Getting close: Mouthpiece Questions: Vand B75, Berg Larsen, RPC

6108 Views 38 Replies 16 Participants Last post by Kini, Oct 16, 2007

Kini

Discussion Starter · Jul 20, 2007

After not playing bari for 20 yrs, I've been testing and narrowing down my choices but I have a few specific questions for those of you familiar with these pieces.

B75 - I've noticed that the mouthpiece window is almost as wide as the reed on 3 samples-is this a potential issue-has anyone had problems with this? Is this a good compromise mouthpiece for the price, or really good irrespective of price?

Berg Larsen HR 85/1/m - bought at age 17 when I knew even less than I know now..... I think I prefer the overall sound (the growl..) of the Berg to everything else, but this opening is probably not optimum-playing Rico Royal 4, Lavoz Med Hard, or Hemke 3.5s....

RPC - I trialed one of these last year and remember thinking: "this sounds just like my Berg, but bigger...." duh, guess what I didn't buy but should have... for those of you who play these, what ligature options are there- bass clarinet???

Finally-I like the Berg sound, but am hesitant to purchase new, due to multiple comments about the quality, and unsure of how many I would have to try to find an acceptible piece, and then have to send it to a refacer to clean up, so-are there other pieces that are Berg like? Does anyone concur that the RPC's are similar?

Pieces I've tried and didnt like-HR links, Yani metal

Thanks for the input...

1 - 20 of 39 Posts

hakukani

· #2 · Jul 20, 2007

rdf2 said:
After not playing bari for 20 yrs, I've been testing and narrowing down my choices but I have a few specific questions for those of you familiar with these pieces.

B75 - I've noticed that the mouthpiece window is almost as wide as the reed on 3 samples-is this a potential issue-has anyone had problems with this? Is this a good compromise mouthpiece for the price, or really good irrespective of price?

Berg Larsen HR 85/1/m - bought at age 17 when I knew even less than I know now..... I think I prefer the overall sound (the growl..) of the Berg to everything else, but this opening is probably not optimum-playing Rico Royal 4, Lavoz Med Hard, or Hemke 3.5s....

RPC - I trialed one of these last year and remember thinking: "this sounds just like my Berg, but bigger...." duh, guess what I didn't buy but should have... for those of you who play these, what ligature options are there- bass clarinet???

Finally-I like the Berg sound, but am hesitant to purchase new, due to multiple comments about the quality, and unsure of how many I would have to try to find an acceptible piece, and then have to send it to a refacer to clean up, so-are there other pieces that are Berg like? Does anyone concur that the RPC's are similar?

Pieces I've tried and didnt like-HR links, Yani metal

Thanks for the input...

The bari player in the little big band I play with uses a Berg 90/1 that John Reilly opened up to around 120. He sounds pretty good.

John was apparently on vacation, and happened to come to one of the band's gigs (this was before I was in the band), and offered to 'perfect' the sax player's mouthpieces--they took him up on his offer.

That being said, I've gone to RPC on both alto and tenor. I have a bari piece on order, so I can't speak about them yet, but it has been said that his bari pieces are the best of Ron's output.

Michael Ward

· #3 · Jul 20, 2007

I've owned and played all three of these for lengthy periods and they're all good even the Berg although getting a good one would be a challenge. If you're in the market for an RPC consider a Lamberson. After I got a DD I sold my RPC. With a plasticover the DD in 7 or 8 is pretty much the last stop on my old Bb V1.

MM

· #4 · Jul 20, 2007

The Lamberson SB is also a great mpc (thanks Michael!)

Which RPC model is getting the high praise?

Gange

· #5 · Jul 20, 2007

The Vandoren reeds are a little wider than the American reeds and that could explain why the window is larger. You could try try the Vandoren ZZ reeds, it's a great combo.

If you like the Berg sound (as I do) you should consider letting someone open up your current Berg or buy a new one and send it away to get it fixed.

I was exactly in your situation some time ago, and I ended up buying a Pillinger and keeping my too small Bergs for more "intimate" settings.

jmathesonjr

· #6 · Jul 20, 2007

I have played a Berg for over fifteen years the last spent on a 130/?. I cannot use Vandoren reeds on the piece. They just do not work at all for me. I have tried the blue box and ZZs. I prefer to use either Brancher Jazz cut reeds or Rico (orange box) reeds.

The Berg I have works great for me in a number of different playing situations. I recommend them highly. They can be inconsistent from one to another as far as how they are labeled. If you can, get a hold of some and try them. You will know when one is perfect for you.

I know of a number of refacers who find them easy pieces to work with. I have two Bergs that I am waiting to have opened up to what mine is at right now.

Bergs and Baris go very well together.

Check them out.

Swampcabbage

· #7 · Jul 20, 2007

I have a hard rubber Jody Jazz 7 with the removable baffle that works real well for me. Sorry to throw another on in the mix. I've tried it against the Bergs, Metalites, Links, and Dukoffs and it works best for me. I got it used for $60 too.

Kini

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jul 23, 2007

B75 Chirping

I've been getting a lot of chirping on all three samples of the B75, trying a variety of reeds and ligatures. Has anyone else experienced this?

