Chinese Mouthpieces (Mouthpiece Work Yahoo Group)

FROM: dkulcinski (David Kulcinski)

SUBJECT: Chinese Mouthpieces

Has anyone tried one of the inexpensive (cheap) Chines mouthpieces
that are offered on e-Bay?  Would it be worthwhile to buy one and try
to do something with it?

David

FROM: saxgourmet (STEVE GOODSON)

SUBJECT: Re: Chinese Mouthpieces

Some are good, some are bad. I've found a vendor in China who does excellent
work. Most of the other ones I've tried don't understand "flat table" or
"even facing". They're getting better over there, but most of the vendors
still don't get it.

  _____  

From: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com [mailto:MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com]
On Behalf Of David Kulcinski
Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2007 8:02 AM
To: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [MouthpieceWork] Chinese Mouthpieces



Has anyone tried one of the inexpensive (cheap) Chines mouthpieces
that are offered on e-Bay? Would it be worthwhile to buy one and try
to do something with it?

David

FROM: curtaltarac (Curt Altarac)

SUBJECT: Re: Chinese Mouthpieces

My experience is exactly the same as Steve's.

Curt Altarac

www.MusicMedic.com






 STEVE GOODSON wrote:
>
> */Some are good, some are bad. I've found a vendor in China who does 
> excellent work. Most of the other ones I've tried don't understand 
> "flat table" or "even facing". They're getting better over there, but 
> most of the vendors still don't get it./*
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *From:* MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com 
> [mailto:MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com] *On Behalf Of *David Kulcinski
> *Sent:* Thursday, November 15, 2007 8:02 AM
> *To:* MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com
> *Subject:* [MouthpieceWork] Chinese Mouthpieces
>
> Has anyone tried one of the inexpensive (cheap) Chines mouthpieces
> that are offered on e-Bay? Would it be worthwhile to buy one and try
> to do something with it?
>
> David
>
>

FROM: dantorosian (Dan Torosian)

SUBJECT: Re: Chinese Mouthpieces

This html message parsed with html2text ---------------------------If you search the newsgroup messages for "chinese", there are a bunch of posts
about inexpensive Chinese mouthpieces that some folks have played and worked
on.  
  
DT  
  
Curt Altarac wrote:

> My experience is exactly the same as Steve's.  
>
>  
>  
>     Curt Altarac [www.MusicMedic.com](http://www.MusicMedic.com)
>
>  
>  
>  STEVE GOODSON wrote:
>

>> **_Some are good, some are bad. I've found a vendor in China who does
excellent work. Most of the other ones I've tried don't understand "flat
table" or "even facing". They're getting better over there, but most of the
vendors still don't get it._**

>>

>>  
>
>>

>> * * *

>>

>> **From:** MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com
[[mailto:MouthpieceW](mailto:MouthpieceW)ork@yahoogroups.com] **On Behalf Of**
David Kulcinski  
>  **Sent:** Thursday, November 15, 2007 8:02 AM  
>  **To:** MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com  
>  **Subject:** [MouthpieceWork] Chinese Mouthpieces  
>  
>
>>

>> Has anyone tried one of the inexpensive (cheap) Chines mouthpieces  
>  that are offered on e-Bay? Would it be worthwhile to buy one and try  
>  to do something with it?  
>  
>  David  
>  
>

FROM: kymarto (Toby)

SUBJECT: Re: Chinese Mouthpieces

I bought a terrible old Japanese "Nikkan" clarinet mpc for $10 a while ago. It wouldn't play for $#!%, but five minutes of work with some 1200 and 2000 grit sandpaper turned it into my preferred clarinet mpc. If the basic design of the mpc is OK and you or someone you know can reface it then a cheap Chinese mpc can end up being very good, but don't expect much out of the box.

Toby

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: STEVE GOODSON 
  To: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2007 11:13 PM
  Subject: RE: [MouthpieceWork] Chinese Mouthpieces

  Some are good, some are bad. I've found a vendor in China who does excellent work. Most of the other ones I've tried don't understand "flat table" or "even facing". They're getting better over there, but most of the vendors still don't get it.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  From: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com [mailto:MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of David Kulcinski
  Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2007 8:02 AM
  To: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com
  Subject: [MouthpieceWork] Chinese Mouthpieces

  Has anyone tried one of the inexpensive (cheap) Chines mouthpieces
  that are offered on e-Bay? Would it be worthwhile to buy one and try
  to do something with it?

  David

FROM: newjazzsyndicate (Karsten J. Chikuri)

SUBJECT: Questions regarding an Older Berg Larsen Mouthpiece

Dear Folks,
                 I was hoping that someone could help explain something I
just discovered about my old Berg Larsen (Metal) Tenor Mouthpiece...
 
It's marked as 130 / 0, with an M marking underneath and slightly off-set
from that... And I picked up this mouthpiece around 1989 or so... (I bought
it used)
The situation is this:
 
For several years, I had a really hard time finding a suitable ligature for
this mouthpiece... I've ordered Berg Larsen ligatures, specifically for
their 0 table mouthpieces - to find that the ligature was too small for the
mouthpiece.
 
