[jumpin the rattler]

At another forum some time ago I saw people mentioning, from time to time, rubber mouthpieces. I am wondering what they were talking about. I'm sure I've only ever seen plastic mouthpieces. Although, I have had a flashback to a moment in a concert band at high school (we combined with another school to form a larger band) when the barry sax player asked me about my white mouthpiece as he thought it might be porcelain.

So, just to clear this up. What kind of mouthpieces CAN you get? And, if you can get some that are made from something other than plastic what kind of sound do they give and what application would you use them for?

Many thanks!

 

[hakukani]

Most non-metal mouthpieces are made of ebonite, which is mostly hard rubber. It's the same material black bowling balls are made of.

There are some pieces made of different kinds of plastic. So, if it's not black, it's plastic.


Hard rubber (ebonite) rules!

 

[Bill Mecca]

Most Hard rubber mouthpieces today, save for a few purists, have plasticizers in them. Some Runyon mouthpieces are made from a synthetic rubber and other additives. Santy couldn't stand the smell of HR as it aged. The Runyon XL and Quantum are made from Delrin. Vandoren had some colored HR, the Blue and earlier Red mouthpieces.