunkier and not so duck-billed and long as other mouthpieces. On my Buffet and Selmer clarinets the intonation is spot on, with the A above the staff being just a hair sharp as my only complaint.
I have just gotten a new set of Leblanc Symphonies, on which I upgraded to MOBA barrels and bells, instead of using the stock ones. The combination, with the MOBA mouthpiece, is just amazingly powerful and rich.
As for the care of wooden mouthpieces, they require oiling on a regular basis. I rub the ones I play on a daily basis with almond oil every week. The ones I am not using are oiled and stored in plastic wrap. They are all in great condition. The only non-wooden mouthpieces I currently use are on my e-flat clarinets. On my Patricola I use a Lomax Classic and on my Buffet I use a MOBA. I have been begging for a wooden eefer mouthpiece for ages.
Nancy
Nancy Buckman
AACC Symphony Orchestra
Opera AACC
Early Music Society of Northern MD
(and a lot of other ensembles, too)
nebuckman@gmail.com
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Author: BobD
Date: 2007-10-06 12:35
"oiled and stored in plastic wrap."
I plastic wrap the sections of the wood horns I don't play often. This is the first mention of using plastic wrap...other than mine....that I've encountered. Anybody else do this?
Bob Draznik
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Author: Gregory Smith ★2017
Date: 2007-10-06 16:28
Dear Larry -
If you get the other part of the story about that mouthpiece, Loren stated to me that at the time it was one of the best mouthpieces he had ever played. At that time he also stated that he played it in conditions not optimal to stability (outside, varying humidity, heat, etc.).
I hope that the wrong impression is not given regarding hardwood mouthpieces in general. They are all subject to changes as are rubber mouthpieces - no matter the manufacturer.
There have been many fine threads regarding this subject over the years if one is willing to go to the search engine.
http://www.gregory-smith.com
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