 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2008-04-04 19:14
I have now a second wood mouthpiece from Greg Smith. The first thing that must be said is the amazing consistency of the work he does on his facings. ALL the trial mouthpieces that I had tried with the first order a year ago (wood and ebonite) were completely playable regardless of how different the facings were (various options were sent so I could experience the different available facings). My only problem was choosing my very favorite from amongst them.
This go around was a custom model in Cocos Wood. I assumed an exact copy would be impossible and just asked for a little more opening rather than less. To my amazement that is EXACTLY what I got. It is virtually identical in ALL playing characteristics aside from being able to throw more air into it. A true big brother to the original.
Prior to this experience David Hite was my "go-to" guy for mouthpiece work. I must say, for as detailed as Dave Hite was with his facings, the consistancy was never to this degree of excellence.
A truly amazing mouthpiece experience.
....................Paul Aviles
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Author: 53engine
Date: 2008-04-04 20:00
I agree, Greg's mouthpieces could very well be the best on the planet. I have several Kaspars and many Qualite Superieures and I always opt for the Greg Smith over them. They do round out a nice collection, though.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2008-04-05 05:20
Greg's mouthpiece is one of the few gems that I will always look back on and regret selling. Sigh. Live and learn.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2008-04-05 18:45
I've tried on a few occasions to play on wood mouthpieces (for soprano and bass clarinets and tenor sax, specifically) and it seems to me that they weren't sufficiently stable in the long term. I'd reface a mouthpiece to my satisfaction, it would play fine initially, but after a month or two I would start having problems with it and eventually give up, going back to my favorite crystal, hard rubber or metal mouthpieces which seem to be more reliable.
Has anyone had that experience? I'm especially curious about how the really good wood mouthpieces (e.g. Greg Smith's) hold up over the years. Any professionals out there use wood mouthpieces as their "old reliables"? I'm not interested in initial impressions, but rather how they fare after a few years of regular playing.
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2008-04-05 19:45
I play on a wooden mouthpiece for my early clarinet playing and have done for a good few years. The mouthpeice still plays well but the voice in the back of my head says I should get it copied just in case as it won't last forever. I think i'll do that when I eventually get my Steve Fox C clarinet.
Peter Cigleris
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2008-04-05 21:19
Wooden mouthpieces are as stable as your clarinet. I have had many wooden mouthpieces over the years to include Pomarico, and Hammerschmidt and Greg Smith.
The trick is to apply bore oil every few months..........no exeptions and to swab out after playing. The mouthpiece takes the brunt of your condensation. So this is important.
I used to fear that the details of the lay would "change" with humidity or long-term playing but this is just not the case. There was one cocobo of Hammerschmidt's that cracked right up the middle of the table, but that was before I regularly bore oiled mouthpieces.
................Paul Aviles
Post Edited (2008-04-06 01:28)
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Author: FrankM
Date: 2008-04-06 15:45
I believe Joe Lovano plays a wooden mouthpiece on tenor. Regardless, I find it hard to believe wood is a stable material for a mouthpiece. I have absolutely no doubt you love your wood mouthpiece and believe it's the best for you.....I just have a hard time believing it due to the fact it's made of wood.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2008-04-06 16:53
Why would wood of a mouthpiece be LESS stable than the wooden clarinet itself? It works. One would just have to see for one's self I suppose.
At any rate, in this initial post I did not mention clearly that I love both the ebonite and wooden Greg Smith's equally. I chose the wood because wood offers a slightly more demure sound. One that is perfect for chamber work and yet still can be used in bigger settings.
.............Paul Aviles
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2008-04-06 18:12
>>Why would wood of a mouthpiece be LESS stable than the wooden clarinet itself? >>
Because the clarinet gets wet inside from condensation, while the mouthpiece gets wet because you put it in your mouth. The mouthpiece gets wetter than the inside of the bore, and wetter with more damaging material. Human saliva is the first part of the digestive process. Even if we're scrupulous about brushing teeth before playing, spit's highly acid and full of bacteria. I think it would be a good idea to rinse a wooden mouthpiece with room-temperature water after use.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2008-04-06 20:44
Dear Lelia,
A very valid point concerning the exterior tip of the mouthpiece. I have not experienced any degenerative effects to this area of any of my wooden mouthpieces.
As for the warm water suggestion, it cannot be overemphasized that the interior of the mouthpiece is still just receiving CONDENSATION. I believe the exposure to water may be more damaging in the long run and would only advocate the same sort of care one would apply to a standard ebonite mouthpiece (save for the regular bore oil treatment of course).
................Paul Aviles
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Author: Gregory Smith ★2017
Date: 2008-04-06 22:16
(the usual disclaimers...)
Hardwood mouthpiece cleaning: In a small bowl/cup, mix 50% white vinegar and 50% water, then adding a few drops of dish washing detergent. Dampen, not dripping wet, a small soft cloth with this mixture and gently rub the areas containing deposits around where saliva has collected. This should remove deposits if the buildup is not allowed to continue for extended periods of time. Follow with a plain water dampened cloth. Do not soak any hardwood excessively.
There are numerous threads on this bboard if one wants to read what I and others have posted about hardwood mouthpieces. Just search hardwood mouthpiece or hardwood mouthpiece smith and there's a month of Sunday's worth of reading.
For over a decade I've made hundreds of these mouthpieces for clients all over the world from the Royal Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Nat'l Symphony, Belgium Symphony, etc. I don't have the inclination or time to keep track but I assume that if there were any problems with their changing, etc, I would have heard from my many clients long ago.
I personally have a Cocobolo and Cocus mouthpiece that I've reserved for my own playing in many settings outside the CSO as chamber musician or soloist. I consider the hardwood mouthpieces to be the finest mouthpieces that I've ever had the pleasure of playing. (And they've not changed one bit whereas I've had hard rubber mouthpieces of mine and others seemingly change over the course of a decade or so.)
If the initial material and workmanship are of quality, the doubts raised seem to be of very little significance. This planting of doubt in the minds of clarinetists is unfortuanate and may be causing some missed opportunities for those who have any initial interest.
Gregory Smith
http://www.gregory-smith.com
new model, new barrel
Post Edited (2008-04-06 23:01)
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