 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: RLarm
Date: 2017-07-16 01:08
I recently bought a Selmer Focus soprano clarinet mouthpiece. It's is the best Selmer mouthpiece that I have ever played. Does anybody out there know what kind of blank that Selmer has switched to? I definitely think that it is different from their C85 blank.
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Author: PaulIsaac
Date: 2017-07-16 15:19
I watched a video from Dawkes Music (UK) which claims that the bore on the new Selmer mouthpieces is smaller in diameter but is longer. Also, the lay is machine-made and there is no hand finishing - apparently this gives better accuracy and consistency. Finally, he states that there is a ledge, or step, where the tone chamber enters the bore and this assists with centering the sound.
However I have also watched a video from Selmer Paris that shows them hand finishing these mouthpieces.
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Author: RLarm
Date: 2017-07-19 02:45
Is it Selmer's own blank that they are using or is it from a third party?
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Author: jthole
Date: 2017-07-19 11:55
There seems to be very little information on these Selmer mouthpieces (apart from various promotional videos).
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Author: RLarm
Date: 2017-07-19 12:07
That's unfortunate because I would consider them real "sleeper" mouthpieces. I think that a lot of the cbb readers would be pleasantly surprised. What an improvement over the wildly erratic C85 series.
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Author: ClarinetRobt
Date: 2017-07-19 15:43
Perhaps one of the Bboard member could do some csi investigating at Clarinenetfest in Orlando. A little snooping around can reveal what blank they're using. It's proprietary and they're keeping cards close to their chest. Someone will talk...everyone loves talking about the latest, greatest.
~Robt L Schwebel
Mthpc: Behn Vintage
Lig: Ishimori, Behn Delrin
Reed: Legere French Cut 3.75/4, Behn Brio 4
Horns: Uebel Superior (Bb,A), Ridenour Lyrique, Buffet R13 (Eb)
Post Edited (2017-07-19 19:13)
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Author: tucker ★2017
Date: 2017-07-19 20:45
I've read about everything that's been posted on this site regarding the Focus and Concept for bass clarinet. I've wanted to try the Focus, but not crazy about spending the $$ they cost, although I've spent a boatload on 2 Fobes San Franciscos, a Grabner, C* and had McClune reface it, as well as a couple of Vandorens. I think I have a thing for mouthpieces. One of my band mates uses a Focus and he's always sounded great (older Leblanc 400 bass). I find it interesting that I've never seen a used Focus for sale on the auction sites.
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Author: jthole
Date: 2017-07-19 23:28
tucker wrote:
> I've read about everything that's been posted on this site
> regarding the Focus and Concept for bass clarinet. I've wanted
> to try the Focus, but not crazy about spending the $$ they
> cost
The bass clarinet version of the Focus is €185, while the soprano clarinet one is €90. Not outrageous prices, in my opinion.
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Author: RLarm
Date: 2017-07-20 03:55
WOW!!! At today's (7/19/17) conversion rate 185 Euros equals $213.3142. WOW! Someone in the food chain is making a LOT of money.($325 compared to $213)
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2017-07-20 06:18
In the U.S., the soprano clarinet Selmer Focus mouthpiece sells at prices competitive with Vandoren and Reserve mouthpieces. For instance, Kessler & Sons, Reverb, and Weiner Music sell it for $99.00; VirtuosityBoston, MelkMusic, and ProWinds sell it for $95.99.
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Author: tucker ★2017
Date: 2017-07-20 07:20
Maybe it would be worth ordering from a European store, if I knew of one.
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Author: RLarm
Date: 2017-07-20 09:15
I think we are getting the soprano and bass prices mixed up. Sea breeze is correct:You can the soprano mouthpieces for.around $99. I got a Focus for about that price or a little cheaper in Hawaii! It's the bass clarinet mouthpiece where I made the comment that someone is making some money because at today's euro exchange rate they're selling it for $213 in Europe and Tucker said they're going for $325 in the states. Now you don't need to know calculus to see that there is a humongous difference between $213 in Europe (UK?) and $325 US. Why such a big difference in price?
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Author: jthole
Date: 2017-07-22 16:59
I tried a couple of Selmer Focus and Concept clarinet mouthpieces, and I was surprised that there was a considerable difference between them. So even if Selmer claims very high consistency due to CNC machining, it is still worth trying a few. They are excellent mouthpieces, by the way.
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Author: echi85
Date: 2017-07-22 19:25
I'm not sure if this applies to mouthpieces but the difference in price is due to distribution. In the states, Selmer has to go through Conn-Selmer in order to get their products in stores. In Europe, Selmer can sell directly to the stores themselves. I recently purchased a new Selmer low C bass clarinet in Germany that was a good $4000 cheaper than in the US.
