We all react differently to mouthpieces. New players are probably not sufficiently developed to make many long-term assessments of equipment, especially mouthpieces. I agree with the advice to stick with the 4C at this point.
However, I knew Claude Lakey . . . his shop and home was in my policing area and I stopped by regularly to visit with him and his wife. I bought several mouthpieces from him, too. I watched him hand-finish one of the clarinet mouthpieces - he even marked it "5*D" for me. I never got on with his alto pieces but I bought one for my daughter when she was in high school (I don't recall the design - never figured out exactly what "4-3" meant, but I think that's the one she has) - and she still uses it (some 30+ years later) on her altos in several bands with which she plays. She loves it.
I used to use his 5* and 7* on soprano - played the 7* on a tour of Israel many years ago. But for me, the sopranos are not bright, they are dark - and too dark for my tastes. Like I said, everyone is different.
Claude and his wife and mouthpiece operation moved to Texas from L.A. years ago and he is long gone from this earth. I don't know anything about who carries on his name now. Nor did I pay much attention then to how his blanks were made, etc. All of that made little difference to me, but with SOTW in our lives now, most of us ponder those things. Regardless, I'd hang on to that Lakey mouthpiece and re-visit it from time to time. When your embouchure develops and you learn to select reeds for different mouthpieces, you may find that the Lakey will play for you. DAVE
