[dvdberg]

I just took ownership of a Conn Eagle c-mel mouthpiece and was surprised to find that tenor reeds fit it well. In fact I see just the tiniest bit of rail on each side of the reed. I was expecting to need to get some bass clarinet reeds. I checked with the vendor and he said this mouthpiece came off a c-mel he had purchased and was exactly the same as 4 other c-mel mouthpieces he had in his possession.

Is this what I should expect for a Conn Eagle c-mel mouthpiece?

The mouthpiece is very closed. It plays okay. I like my Morgan c-mel mouthpiece better. The Conn is probably a 3 or 2 facing, my Morgan is a 6. I was thinking of it as my backup by having it opened up a little, to a 4 or 5.

If I have the mouthpiece opened up should I do anything else to it at the same time?

 

[Captain Beeflat]

I just took ownership of a Conn Eagle c-mel mouthpiece and was surprised to find that tenor reeds fit it well. In fact I see just the tiniest bit of rail on each side of the reed. I was expecting to need to get some bass clarinet reeds. I checked with the vendor and he said this mouthpiece came off a c-mel he had purchased and was exactly the same as 4 other c-mel mouthpieces he had in his possession.

Is this what I should expect for a Conn Eagle c-mel mouthpiece?

The mouthpiece is very closed. It plays okay. I like my Morgan c-mel mouthpiece better. The Conn is probably a 3 or 2 facing, my Morgan is a 6. I was thinking of it as my backup by having it opened up a little, to a 4 or 5.

If I have the mouthpiece opened up should I do anything else to it at the same time?

In the past, I have opened C Mel. mouthpieces & simply wound up with a slightly louder stuffy sound.

 

[Mark Fleming]

In the past, I have opened C Mel. mouthpieces & simply wound up with a slightly louder stuffy sound.

Same experience here with a Conn Eagle mp. I even added a baffle made of Sugru when I opened the tip. Louder and slightly less stuffy, but it made the top end sharp. Basically the time spent in modification got me less than simply using a small chamber tenor piece.

Mark

 

[Captain Beeflat]

Same experience here with a Conn Eagle mp. I even added a baffle made of Sugru when I opened the tip. Louder and slightly less stuffy, but it made the top end sharp. Basically the time spent in modification got me less than simply using a small chamber tenor piece.

Mark

Exactly.
I hate to think of all the time I spent fiddling, filing, fettling, & farting about with C Mel mouthpieces; especially when it is so quick, easy, & inexpensive simply to slap on a Rico Metalite......preferable a tenor piece. :bluewink:

 

[dvdberg]

Exactly.
I hate to think of all the time I spent fiddling, filing, fettling, & farting about with C Mel mouthpieces; especially when it is so quick, easy, & inexpensive simply to slap on a Rico Metalite......preferable a tenor piece. :bluewink:

The Metalite does not suit my taste. I'm after the richest tone I can get.

Thanks for sharing your experience with opening the mouthpiece. I expected more. Interestingly, to me, the Conn has a larger chamber than the Morgan c-mel and yet the Morgan has the less stuffy, more tonally interesting sound.

 

[Captain Beeflat]

It occurs to me dvdberg that you could achieve more by fettling away the baffle of a Metalite rather than persevering with the inherently stuffy Conn Eagle.

You would be starting with a good, known mouthpiece & there is plenty of meat in there to work with. It's material (chipboard & wood glue) is very easy to shape.
Also, you would not be destroying a piece of history...however dubious.
In fact I might just try that....make a large chambered, ultra Link type piece in anticipation of the day when I will be too old for raucous Blues/Rock & settle into Cool Jazz.

 

[SAXISMYAXE]

I concur with everyone's reported experiences with the vintage Conn Eagle C-melody pieces. I had one of these opened up by a well known mouthpiece refacer hoping that it would become a usable piece, and it was still a tubby sounding piece that is permanently relegated to the bottom of my MP drawer.

 

[paulwl]

Probably best to break oneself in to barrel chambers on some other horn. I use an Eagle occasionally on my Conn 8M, but I'd already had experience with alto and tenor pieces of that design. They really do give a pretty sound if you leanr how to bring it out.

 

[dvdberg]

Probably best to break oneself in to barrel chambers on some other horn. I use an Eagle occasionally on my Conn 8M, but I'd already had experience with alto and tenor pieces of that design. They really do give a pretty sound if you leanr how to bring it out.

And so how, I inquire, do you "bring it out"?

 

[paulwl]

Briefly...

Start with the softest reed that won't fold up on you and gives a reliable tone. (This may be 1/2 a strength harder or even a full strength.)

Do long tones. Put plenty of air thru, but focus on roundness rather than loudness (these pieces aren't about loudness!) Make sure there isn't too much tension in your embouchure - equal pressure all around, and no biting of course. Both of those things contribute to a buzz or coarseness in the tone.

Pay attention to how the reed responds when you attack a note. You may have to back off a little to avoid a harsh slap sound.

If you do overtone exercises, they're really beneficial in getting the feel of the mpc up and down the range. If you don't, now's a goo time to start - they're great for your playing. See how many of these tones you can get fingering just low Bb, no octave key:

After some practice, you'll want a harder reed - but no harder than you can get to sound easily and pleasantly up and down the range. I typically use a 3 1/2 or a soft 4.

 

[SAXISMYAXE]

I will say that I have found Rico Plasticover reeds (and a few synthetics) help to draw out a bit of sparkle in the core tone from these old Conn Eagle pieces, and remove some of the "felt curtain" tendencies.

Obviously with the generally more closed facings, I agree with Paul that a harder reed is needed.

 

[Mark Fleming]

I also tend to go with a carbon fiber reed with the old C Mel mouthpieces.

I'm surprised to hear that the Metalite mouthpiece would be easy to modify. I remember that modifying a Graftonite was almost impossible. Some kind of ballistic grade plastic.

Mark

 

[Mal 2]

Briefly...

Start with the softest reed that won't fold up on you and gives a reliable tone. (This may be 1/2 a strength harder or even a full strength.)

Do long tones. Put plenty of air thru, but focus on roundness rather than loudness (these pieces aren't about loudness!) Make sure there isn't too much tension in your embouchure - equal pressure all around, and no biting of course. Both of those things contribute to a buzz or coarseness in the tone.

Pay attention to how the reed responds when you attack a note. You may have to back off a little to avoid a harsh slap sound.

If you do overtone exercises, they're really beneficial in getting the feel of the mpc up and down the range. If you don't, now's a goo time to start - they're great for your playing. See how many of these tones you can get fingering just low Bb, no octave key:

After some practice, you'll want a harder reed - but no harder than you can get to sound easily and pleasantly up and down the range. I typically use a 3 1/2 or a soft 4.

There is an error in your chart -- fourth line D is not an overtone of low Bb. It just goes (bottom to top) low, Bb, Bb an octave higher, then F a twelfth higher, and finally Bb two octaves higher. From this point on the chart is accurate enough, save that the seventh (not eighth) harmonic lies somewhere between G and Ab, not squarely on Ab as would be inferred by the chart.

 

[paulwl]

Well, %#!! I rejiggered that from a trumpet chart and thought I'd covered all the differences. Here's a corrected version.