FWIW, there is a french website called Woodbrass that claims to be able to ship to the US at reduced cost. Here is a link to their site:
https://www.woodbrass.com/en-us/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=selmer+mouthpiece+bass+clarinet
They claim to sell the bass clarinet Focus and Concept for a little less than $180. However, I have no experience with the site.
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Author: RLarm
Date: 2017-07-22 21:35
Echi85: You just purchased a "grey" market horn if you didn't go Conn/Selmer USA. That means you have no US warranty. I know you probably know all of this but a lot of the readers don't. "Officially" you're supposed to purchase the the horn through an "authorized US Selmer dealer. You choose the horn which will be sent to your designated Selmer USA dealer. Did you have to sand off the Selmer imprint? . A former teacher of mine bought a great Buffet Eb at Buffet Paris. He had to sand off the emblems and had Kal Opperman work on it. (I unknowingly bought a grey market Selmer low C. It had severe plating issues and was completely overhauled twice. I think it was one of the last horns that Clark Fobes worked on before he went full-time into mouthpieces, etc. I found out about the horn's "illegal" status when I was about to send it to Selmer USA. The manager told me what the owner had done. If Selmer USA found out they might have stripped the dealer's authorization to sell any SELMER product. When it was first worked on the dealer was shocked at what happened to the horn's plating."Did you practice this at the beach?")
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Author: echi85
Date: 2017-07-22 22:15
I purchased the instrument at an authorized dealer in Europe. I have a warranty that is good for service at the factory in France. I don't see any reason why I need to go through Conn-Selmer when I can do the legwork and buy it straight from the source. I paid the requisite import duty on it. Many people choose to go to France to purchase instruments and have no issues with it.
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Author: RLarm
Date: 2017-07-22 22:26
I prefer the Focus because it is more similar to what I currently play. The Concept is a much more open mouthpiece than the Focus. The Focus is very close to my M30s and Ripas that I am using.
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Author: Mojo
Date: 2017-07-23 18:27
Are they the same blank except for tip opening?
MojoMP.com
Mojo Mouthpiece Work LLC
MojoMouthpieceWork@yahoo.com
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Author: RLarm
Date: 2017-07-23 21:48
echi85: I did not intend to raise your ire by my comments. The longtime serious players all end up doing similar things over the years. I just wanted to raise what can happen in the worst case scenario which happened to me with no US warranty. Unfortunately, it was a triple worst case scenario with the silver plating coming off twice and the instrument being damaged in transit to Hawaii. What money that was initially saved was devoured by the repairs (several thousand dollars) and not having the instrument because of these issues for what ended up
being close to two years, my story is one of the nightmares that can possibly occur. (Thank God Selmer's case for the Privilege Low C Bass is terrific! It holds the hold instrument in place very well.)
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Author: echi85
Date: 2017-07-23 22:58
Rlarm: I took no offense from your comment, I just wanted to clarify what the process was. The instrument is covered by a two year warranty primarily for cracks. I plan on spending some time breaking it in before using it in orchestra.
Could I ask how the silver plating wore off? I've had the keys on my clarinets tarnish after a few years but was able to have it all buffed off.
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Author: RLarm
Date: 2017-07-24 01:23
echi85: The higher amount of salt in the air because I'm in Hawaii? Nobody including Clark Fobes had a definitive answer. Perhaps, it was the bad karma of it being a grey market horn! Even after Clark's final replating there are areas in which some of the silver has come off or in the case of several posts it is completely gone. I'm going to keep the horn even though I also have a Privilege. To be polite, it has a lot of guts to the sound which I feel is lacking in many of the Buffet Prestige low Cs. I haven't heard a Tosca Bass so I can't comment there. Unfortunately, the first replating would have been covered if it was officially brought into the country and I would not have had to pay for it!!! Have any of you had the chance to compare Selmer's Focus and Concept bass mouthpieces with Clark, Walter and the new Vandoren pieces? A retail manager told me she and other pros in the NY area preferred the Focus bass mouthpiece for the Selmers.
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Author: echi85
Date: 2017-07-24 02:39
Rlarm: That's very interesting. I have never even heard of silver playing wearing off of any horn. I suppose I can always ship it back to France if anything comes up.
The horn came with a Focus mouthpiece but I've yet to mess around with it. I used one of Walter Grabners mouthpiece for about a decade but have recently switched to a Vandoren B50 that I really love. I'll report back once I try it.