Michael Ward

· #9 · Jul 23, 2007 (Edited)

I didn't have that problem when I had a B75. I found this piece worked best for me with Rico Royals and Hemke reeds and I used a Vandoren bass clarinet masters lig because the Vando bari ligs were slightly too big. This sounds like a lig problem. I've never liked Vandoren bari reeds either trad or V16..the cut is not for me but I grew up on Rico Royals. The B75 pieces are IMO just OK..maybe if refaced by Merlin or like the ones on Junkdude's site.
You have a nice horn so I would look elswhere for a high quality piece like RPC or Lamberson as an investment which will pay you back.

edited because I forgot I play a V16 metal on tenor that I like a lot.

eljaz

· #10 · Jul 23, 2007

I play RPC on Bari and Alto and love them both! - Really flexible sound, dynamic range, and powerful enough for any situation.

Michael or anyone else - Which lig did you use on the RPC for bari? I've been playing for 7 years with the same lig that came with mine and want a backup or something better than what Ron supplies but it's an odd size. Any suggestions?

Michael Ward

· #11 · Jul 23, 2007

On my RPC I used a Francois Louis brass bari lig. I forget which size but it was a perfect fit. cheers

eljaz

· #12 · Jul 24, 2007

Thanks Michael!

qwerty

· #13 · Jul 26, 2007

Swampcabbage said:
I have a hard rubber Jody Jazz 7 with the removable baffle that works real well for me. Sorry to throw another on in the mix. I've tried it against the Bergs, Metalites, Links, and Dukoffs and it works best for me. I got it used for $60 too.

I play the same. A Jody Jazz 7. I haven't played a whole lot of pieces on Bari...Newer Links, both in hard rubber, and metal, a Meyer, A Rousseau and a Berg. The Jody is a real strong player, and pretty versatile. I have been tempted to send Phil Barone a hard rubber Link for his mod, or ordering a Jary Custom, but right now, am not playing enough bari to warrant the $$$ outlay.

Steve

Kini

Discussion Starter · #14 · Jul 26, 2007 (Edited)

B75 Update and RPC Question

I find that I'm not liking the B75's-there's too much harshness or edge to the tone, with a lot of chirping. I've tested with 4 different reeds and 3 ligs, the best setup is Hemke 3/Rovner dark, hardly a jazz setup. It is also very reed sensitive, moreso than the other pieces tested.

The Vandoren V16 3's feel very strange-like playing a 2x4.

Can someone explain the different RPC baffles, and how they effect sound? (I will be calling Ron, but would like to be educated first).

SplitTony

· #15 · Jul 26, 2007

I just started playing a Beecheler 7 on my bari and really enjoy it so far.

Michael Ward

· #16 · Jul 26, 2007

The high baffle will be somewhat brighter. louder and more focussed.. that's the theory, features not always desirable for some players who prefer the straight through blow of the rollover and can still get the power. For a good explanation of the effect of baffles visit Fred Lamberson's site.

KeithL

· #17 · Jul 27, 2007

Rpc .110

I have an RPC .110 that plays great on my Yani bari. Tenor is my main horn and I generally play tip openings between .100 and .105. My RPC has sort of a large rollover baffle and it is pretty flexible as far as the type of sound you can produce. I think if I played more bari I might like something with a larger tip but those type pieces can be hard to fill up and hard to control. I also like my bari sound to be sort of like a "big tenor" not too reedy. For me, if I get too open a bari piece it starts to sound like a kazoo in the upper octaves. As far as ligs go, I use a standard tenor lig on mine but it seems like Ron changes the blanks he's using from time to time so that might not work on his newer pieces- just ask him when you call.

I also like the Yani bari pieces (7 & 9) as well as the SR Technologies but it's too expensive to get a GAS attack while testing bar pieces so thus far I've refrained from buying another.

Good Luck.

Grumps

· #18 · Jul 27, 2007

Michael Ward said:
On my RPC I used a Francois Louis brass bari lig. I forget which size but it was a perfect fit.

When I tried to fit a Francois Louis hard rubber bari model on my bari RPC, it would need the optional extended screw for a proper fit (and I wasn't going to put any more money into ordering it, and ended up flipping it to a friend). A tenor size might fit, but I'm not going to bend my tenor model to experiment. I use the dreaded Ligaphone. I had gotten it a while back included in a mouthpiece trade, but found no use for it as it wasn't cap friendly and tends to gauge mouthpieces. But since all I had was a dampening Rovner that fit it, I figured I'd use the Ligaphone until something better showed up. Then I just forgot about it and am making do with the Ligaphone (which is actually quite handy as it adjusts to fit several different sizes of mouthpieces and is good to have around when trying out new pieces not equiped with their own ligatures).

Kini

Discussion Starter · #19 · Jul 27, 2007

KeithL said:
As far as ligs go, I use a standard tenor lig on mine but it seems like Ron changes the blanks he's using from time to time so that might not work on his newer pieces- just ask him when you call.

The RPC that I tried last year was very large in diameter. Memory fades, but I think it was bass clarinet size- it came with a Rovner bass clarinet ligature. It seems that he may use drastically different blanks

Grumps

· #20 · Jul 27, 2007

Ron makes some bari pieces with a bass sax blank.

1 - 20 of 39 Posts

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