 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2020-03-01 22:34
To clarinetists in the USA one of the most elusive of known mouthpiece makers has been the Italian Licostini. His mouthpieces turn up in Europe in an ever changing, perhaps bewildering variety of model names never further described in measurement or playing characteristics, and he evidently has no American distributor and is hard to reach on line. But at last, Howarth of London has put up a couple of pages that list some Howarth models with facing measurements and a brief description of their intended tonal characteristics. There are some models they do not include in the list (such as the A1 model Licostini designed with Francois Benda) but what they do show is the first comprehensible information I've seen on the Licostini line.
https://howarth.uk.com/pic.aspx?vid=263714.
The models listed are RS, RG, FDC, FS, G5HR, G5L. G5H, and LN, all made of a "technopolymer similar to hard rubber." Has anyone on this list had experience trying or playing any of these? From the description, I'd surmise that the RS model would be most to my liking.
Howarth has a separate page listing a more expensive model of Licostini, the "Brass" model. Does this model somehow incorporate brass metal into the material of the mouthpiece? In the photo it looks like black rubber.
https://howarth.uk.com/pic.aspx?vid=261260.
Post Edited (2020-03-02 02:36)
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Author: igalkov
Date: 2020-03-01 23:04
Licostini’s are pretty popular here in Russia. I never tried one, but heard them a lot. One even was a prototype with what I understood was a silver powder… My technician Vladimir says that Licostini uses a different facing curve than «traditional» french mouthpieces like Vandoren, and the only similarity he has found was his own Charles Bay mouthpiece (I don’t know exact model). But he keeps a secret what’s exactly this difference is… The model of Licostini couple of musicians play here is made of blank for a German clarinet mouthpiece, and needs a ligature for such mouthpieces. Very strange all this thing is and, as seabreeze mentioned, almost no info, but a huge amount of conspiracy, so I’ve passed even trying one. If this guy wants to be a super-secret garage maker — it’s his right. What I’ve heard was nothing extra-special in sound or projection or anything. I personally chose Brad Behn and never regret. (Vladimir said Behn Epic’s finishing is better, but the curve is «traditional» French, not like Licostini does).
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2020-03-02 01:00
Ivan Martin comments on Licostini's Germanic A1 design and his mouthpiece copying facility here: https://www.facebook.com/969067119798059/posts/1017209071650530/ This model seems to be designed in collaboration with Francois Benda. Martin is most impressed by the quality of the hard "rubber," but I wonder if that is actually the "technopolymer" rubber-like material mentioned in the Howarth ad?
Post Edited (2020-03-02 01:05)
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2020-03-02 05:27
Thanks to both of you for the illustrative links. Listening to these performances, I agree that the resultant tone quality is reminiscent of the darkest Nick Kuckmeier model mouthpiece. But looking at the page from Howarth, I am puzzled. It describes Licostini model RS as capable of "large projection and many harmonics" and model RG as featuring a "very clean piano," characteristics that are directly opposite to the dark shadowy sounds we're hearing in these performances. And if Licostini mostly copies other mouthpieces, I wonder which mouthpieces he copied in the RS and RG models? The only two Licostinis I've tried so far had other model numbers than any of these and played very dull and stuffy for me but in all fairness, I'd like to try the ones that are described with features I usually like. Also, to be fair, Zoe, one of the commentators on the young German clarinetist's performance, singled out the tone for special admiration. We all have different taste in these matters. I probably would not be interested in the A1, but I would be curious to try the RS and RG.
Howarth put up a video of Julia Raga Pascual playing the FDC (1.07 mm, 19) Licostini model: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=howarth+licostini-mouthpiece. Also, the young virtuoso Gloria Uberto plays a Licostini on her Patricola clarinet.
Post Edited (2020-03-02 05:56)
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Author: vintschevski
Date: 2020-03-02 09:03
I recently had a conversation with a clarinettist who had just switched from a Grabner G11* to a Licostini FDC - she said that she found that the Licostini was brighter and warmer, but projected less and was not so easy "for tonguing". She mentioned that all Licostini models were offered with the option of having "brass dust mixed in to increase projection and volume". (I think the ESM Blue Heaven mouthpiece uses the same idea.)
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2020-03-02 09:41
So that's what the "brass" models are all about. They cost $100 more.
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Author: John Peacock
Date: 2020-03-02 18:52
I was in Howarths a few months ago and tried the few Licostinis they had in stock. The brass model was striking in its extra weight. I wouldn't say any of the ones they had were stuffy: I found the sound very clean, with the ability to focus down to a clear pp. I was sufficiently impressed by the RS to take it away on trial. In the end I sent it back. This was partly because it was too closed for me (1.00 mm tip is the claimed figure, although it felt bigger than that). Based on the Howarth descriptions, I'd be keen to get hold of an F5 (1.14 tip), but Howarths told me that it's very hard for them to extract stock from him. The other thing about the RS was the tuning. The bore was really strange, with a massive flare in the lower 1 cm so that the exit dimension was way larger than normal. I can't prove that this is why the throat notes were rather flat on it, but it seems plausible that the extra chamber volume would have that effect - you get a similar thing with the 13 series Vandorens.
