 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: tylerleecutts
Date: 2014-05-10 06:47
I am looking to buy a new mouthpiece, and trying to move away from the closed and long configuration on a mouthpiece.
I have gotten nothing but positives SO FAR about the B40 Lyre mouthpiece. Have any of you tried this model out to compare it to the other medium open mouthpieces Vandoren has?
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Author: eduardo94
Date: 2014-05-12 02:39
I use the B40 Lyre and I like it.
It's close to the tradicional B40 but I feel the B40 Lyre has a darker sound and a better response in the high register. On the other hand, I feel it has a smaller sound and heavier articulation.
That's my opinion, I use it with a R13 clarinet.
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Author: AJN
Date: 2014-05-12 21:49
I've also found the B40 Lyre pretty good. But if you're looking at relatively open-tip mouthpieces and confining yourself to Vandoren, the default models to try, it seems to me, are the B40 and B45. I personally like the B45 Lyre best of all, but you obviously might come to a different conclusion.
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Author: Bruno
Date: 2014-05-12 23:38
Vandoren "dot" mouthpieces hav a larger chamber than non-dot mouthpieces. It is claimed that their sound is 'darker'.
And I'm the king of England.
bruno>
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Author: J. J.
Date: 2014-05-13 06:18
The B40 Lyre is the current standard-bearer on that end of the Vandoren spectrum. I prefer closer tipped facing, but the B40 Lyre is the one that I would consider switching reeds to play. The B40 was a fine mouthpiece for the time, but is not in vogue. The B45 doesn't even merit consideration, in my opinion.
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Author: TomS
Date: 2014-05-13 16:07
Try the Vandoren M30-lyre. Live with it for a week.
Compact, responsive, articulates well, centered with a round sound. The tip opening is not quite as much as B40 but it does have a long facing. You can use a fairly wide range of reeds with success, depending on you. Works great with Legere.
IMHO it has the most beautiful sound of all the Vandoren MPs ... at least for me.
Tom
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Author: Bruno
Date: 2014-05-13 18:29
The B45 may not even merit consideration for players of classical music, but for jazz and pop music (pretty busy genres in and of themselves) it's almost the sine qua non - in my opinion of course.
I said "almost" because there are other terrific sound generators that rival the B45, which though, is a popular favorite with good reason. It's open, flexible, allows a commanding presence and is comfortable to play.
b>
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Author: Johan H Nilsson
Date: 2014-05-14 01:10
TomS wrote:
> Try the Vandoren M30-lyre. Live with it for a week.
> IMHO it has the most beautiful sound of all the Vandoren MPs ... at least for me.
Seconded. I have both M30 and M30 Lyre. I don't think I would pass a blind test to tell the difference.
I can't play on anything else now. I have a B40 Lyre and 11.6 since before, both medium length, but when I try them it feels like I have to bite the tip of the mouthpiece and a comparably poor tone comes out of the instrument.
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Author: tylerleecutts
Date: 2014-05-14 06:14
Johan- the B40 Lyre is supposed to be the same length of facing as the M30. . Are you sure you aren't comparing a B40 (regular) instead?
I played a M30 and M30 Lyre in high school. Both are VERY GOOD mouthpieces. However, the tone concept for me doesn't work as well as the B40 Lyre. But the M30 range is the closest you can get to the B40 Lyre, so it would be a good alternative.
I purchased a B40 Lyre at a good discount (apparently on Amazon, if you open a box and send it back regardless of the item's condition, they must sell it half price). Anyways, I got it for 50.00 in mint condition, and it plays wonderfully- it does everything I expect it to. The only problem is narrowing down the cut and vamp of reeds I'm going to shoot for with it. I've been feeding it Reserve Classic and Regular reeds, as well as the Vandoren range (all three cuts). So far the Reserve regular size 3 and 3.5 work best, but we'll see.
Bruno- you are absolutely right. The B45 may not fit into the "American" school of classical clarinet playing, but it does have many many uses in almost any other style of playing, including pop music. I just don't like it because it is relatively more difficult to reach altissimo notes with ease and assurance. But it is a great mouthpiece!
