 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Ken.
Date: 2019-09-16 03:11
I have a Frank Kaspar Chicago IL clarinet mouthpiece which I bought recently but unfortunately dropped and broke the end of the beak off. Also I couldn't find the piece that broke off.
I have posted some photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/a7Xih4G7kPRkBxed8
Would Lee Livengood be a good person for restoring this piece back to it's original playing condition? I would prefer someone in the US.
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2019-09-16 03:53
Some of the Chicago Kaspar's and almost all of the Ann Arbor's might still be available. I am aware of the source. However none of the Cicero mouthpieces are available. These were pretty much all Chedeville's that Kaspar altered by thinning the rails and opening up the tips. But Kaspar did use other brands of mouthpieces. What made the Chedeville's special were the large bores of about .555" at the throat. These .555" are available in 2 models. It's very confusing. Email me if you wish.
The rubber is a difficult replacement. I did it to Iggie Gennusa's old Chedeville from his 1960's when Iggie said he sounded his best. But it was easier to make a mold from that point, because the tip was so fragile, and this is my suggestion, I made a silicone mold. Very hard to repair broken tips, because of being so thin and the glues don't work well. Even melting assorted rubber together usually fails. So hard to do this because the tip is so thin and the gluing won't last more that the pressure of a double lip embouchure just for testing, unless the rubber is built up and then this feels uncomfortable in your mouth.
Maybe others know of some way of doing this. Without the actual tip to glue, I'm lost. Best of luck and kindly let me know if you get this fixed.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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Author: Mojo
Date: 2019-09-16 16:33
I use JB Weld epoxy to repair broken missing tips. I have a YouTube video showing how I do it on a sax mouthpiece. It is gray in color but works well.
MojoMP.com
Mojo Mouthpiece Work LLC
MojoMouthpieceWork@yahoo.com
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Author: Ken.
Date: 2019-09-17 08:17
Thanks for the replies. Very helpful. I will update later with how it turns out.
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Author: Ken.
Date: 2019-12-26 23:48
Well I got this back and have played it a couple of times. My initial impression was that it has more resistance than before, but when I played it the second time I didn't notice it as much so it might be just a matter of getting used to it.
This was a Kaspar 11 and I asked Brad to optimize it for classical playing. I also have an original Kasper 14 which I use for jazz. The 11 has a 105 opening vs the 14 which is 112. It has a sweeter sound than before which is good.
So I am happy with this piece, although I've now spent about twice as much on it as the original price, so I won't be selling it any time soon if ever!
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Author: igalkov
Date: 2019-12-27 14:02
Hi Ken,
You said you've asked Brad to "optimize" it, so sure it feels different than before, it just can't be. There's a chance also that the facing of your Kaspar wasn't original to start from, but I know Brad's experience in mouthpieces and how meticulously he works so maybe now it's facing is more "kaspar-ish" than it was when you've purchased it!
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Author: Ken.
Date: 2019-12-28 23:07
It wasn't possible to determine whether the facing was original as it was too damaged with the tip being broken and missing.
I sent him my Kapser 14 as a reference which he said was original, so I guess it should be more Kasper like now
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