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2020-03-02 19:48
So, I gather that you liked the "brass" model RS enough to take it home for a longer trial. Did you have a chance to compare it with the regular RS? Does the brass give a "value added" worth the extra $100 price? It is odd that Licostini would not want to show all his wares at a famous mainstream music shop like Howarth, where so many major players and their students shop. Why send only a few random samples when you could provide a representative range of the entire line?
The timbre qualities you describe in the RS ("very clean, with the ability to focus down to a clear pp") are at the top of my list of mouthpiece desiderata. As a double lip player comfortable with facings like the Vandoren M13, the close tip probably wouldn't bother me. I'd probably find the FS at 1.14 too open, though that might be just right for you.
Thanks for letting us know that not all Licostinis are stuffy and dull.
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Author: JohnP
Date: 2020-03-02 21:44
Don’t assume Licostini only sent a few ‘random samples’. When a batch of mouthpieces like these arrive in stock the word gets out very quickly, you have to be very quick off the mark or by chance be in the shop at the right time if you want to have a choice.
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Author: John Peacock
Date: 2020-03-03 02:05
seabreeze: I didn't trial the brass one. Howarth's only had a single example and I didn't like it - very free-blowing and lacking any resistance to work against. I don't know which model it was. The RS I partially liked was ebonite.
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Author: Anonymoose
Date: 2020-04-28 22:52
Which one of these mouthpieces are similar to the original Licostini A1 mouthpiece?
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Author: HANGARDUDE
Date: 2020-06-14 21:47
My current bass clarinet teacher Lorenzo Iosco(former London Symphony+current Hong Kong Philharmonic bass clarinettist) exclusively plays on Liccostini m'pieces on all Eb, Bb, BH & Bass, and has direct access to Liccostini himself. Feel free to email me and I'll pass on your messages onto them!
Josh
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2020-06-15 01:52
I also have Alessandro’s email as I have a mouthpiece that I’ve used.
Peter Cigleris
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Author: Anonymoose
Date: 2020-06-15 02:18
Peter;
Are you still using the Licostini mouthpiece? I think someone mentioned on the BBoard that you switched to the Vocalise G model.
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2020-06-15 15:14
That’s correct, currently using the Vocalise G. The Licostini is my backup if I ever need it.
Peter Cigleris
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Author: EricBlack
Date: 2022-05-03 17:19
Hey All, just uploaded a video review of the Licostini FDC Models of mouthpiece! Let me know if you have any questions or want me to go into more detail about something I briefly talked about in the video!
https://youtu.be/_3VsHtf_pLA
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2022-05-05 06:56
Eric,
Thanks for rounding up these elusive Licostini mouthpieces to help acquaint players in the USA with them. The FDC (named for Italian virtuoso Fabio Di Casola?) model you chose seems to be fairly popular on the other side of the Atlantic. To my ears, both the regular polymer and the polymer with added brass particles manage to have a strong overtone profile and little tendency toward a dull hollowness or "washed out" quality that is often found in "dark" mouthpieces. Both seem to focus and project largely on their own, without the player consciously working towards that end. I did sense, though, that you had to push more air into the brass-added model, which hardened the tone quality a bit more than I would like. The regular model sounded unforced and natural as if just exhaling was enough to get the sound out--and that I liked very much. These Licostinis have a gentle sheen and sparkle to them just beneath the dark surface that keeps the music going. The articulated notes also have a resonant depth that is rare in dark mouthpieces; it would have been good to hear the Midsummer Night's Dream Scherzo on them.
If you get other Licostini models including those with silver particles added, please let us hear them. On another occasion you might consider reviewing Lee Livengood's current line of mouthpieces. I believe he has 4 different designs for Bb clarinet and you'll get them in way less time than 6 months!
Post Edited (2022-05-05 07:41)
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2022-05-05 16:18
Correction noted. He's from Lugano, in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland and his name sounds Italian, but he's Swiss.
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Author: EricBlack
Date: 2022-05-06 02:53
Quote:
I did sense, though, that you had to push more air into the brass-added model, which hardened the tone quality a bit more than I would like. The regular model sounded unforced and natural as if just exhaling was enough to get the sound out--and that I liked very much.
I would say you are right on both accounts. The brass needed more air to get a solid, clear sound. And as you say, the regular played very naturally and simply exhaling was basically enough to get the mouthpiece to sound the way it did! There is another video I did playing the Mendelssohn Scherzo on the brass fdc some months back. You can find that here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R31LO2ScNw&t=7s. I am using a slightly harder reed here, and I think that comes across in the sound.
I did not know the origin of the letters "fdc," I appreciate you sharing!
I have a few Lee Livengoods sitting on my desk right now, definitely candidates for a future review!
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Author: Liquorice
Date: 2022-05-07 18:34
Fabio di Casola told me yesterday that the FDC is a copy of the facing of his B40 mouthpiece.
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2022-05-07 22:37
When manufacturers of clarinet goods throw around names, initials, and other references to famous players, one must be careful not to draw unwarranted conclusions. Does Casola play the Licostini that bears his initials or really play the Vandoren B40, or both, or neither? Here's an ad for a company that makes single-direction carbon-fiber clarinet barrels, as well as clarinet mouthpieces made of titanium, brass, and carbon fiber.
https://www.carbec.it/en/.
Casola is praising their carbon fiber barrels but are they his regular daily choice in barrels or just something he tried once and liked but never switched to? From the ad alone, there's no way to be sure.
Post Edited (2022-05-08 04:36)
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