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Author: Johan H Nilsson
Date: 2014-05-14 19:52
Attachment: 1.mp3 (244k)
Attachment: 2.mp3 (244k)
Attachment: 3.mp3 (249k)
Attachment: 4.mp3 (254k)
Attachment: 5.mp3 (258k)
Tyler, you are right. B40 Lyre is labeled "L" in Vandoren's catalogue and when I measure it, it has the same length as my M30 Lyre. My regular M30, though, has a little less than 1 mm longer facing than both.
I had to try B40 Lyre once more today and it works better with a softer reed. The reason I didn't like it must be the bigger opening. Still, I am missing a bit of M30's darkness.
I did some fun and recorded the same phrase with different mouthpieces: M30, M30L, CL4 and B40L (mentioned in random order). I use two different reeds among the five recordings. Anyone is welcome to pick their favourite. You will need good loudspeakers/headphones to catch the difference. My mic is not perfect either.
Post Edited (2014-05-14 20:01)
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Author: TomS
Date: 2014-05-14 21:32
I think I like #4 ... will listen again ...
Tom
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Author: Bruno
Date: 2014-05-15 20:54
I wonder whether the "profile 88" is as popular as the regular beak?
B>
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Author: johnhcl
Date: 2014-05-16 02:24
#4. What mouthpiece did you use for each attachment?
Does anyone find an actual difference between Profile 88 and 13 series? If so, what do you prefer and why?
Post Edited (2014-05-16 02:25)
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Author: tylerleecutts
Date: 2014-05-16 03:01
The 13 Series has the Profile 88 beak with the 440 tuning level set in the mouthpiece. For instance:
Standard M15: Traditional Beak, 442 tuning
Profile 88 M15: Profile 88 beak, 442 tuning
Series 13 M15: Profile 88 beak, 440 tuning
Vandoren decided either that most Americans prefer the feel of a Profile 88 beak, or that it was easier to manufacture the mouthpieces with the 440 tuning level when they had the Profile 88 beak. Basically, each model should play relatively the same as far as the facing, but the change on the inside for the Series 13 to accommodate the lower tuning makes the Series 13 mouthpieces play a little "darker" than the 442 counterparts, whether they have the profile 88 beak or not.
There was a lot of debate about whether to convert to the profile 88 beak when it came out, but many players like it. The only issue with this beak style is that it may be strange coming back to it after playing Zinner mouthpieces. At least, it was for me. Does anyone have any theories about why this is?
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Author: Johan H Nilsson
Date: 2014-05-16 03:17
These were the recordings, mouthpieces and reeds:
# MP Reed*
1 B40L 1 too hard reed for this mp
2 CL4 1
3 B40L 2 softer reed
4 M30 1
5 M30L 1
*) Reed 2 a little softer than 1, both are Vandoren V12 strength 3.
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Author: Exiawolf
Date: 2014-05-16 04:15
Who here has an opinion the new masters series (The CL4, CL5, and CL6)?
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Author: Bruno
Date: 2014-05-16 07:12
There may be one small disadvantage to the Profile 88; it might make the anterior portion of your oral cavity smaller because at any point its vertical dimension (reed surface to top of beak) is smaller than the traditional beak.
Is it deleterious? Very likely not.
bruno>
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Author: Johan H Nilsson
Date: 2014-05-16 12:12
Exiawolf, when I play the CL4 I get a "colder" tone than with the M30. It might be audible in the recorded clips. The M30 and M30L have a little "fuller" tone, especially in the high clarion register.
Both tone taste and embo are individual.
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Author: tylerleecutts
Date: 2014-05-16 20:03
I enjoyed the B40 Lyre and M30 recordings the best. The CL4 and the M30 Lyre sounded too pingy for my taste.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2014-05-16 21:13
Johan....for some reason when I got to #3 I got Woody Allen playing "Martha" which I actually liked more than the others...........
Bob Draznik
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Author: Johan H Nilsson
Date: 2014-05-17 00:07
Tyler, I don't think the test is fair. I ought to play each mp for a few days, find the right reed, adapt the embo and then record. The M30 and M30 Lyre both feel and sound the same to me normally, but I agree they sound a little different in the recording. Could be a matter of recording without a warm up. The B40L might sound better than it felt. I have always been uncomfortable with bigger openings.
Bob, I have no idea what to make from your comment, but with my preference of tone I had hoped for a comparison with Karl Leister or Jon Manasse rather than Woody Allen. ;-)
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