Author: Daniel Frazelle
Date: 2018-12-27 00:21
There's very little more that I can add to what's been written already, but I will give my personal impressions of the Philadelphia and where it falls on the current spectrum.
I've had this mouthpiece for nine months now. Every month has brought a greater appreciation for it than the one that preceded it. I think plenty of people here can relate that that is not their experience with most revelatory mouthpiece purchases. I was very happy with the generation of Ramón's mouthpieces that preceded it, specifically the Models 1 and 1B that it most closely resembles. But I have to say, he has achieved a new level with the Philadelphia. It really is a freer-blowing, bigger-sounding, better-focused and more flexible version of what came before. Those qualities are pretty much never all improved at the same time. In this case, they were.
Although I've mainly dealt with his mouthpiece models over the last four years, I've done my fair share of trying Ramón's older mouthpieces, including "Chedeville" blanks from Omar Henderson and some Zinners. It does seem that with each step along the way, Ramón has managed to get more of what he wanted out of the blanks he chose to use. While I tend to gravitate towards traditional, close-tipped styles like the Philadelphia, I am excited to see how he translates his experience on this blank (100% his own design) to other styles of mouthpieces. From his post above, it sounds like he is already doing some work in this regard. I suspect that the OP, wjk, would be very happy with anything Ramón would offer him in the range that he feels most comfortable playing.
That said, for me it's all about the Philadelphia right now. Driving home from my final Nutcracker performance this year, I couldn't help but reflect with a smile at just how happy I was with my setup, particularly the interface with reeds, during what was, for me, a very stressful substitute run. We should all be so happy with what we're playing on.
Daniel Frazelle
Post Edited (2018-12-27 00:28)
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The Clarinet BBoard
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