 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Yutch
Date: 2009-11-01 02:29
In the 5th grade in about 1955, my folks bought me a Normandy Special by Noblet. I played it through college and graduate school and even was in the all-state band. No significant changes were made to the horn other than periodic servicing and the addition of a LeBlanc mouthpiece in college.
A while back, I had the Normandy overhauled and attempted to begin playing again. After a while was frustrated with the difficulty of playing the instrument.
I bought a new Selmer CL301 with a VanDoren B45 mouthpiece. For the past several months I have been playing 30 minutes each day before work and an hour in the evening. Today I decided to try the Normandy and playing was nice and easy on it. Next I decided to see what would happen with the VanDoren mouthpiece on the Normandy.
It seems that the Normandy mouthpiece tenon O.D. is slightly smaller than the VanDoren B45 tenon O.D. Similarly with the barrels. The VanDoren will not fit on the Normandy.
Are new instruments standardized on mouthpiece tenon diameter? Also on barrel diameters?
If I ever decided to get a new mouthpiece again for the Normandy, is it possible?
The questions are mostly academic since I really intend to get a pro model clarinet soon, but I want to be sure I can use different mouthpieces and, if needed barrels.
Thanks in advance for enlightening me.
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2009-11-01 05:14
There's a bit of variation. The mouthpiece I use (Richard Hawkins B) has a slightly larger diameter than the Vandorens, and makes for a pretty tight fit on my R13s. My Backun barrel was made to match the Hawkins, so it's also a bit wider. As a result, people with Vandoren mouthpieces are unable to try my clarinet with the Backun on it, as they just kinda sit in there, wobbly, and don't seal.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: kdk
Date: 2009-11-01 13:54
Of course, if the problem is a loose fit, you can always have a thicker cork installed on the mouthpiece if the mouthpiece/barrel pairing is meant to be long-term. Just for trial purposes some teflon tape (sold for plumbing) can be wrapped around the cork to tighten the fit without damaging the cork or compressing it.
If the mouthpiece tenon is too large, for a permanent solution the barrel socket can be opened a little, but if you only want to try a mouthpiece out this solution can't be reversed (except with a thicker mouthpiece cork - the old three-legged stool problem).
If you want to use a different mouthpiece with a clarinet like your Normandy that has non-standard tenon measurements, you can always do enough fudging among barrel sockets and corks to get almost any reasonable combination to work - just a question of how much effort it's worth to the player.
Karl
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Author: BartHx
Date: 2009-11-01 15:50
I have a pre-WWII Kohlert and have restored several older clarinets which have had a slightly smaller mouthpiece tenon. For the Kohlert, I had the barrel socket turned out just a bit so that I can use the same mouth pieces on it as I do on my newer horns. On the other hand, I have not yet found a barrel that does not have a matching socket on the body end. So far, I have been able to play whatever mouthpiece I want on even the older instruments simply by using a newer barrel.
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2009-11-01 18:11
The bigger problem for me is that the diameter on my Bb (the Backun) is larger than on my A (stock Buffet). Makes for a loose fit in one, tight in the other. Given that I really like the mouthpiece, I'm inclined to get my A barrel enlarged in the near future.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2009-11-01 22:37
My daughter's Normandy Eefer is similar. "Standard" eefer mouthpieces are too large in diameter to fit the barrel socket on her Normandy, so she has to play the one that came with the clarinet when she got it used. I suppose we could have one trimmed down to fit, but that would be problematic, because you wouldn't be able to "audition" it on the clarinet until you had performed the surgery on the tenon.
Jeff
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