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Switching between mouthpieces - neckcork issue

5K views 41 replies 22 participants last post by  AlistairD 
#1 ·
I enjoy playing both classical & jazz, and use 2 different mouthpieces.... however:

The shank (?) or bore of the one mouthpiece is larger than the other one... If I get the neck re-corked, it will be too tight for the other mouthpiece, as it is pretty snug.

This creates a tuning issue since the larger bore mouthpiece when pushed in so it is in tune will rock forward & backward because there is not enough pressure from the cork keeping it still...

Best solution?
 
#2 ·
Either use inexpensive PTFE/ Teflon plumbers tape or even a bit of paper to fatten the neck when using the larger diameter of the two pieces or;

Make the smaller diameter piece larger (its been covered on the forum before and is easy enough to do) ...or;

Get a second neck, or use the scimonetti corkless neck thing with the different interchangable O rings.

The former solution is OK for the short term, the second is the long term solution, the third is excessively expensive I suspect.
 
#3 ·
Cut squares of paper, wrap around to overlap on cork, use more than one if necessary,work larger mpc.on with twisting motion.
 
#5 ·
You have given me an idea... what if I goto the local auto parts store and pick up a bunch of o-rings and just try to snug them onto the frontal half of the neck cork - which is where it needs the most help... sorry scimonetti, this is on the cork, so it's not exactly copying =)
 
#7 ·
I agree with paper as a temporary fix. I cut several strips of maybe 3/8" off of a white notepad and kept those in my cases to wrap around the neck corks.

Plumber's tape (at least the stuff I had - usually wrapped in the threads of a pipe before affixing a shower head or whatever) was very difficult for me to apply and control. It was too light to stay put and I had to have a sharp knife or scissors to cut it off the roll. It was really squirrely.

What I did for fitting larger-shanked Morgan Vintages to my sopranos was to have the neck corks changed to accomodate the larger Morgans. Then, with some grease on the cork, I was still able to use my smaller-shanked Selmer SS-J. The cork did not compress enough to NOT fit the larger Morgans. Thus, I can use both mouthpieces and not have the cork-size problem. DAVE
 
#8 · (Edited)
The advantage of plumbers tape is its very soft and slippery, you dont have to be too precise with it as it will squish into the available space and the low friction makes pushing the piece on and off to get in tune a breeze. Paper can go soggy and "icky" easily. A bit of cork grease or spit should hold it in place while you wrap it around a few times.

There should be no need to use anything to cut it with? In my experience you just stretch it till it breaks. Its shouldnt take much and will break off leaving a stragely tail. The down side to it is its waterproof nature thats an advantage for making adjustments also traps moisture under the tape next to the cork, which might not do it much good in the long term. But as you are switching back and forth you wil be taking the tape off between changes...right?

If you have two pieces you are stuck on using, not just trialing, and you cant find a cork that will work for both then get the smaller one bored or ground out to match the larger one. If its a rubber piece a bit of fine sand paper wrapped around a corkless neck (or preferably a suitable substitute) will get the job done. Metal is a bit harder, but far from impossible to DIY. Ive done a stainless steel piece myself using a dremel and sanding barrels!
 
#11 ·
. . . and that's why I cut several strips of paper. Throw the old one away when finished playing.

That plumber's tape was too squirrely for me. And when I pulled it off the roll (breaking it away from the tape on the roll) it stretched and stretched until I had a long string of the stuff dangling from both ends . . . the more it dangled, the more difficult it became to work with. Sorry - I didn't like it.

Properly changing my neck corks was the best way to deal with those issues, in MY opinion. No soggy paper, no wild plumber's tape, good sealing mouthpieces. DAVE
 
#12 ·
decade said:
I enjoy playing both classical & jazz, and use 2 different mouthpieces....

Best solution?
This is one of the best reasons to justify having another horn. :D
 
#13 ·
Dr G said:
This is one of the best reasons to justify having another horn. :D
Exactly.

Plumbers teflon tape works fine for me. I keep a roll in my mouthpiece bag.
Part of the trick is to wrap it directly from the roll onto the cork in a spiral starting from the mpc end of the neck.
 
#14 ·
If you have the scratch- having more than one neck is actually handier than I imagined it would be.
 
#15 ·
I can no longer afford my GAS habit... and I like the way my horn sounds in both styles at the momemt. OR maybe that's is my justification for not spending more money on my habit. I'm recovering, please don't help me into a relapse.
 
#17 ·
I'm quite a fan of teflon tape, but I don't really want to be adding or removing yards of it every time I change mouthpieces, if it's going to be a regular thing. Eventually I bit the bullet and took to the interior of the shank of my Dukoff D7 with some wet and dry paper until it more or less matched my Morgans for fit. It was a tedious job, but I'm glad I did it.
 
#19 ·
I had the same Problem but there IS an easy permanent solution.

Take the larger bore mouthpiece..coat the inside of the bore with
"Polyurethane"....where the cork meets... (the stuff used on wood floors)..it dries in a few hours and adds about 10 thousands of an inch to the bore.
If still a little loose...repeat....if to tight, fine sandpaper it.

You can also do this when your cork gets worn out,,..works great.
PS: small can of Poly is about 4-5 bucks. :)

ON EDIT..IF you ever want to take the Poly off, just wipe a little Acetone (nail polish remover) on the inside of the bore...takes it right off.
 
#22 ·
LampLight said:
BlueTone: Sounds interesting. Have you tried this with both metal and rubber/plastic. Also, is any sanding needed? -- Thanks.
I've done it on Plastic, rubber and metal mouthpieces...no problem..

Rats...forgot this in my first post: Wipe the bore with alcohol first..gets rid of any oils.

Plastics work Fine..If you later take the poly off just don't "Soak" the bore very long and it's fine.
Rubber is fine also although when/if you take the poly off it discolors VERY slightly..but no big deal...You have to hold the mouthpiece and look at the bore with a very strong light to even see it.

On the sanding...I use 600-1200 grit sandpaper... (Extremely fine)
 
#23 ·
decade said:
I can no longer afford my GAS habit... and I like the way my horn sounds in both styles at the momemt. OR maybe that's is my justification for not spending more money on my habit. I'm recovering, please don't help me into a relapse.
Come on kid, just a taste:twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
 
#26 ·
averageschmoe said:
i've had great success recorking the neck with the extra firm black synthetic cork from kraus. it's a bit more yielding than traditional cork but doesn't permanantly compress. it's also much less porous than cork.
Did you do this yourself? Either way, where'd you get the stuff or where'd you get it done?
 
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