Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2009-10-03 17:19
Since your teacher is there with you and sees and hears you play regularly, absent evidence to the contrary, I for one am willing to infer that she's a competent professional who knows what she's doing when she says she thinks your mouthpiece is suboptimal and you could find an improvement.
It seems to me that there are two ways to buy a mouthpiece, analogous to buying a new pair of slacks: (1) you can go to a store or have a selection sent to you and try a bunch on until you find something you like that fits, or (2) you can go to a tailor, tell the tailor what you want and have something custom made. In the latter case, after an initial fitting you can have some alterations done. In my mind, only if you take the second approach are you truly buying a "custom" mouthpiece.
If you take the first route, you can usually try "production" items of varying quality, ranging from Levis (e.g., Vandorens) to more upscale brands (Smith, Fobes, Grabner, Behn, Redwine, Krass, Lomax etc.). Regardless, you are still trying on production items in an attempt to find one that fits you satisfactorily. If you opt for the more upscale brands, which are usually made of better material, involve more hand finishing, etc., you should expect to pay more than you will for assembly line goods. Whether you will like the upscale goods better or whether they will fit better than the assembly line goods is, IMO, something of a crapshoot. I personally think that, if you can find something that fits, you will be happier with the quality of the upscale brands but, if you get lucky with the Levis, you can save a lot of money. Some people find that items fit perfectly right off the rack . Others need more customizing. Regardless, if you adopt the first approach and you want the best results, expect to spend a lot of time going to different "stores" and trying things on unless you are one of the very lucky. ("You want to get yourself a bargain, son. Don't be fooled by the very first one.") Also recognize that, if you buy the assembly line brand, you may have to pay for alterations.
If you want to go the second route, I would recommend that, instead of looking for the best national reputation, you look for a good local mouthpiece maker and make an appointment to pay him/her a visit. Or go to one of the clarinet conferences where custom makers are likely to attend (but be aware that they might not be able to give you much individual attention if they are popular.) A good experienced mouthpiece maker will understand the intricacies of design and know how to tweak a mouthpiece to change its characteristics to your liking. IMO, a face-to-face approach gives the best chance of a good fit.
However, also IMO, the tailor-made approach probably only makes sense for someone who has been playing long enough that their embouchure and other aspects of playing have largely stabilized so that they are not likely to grow out of a tailor-made in a short time. Also, for either method to work, you really have to know what you are looking for and how to recognize it when you find it.
Best regards,
jnk
Post Edited (2009-10-03 17:24)
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