Author: Bob Barnhart ★2017
Date: 2021-09-10 01:54
Eric,
Thanks for putting this video together. Growing up I was enamored with Karl Leister's sound. More recently, I have become a fan of Wenzel Fuchs and Andreas Ottensamer for some time, both because of their beautiful playing and their gorgeous sounds which are, I think, wonderful representatives of the Austrian tradition.
Throughout my life I have striven to emulate the German/Austrian sound using Boehm instruments and mouthpieces. For a long time, I thought the best way was through really hard reeds, which did yield a darker sound, but lacked the expansiveness and fluidity heard from German/Austrian players.
Within the past few years I have played a number of more open mouthpieces (including M30, B40, Backun Arabesque, and BD7) and have come to the conclusion that if I wanted to emulate a German/Austrian sound I would pick a more open mouthpiece that had (just) enough resistance to work well with a softer reed.
Interestingly, Gleichweit has (apparently) recommended just this kind of mouthpiece for use on Boehm instruments by individuals who are striving to obtain a more Viennese sound.
FWIW, I liked the sound of the B8-4 best (1.19x22), but, realizing that the associated resistance could be counterproductive, might ultimately find either the B7-4 (1.16x22) or B7-1 (1.15x22) to be a more prudent choice.
I would ask though: if one wanted to acquire one of these mouthpieces, what would be the best source (Gleichweit, Thomann, ...)?
Bob Barnhart
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