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Author: echi85
Date: 2017-07-27 20:32
I have played one of Walter Grabners bass clarinet mouthpieces for years but recently started looking for something else. My Grabner has seen a lot of notes and the facing is very worn. A new Vandoren is cheaper than having my Grabner refaced.
I had the time to compare the Vandoren B50 vs the Selmer Focus bass clarinet mouthpieces today. Surprisingly, I found that the same reeds worked pretty well with both. The tip openings are 2.15mm for the B50 and 1.90mm for the Focus. The B50 preferring slightly softer and the Focus preferring slightly harder. I used V12 3s on both.
In terms of sound, the Focus has a distinctly covered sound. It's very homogeneous and warm. It feels very comfortable to play. It reminds me of playing an M30 on clarinet, round and dark. My only concern is being heard in orchestra. I think it has it's uses but I'm not convinced it's an everyday mouthpiece.
The B50 is going to be my new everyday mouthpiece. It's responsive yet still retains body of sound throughout every register. It's significantly brighter than the Focus but not overly so. I can really pump out the sound when I need to on a 2.5 but also play very refined using a 3. For anyone looking to buy a good bass mouthpiece for less than $150. This is the one to choose.
What would be interesting is to compare the B50 vs the Selmer Concept as they share the same tip openings. However, the Selmer Concept currently sells for $300. I can buy two B50s for the price of one Concept.
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Author: RLarm
Date: 2017-07-27 21:58
Michael Lowenstern, the Jack Benny of clarinetists who is a killer player, I think uses the B50.As for the most severe plating issues I had on the Selmer 33 it might have just been bad karma. Unfortunately, it did happen and I didn't have a horn for a total of two years as I had to ship it to the mainland for the work. Paved paradise and put up a parking lot.
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2017-07-31 16:43
I played it at the ClarinetFest. Nice design. Stuffy. Don't buy it. I do know whats wrong with them. Maybe Selmer will hire me to fix them. If anyone has any connections let me know. savagesax@aol.com They could be the best mouthpieces since Kaspar.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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Author: echi85
Date: 2017-07-31 19:38
Bob,
Did you try both models? Did you play the bass models? A very well known mouthpiece refacer has told me that Selmer mouthpieces tend to have good interiors but bad facings while Vandoren tends to have the opposite. I'm curious to know if the bass clarinet Concept is any better than the Vandoren equivalent.
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Author: JamesOrlandoGarcia
Date: 2022-11-01 07:22
The Selmer Focus and Concept bass clarinet mouthpieces are awesome. I haven’t tried anything on the market that has been better for my Buffet prestige.
They are expensive but absolutely worth it.
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Author: Max S-D
Date: 2022-11-01 21:02
I have Concepts for bass and soprano clarinets and, while both were decent out of the box for me, I ended up having both modified to varying degrees.
Bob Bernardo did his thing to my soprano Concept, refacing and doing some work to the baffle I believe. That took a bit of the back pressure out of it while retaining a nice resistance to work with. I think the tone got a bit more focused but kept most of the goodness that it originally came with. Plays great with a V12 #3. I don't know if Bob is still doing that set of modifications, but a few years ago he was charging quite a reasonable price and I felt it was money well spent.
I found the bass clarinet Concept to be decent, but ultimately didn't stack up to the B50, despite my initial impressions to the contrary. I think it was easier to get a pretty sound, but had less flexibility to vary the tone across a wide range from darker to brighter, which the B50 is marvelous at. I ended up doing some pretty wild experimentation with open mouthpieces that led to my having Mike Manning open the Concept up to 2.54mm and use the excess material at the tip to form a rollover baffle similar to a Pomarico Jazz**. It was fantastic, but pushing the design that far left it a bit odd on intonation. Manageable, but odd! It had a lot of bark, color and texture in the tone, but was still fundamentally very "clarinet-y" in my hands. Nowhere near as much of a beast as it looked like it would be. When I first played it at Mike's shop, his response was: "OK, I did NOT expect it to sound like that!"
I live in the US but ordered my bass Concept from Thomann music. Even with the shipping costs, I saved $125. The Concept for bass clarinet is good, but not even close to worth $325, in my opinion. And now I see they are selling for $420 in the US! Down to $169 from Thomann. Pretty easy choice, IMO. If you have the stomach for a grey market mouthpiece, that is.
I later ordered another soprano Concept and it played differently enough that I liked a half strength softer reed on it. I also got that one refaced by Mike Manning, but just a clean-up, not a major reworking. It plays well, but I prefer the one that Bob Bernardo did.
I guess what I'm saying is the blank has great potential, but the finish work left something to be desired for me. I don't play either Concept as my main mouthpiece right now, but I probably could. Especially Bob's refaced one.
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