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Been cleaning out mouthpiece collections and selling some, and became curious about whether I could explain the preferences that I have developed for certain mouthpieces on certain clarinets.
I have attached a chart of mouthpiece exit bores (the diameter at the very end of the mouthpiece) and the taper (the difference in diameter between the end and a point 1 centimeter into the mouthpiece...I was never really aware just how much taper there is).
Some explanation:
- About 6-7 years ago, I switched from playing an older R13 to playing a Selmer Centered Tone (P-series from eBay) and later added a Selmer Series 9 (purchased from Vytas Krass) after selling my R13. These enabled the sound that I was looking for
- I discovered that the mouthpieces that I used on my R13 did not work all that well, and collected some pieces that were touted as better for "Big Bore" cylindrical clarinets.
- After all my messing around with mouthpieces and getting used to my new setups, I settled on just a few (but kept all the others around)
As I was trying to decide which pieces to sell, as I'm in a housecleaning mode, I got curious and made these measurements.
Interestingly, my current setups are:
Centered Tone - Grabner K14
Series 9 - Fobes 4L
Unfortunately, I don't have a caliper or divider that can get into my barrels to measure the diameters, but I can measure the diameters on the upper joints.
Series 9 - 15.1mm (0.595") at top, 14.8mm (0.580")at the bottom
Centered Tone - 15.2mm (0.600") at top, 15.0mm (0.590") at the bottom
...some of you may be surprised, but these big bore clarinets have taper (i.e. they are actually polycylindrical...dirty secret...still have large toneholes without undercutting and play in tune just fine)
What I hadn't realized is that these mouthpieces have taper as well. I had often heard that you should never use a mouthpiece with an output smaller than the input bore on your upper joint. Hence the Moennig reverse taper barrels that allowed larger bore mouthpieces on the smaller bore "new-fangled polycylindrical" clarinets. I never paid much attention.
If you look at the list, however, I seem to have chosen that path. I rejected the smaller bore mouthpieces that I bought to use with the R13 (I mostly played the Woodwind NY "Dick Stabile") in favor of larger bore pieces.
An additional observation is that the student mouthpieces (which I am selling off currently) all have pretty large bores.
Note also the variation in the taper.
One final note: when I bought the Series 9 from Vytas Krass, he generously provided a nice hard rubber Bundy blank that he had faced with (what I believe is) his K27 facing, and indicated that it would be good for the Series 9. Close inspection of the bore indicates that the last 2 centimeters or so have been reworked, although this is subtle enough that I could be wrong. This mouthpiece has a great sound, but is a little much for me (tip opening) unless I have been playing a lot of clarinet recently. I have the same impression of the Fobes "JAZZ".
I have included the tip openings just for reference. Curious if anyone has an revelations or thoughts to add.
View attachment 86756
I have attached a chart of mouthpiece exit bores (the diameter at the very end of the mouthpiece) and the taper (the difference in diameter between the end and a point 1 centimeter into the mouthpiece...I was never really aware just how much taper there is).
Some explanation:
- About 6-7 years ago, I switched from playing an older R13 to playing a Selmer Centered Tone (P-series from eBay) and later added a Selmer Series 9 (purchased from Vytas Krass) after selling my R13. These enabled the sound that I was looking for
- I discovered that the mouthpieces that I used on my R13 did not work all that well, and collected some pieces that were touted as better for "Big Bore" cylindrical clarinets.
- After all my messing around with mouthpieces and getting used to my new setups, I settled on just a few (but kept all the others around)
As I was trying to decide which pieces to sell, as I'm in a housecleaning mode, I got curious and made these measurements.
Interestingly, my current setups are:
Centered Tone - Grabner K14
Series 9 - Fobes 4L
Unfortunately, I don't have a caliper or divider that can get into my barrels to measure the diameters, but I can measure the diameters on the upper joints.
Series 9 - 15.1mm (0.595") at top, 14.8mm (0.580")at the bottom
Centered Tone - 15.2mm (0.600") at top, 15.0mm (0.590") at the bottom
...some of you may be surprised, but these big bore clarinets have taper (i.e. they are actually polycylindrical...dirty secret...still have large toneholes without undercutting and play in tune just fine)
What I hadn't realized is that these mouthpieces have taper as well. I had often heard that you should never use a mouthpiece with an output smaller than the input bore on your upper joint. Hence the Moennig reverse taper barrels that allowed larger bore mouthpieces on the smaller bore "new-fangled polycylindrical" clarinets. I never paid much attention.
If you look at the list, however, I seem to have chosen that path. I rejected the smaller bore mouthpieces that I bought to use with the R13 (I mostly played the Woodwind NY "Dick Stabile") in favor of larger bore pieces.
An additional observation is that the student mouthpieces (which I am selling off currently) all have pretty large bores.
Note also the variation in the taper.
One final note: when I bought the Series 9 from Vytas Krass, he generously provided a nice hard rubber Bundy blank that he had faced with (what I believe is) his K27 facing, and indicated that it would be good for the Series 9. Close inspection of the bore indicates that the last 2 centimeters or so have been reworked, although this is subtle enough that I could be wrong. This mouthpiece has a great sound, but is a little much for me (tip opening) unless I have been playing a lot of clarinet recently. I have the same impression of the Fobes "JAZZ".
I have included the tip openings just for reference. Curious if anyone has an revelations or thoughts to add.
View attachment 86756
