 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: paulyb
Date: 2026-02-08 00:10
Attachment: IMG_20260207_154235153_HDR.jpg (394k)
Attachment: IMG_20260207_154155321_HDR.jpg (352k)
I have a few different Vandoren B40 Lyre mouthpieces of different vintages - one from when they were recently released (maybe 2003? Stamped with B40 and a picture of a lyre next to the table), one from about 10-15 years ago, one from about a year ago, and finally the new HD model (on trial). The last three are stamped B40 L next to the table.
The first two appear to have both been manufactured in the same way using a traditional blank, machine facing and hand baffle work. The latter two have what looks to me like CNC machining marks in the baffle (miling lines parallel to the long axis of the mouthpiece).
What is interesting to me is that while the older two mouthpieces both have a fair amount of material in the baffle immediately behind the tip rail (what saxophonists would call a short roll-over baffle), the more recent pair have pretty much a straight baffle up to the tip rail (I'll attempt to attach some photos - we'll see if that works).
The result of this is that the more recent mouthpieces are significantly less bright than the older ones which have a focus and ping that I generally prefer (with the same reed etc). Has anyone else noticed / experienced this? Do we think this is a deliberate change in design (given the trend towards a less bright sound) or inadvertent? At least in the days of hand finished baffles you could find examples with more or less baffle material according to taste - the uniformity of the new mouthpieces makes this impossible.
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Author: paulyb
Date: 2026-02-08 00:16
Disclaimer: photos of baffles can be hard to take! Those photos are the oldest and newest and there's a pretty obvious difference (the dark section on the older one near the tip is where the gradient of the baffle "rolls over" towards the tip). The difference is more obvious in real life. The other two mouthpieces are very similar to these two.
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Author: JTJC
Date: 2026-02-08 14:11
The difference in baffle must be purposeful. I think you're right, VD are trying to keep their classic/popular mouthpieces more relevant to current trends. But at least that modern baffle could be adjusted to be more like the roll-over.
Btw, do you know whether any modification been undertaken on the earlier baffle?
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Author: paulyb
Date: 2026-02-08 16:08
> The difference in baffle must be purposeful
Why do you say this? It might be a byproduct of the new manufacturing technique (though I'd hope that they would at least have noticed the change even if it wasn't intentional)
> VD are trying to keep their classic/popular mouthpieces more relevant to current trends
I wish they wouldn't - there's plenty of choice in the darker direction (e.g. the BD line)!
> at least that modern baffle could be adjusted to be more like the roll-over.
That's not totally trivial. Because there's less material in the baffle than you want you have to rework the facing curve as well. It's much easier to remove additional material than adjust the whole mouthpiece to generate that extra baffle material. Unless you mean by building up a baffle by adding more material?
> Btw, do you know whether any modification been undertaken on the earlier baffle?
I've had all of these from new and none of them has been adjusted at all.
An interesting point is that as you open up a mouthpiece blank you naturally generate more and more of a rollover unless you consciously remove the material. This helps to balance the darkness of the wider tip opening.
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Author: JTJC
Date: 2026-02-08 19:08
I say it is purposeful because a CNC could easily cut the old baffle shape if it was programmed to do so. I doubt it was mistake they did't copy the baffle shape.
With the old method of hand finishing, there must have been some variation in the end results. In fact, I've heard that the finishers each mark the end of the tenon with their own symbol. Some people have identified which symbols tend to be the better mouthpieces, and look for the particular mark when selecting a new one. Those days are gone. It can't be long before no VD mouthpieces are hand finished. There's too much money to be saved. Unless VD turn the hand finishing into an additional feature and charge extra for it, as they do for the HD ebonite.
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Author: Ed
Date: 2026-02-08 21:35
I would guess that like many mouthpieces these days, the goal is to remove any ping or upper partials. I often miss that classic ringing tone as I hear lots of sounds that are kind of dull and lacking character. But that is just my opinion.....
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The Clarinet Pages
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