[Kini]

Looking for any tips, tricks, wisdom here. My Berg Bari mouthpiece bore is very oversize relative to the cork diameter on my bari neck. I do not want to replace the cork as my classical mouthpiece fits perfectly. I've tried wrapping varyious types of paper, including wax paper and freezer paper without much success-everything either gets too wet, or the mouthpiece slides.

Does anyone know of any other non permanent methods?

 

[Dave Dolson]

I've seen teflon tape or plumbers' tape recommended but have always found that paper works for me. I keep several slim strips of paper in my cases and use a new one every time I want to use the piece that doesn't fit the cork. DAVE

 

[Carl H.]

Try some one inch wide white teflon plumbers tape. Unless it is a large difference, then get some yellow teflon plumbers tape - it's much thicker.

 

[G-dawg]

Dental floss with wax...

 

[rleitch]

I've spent a lot of time fussing with this with my tenor STM. I found no improvement between the plumbers' tape and the paper--as long as you use good grade paper it's easier to use I found. I also spent a lot of time drying the cork to get it to expand.

Recently, however, my tech said that, if you just blow a bit, the cork will expand to fit the larger bore. I don't know how loose your piece is, but this actually works for me. The mouthpiece is really loose, and then, a few minutes in, voila! nice and snug.

Rory

 

[Swampcabbage]

You need to hydrate the cork (soak it) to get it to expand in the end.

I keep a role of plumbers tape in my case as it works much better than paper for me. 1) it doesn't soak up the moisture and get all nasty. 2) I can add some to the parts of the cork that have gone thin (like the tip).

 

[Martinman]

If your mouthpiece is way too big for the cork try cutting some strips of wide electrical tape and putting them back to back (adhesive on adhesive). This will give you a nice, waterproof filler.

 

[MojoBari]

If you decide you want a non-tape/paper solution, the bores of the mouthpieces need to be made the same so you can use them on the same neck cork. Your classical piece can be bored out and put a larger diameter cork on your neck. Or, the Berg bore can be made smaller by coating the inside with epoxy and sanding it smooth. It would be best to fix the one that is most unlike other mouthpieces.

 

[Swampcabbage]

I have noticed that a lot of the newer links and other mouth pieces seem to have a much larger bore but a lot of the older moutpieces have a smaller bore which I think is better (better streamline to the neck).

 

[Martinman]

If you decide you want a non-tape/paper solution, the bores of the mouthpieces need to be made the same so you can use them on the same neck cork. Your classical piece can be bored out and put a larger diameter cork on your neck. Or, the Berg bore can be made smaller by coating the inside with epoxy and sanding it smooth. It would be best to fix the one that is most unlike other mouthpieces.

Slightly off topic, but does bore size affect sound any?

I guess the thread starter (and the rest of us) might want to know.

 

[hakukani]

I'm no mouthpiece expert, but I have an opinion.

The chamber size of a mouthpiece has a HUGE effect on sound. But the bore of the shank? Probably not as much.

The slant sig link I play on alto has a really big chamber. That should be pretty 'dark', but the tip opening is a 6* (I think that makes it an .080, not sure tho) makes up for the big chamber, so I get a brighter sound.

When I played in a concert band setting, I use an S80 C*. Small chamber, small tip, dark sound.

The resistance of both these pieces feels pretty similar to me, even with similar reeds.

Hope I haven't wandered too far off topic.

 

[Dave Wright]

Heat expands cork, I have given life to old cork by rotating the neck over a match or lighter. This is probably just a short term fix.

 

[sbornemann]

Good paper is made from 100% cotton, poor paper comes from tree pulp. When selecting paper, try 100% cotton writing paper, some papers even have a watermark saying 100% cotton. It will get wet, but it should hold together pretty well after an hour of playing and provide some grip, unlike wax paper.

If you know what to look for, your junk mail and bill envelopes will give you an endless supply of high quality paper, just make sure to not use any of the gummed parts.

 

[zivley]

If paper is what you want you should try baking paper or pergament paper, it doesn't absorve water and is smooth enough to fit the mpc bore.

 

[MojoBari]

Bore has no significant effect on sound in the cork area other than a tight fit is better than a loose one. But when a shank bore is larger, it does extend somewhat into the chamber making it a little larger. Some shank bores are tapered and some are straight. So you can have a loose fit that does taper to a somewhat smaller chamber.

The diff between a tight and loose fit may be .010"-.020" on the diameter. If the chamber was made this much smaller/larger, you would hardly hear a difference if at all. I can barely hear a diff between the modern STM and the modern "NY" STM. They have a chamber width difference of .100".

 

[Kini]

Thank you!

Thanks to everyone for your input! I'll try your suggestions and post back the results.