Until now - I've used several different ligature configurations -- all of
them worked well, except for my insistent tightening. :)    
 
These configurations consisted of standard metal ligatures, designed for
hard rubber soprano sax mouthpieces...
 
The most radical set-up I had, which worked really well at that time - was
simply using a metal, cork-screw type hose clamp that you could find at any
hardware store. (I came up with this because my ligature stripped out right
before a gig, and all the music stores were closed....)
 
I know everybody has their own opinions on just how tight a lig should be -
but, for me, it always works for to place the lig as far back as possible,
and to tighten the lig as tightly as possible. The idea being that, by
placing the lig as far back as I do, I can get as much of the reed to
vibrate... and by tightening as much as I do - there is less loss of
energy/air. (at least, that's *my* theory)
 
Anyways - to get back to the subject:
 
I finally decided to play a hunch, and ordered another Berg Larsen
ligature... this time, the one specifically designed for the 2-3 table
mouthpieces...
 
Lo and Behold! That ligature works with my Mouthpiece!
 
The question is this: Did the design for the Berg Larsen mouthpieces change
so much that my 0 table mouthpiece, is now comparable to a 2 or 3 table for
their newer mouthpieces?
 
Or is this mouthpiece some sort of fluke? A mouthpiece with a mis-print?
 
Any thoughts would be most welcome...
 
Sincerely,
               Karsten J. Chikuri

FROM: kymarto (Toby)

SUBJECT: Re: Questions regarding an Older Berg Larsen Mouthpiece

I don't know about your mpc, but basically the reed does not vibrate past the end of the cut, and actually cannot even vibrate significantly past the point where the side rails break from the table. If you have any doubts about this attach an accelerometer and you will see. The myth of a lig allowing the reed to "vibrate freely" ranks right up there with that about materials making a difference in woodwind bodies.

I believe that most of the difference people find with different ligatures have to do with two factors: the compressability of cane and the flatness of the table. Different positioning of the pressure points of the lig on an unflat table will change the tip clearance quite noticeably, depending on which part of the unflat table the reed stock is clamped to. Further, a reed that is not perfectly flat will not sit at the same height when the clamping pressure is changed. This also applies to a flat (or unflat) reed clamped to an unflat table. The reed fibers will compress somewhat at the points of high pressure and again change the clearance of the part of the reed that does vibrate. And as we all know, the tip clearance has a major impact on how the reed behaves.

Toby

----- Original Message -----
From: Karsten J. Chikuri
To: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, November 16, 2007 10:48 AM
Subject: [MouthpieceWork] Questions regarding an Older Berg Larsen Mouthpiece

Dear Folks,
I was hoping that someone could help explain something I just discovered about my old Berg Larsen (Metal) Tenor Mouthpiece...

It's marked as 130 / 0, with an M marking underneath and slightly off-set from that... And I picked up this mouthpiece around 1989 or so... (I bought it used)
The situation is this:

For several years, I had a really hard time finding a suitable ligature for this mouthpiece... I've ordered Berg Larsen ligatures, specifically for their 0 table mouthpieces - to find that the ligature was too small for the mouthpiece.

Until now - I've used several different ligature configurations -- all of them worked well, except for my insistent tightening. :)

These configurations consisted of standard metal ligatures, designed for hard rubber soprano sax mouthpieces...

The most radical set-up I had, which worked really well at that time - was simply using a metal, cork-screw type hose clamp that you could find at any hardware store. (I came up with this because my ligature stripped out right before a gig, and all the music stores were closed....)

I know everybody has their own opinions on just how tight a lig should be - but, for me, it always works for to place the lig as far back as possible, and to tighten the lig as tightly as possible. The idea being that, by placing the lig as far back as I do, I can get as much of the reed to vibrate... and by tightening as much as I do - there is less loss of energy/air. (at least, that's *my* theory)

Anyways - to get back to the subject:

I finally decided to play a hunch, and ordered another Berg Larsen ligature... this time, the one specifically designed for the 2-3 table mouthpieces...

Lo and Behold! That ligature works with my Mouthpiece!

The question is this: Did the design for the Berg Larsen mouthpieces change so much that my 0 table mouthpiece, is now comparable to a 2 or 3 table for their newer mouthpieces?

Or is this mouthpiece some sort of fluke? A mouthpiece with a mis-print?

Any thoughts would be most welcome...

Sincerely,
Karsten J. Chikuri

FROM: tenorman1952 (Paul C.)

SUBJECT: Re: Questions regarding an Older Berg Larsen Mouthpiece

Once again, Toby is right on the mark.

I have actually gotten emails from students wanting to know if they changed from their present silver plated lig to a gold plated one will make their tone warmer.

Paul

Toby <kymarto123@...> wrote:
I don't know about your mpc, but basically the reed does not vibrate past the end of the cut, and actually cannot even vibrate significantly past the point where the side rails break from the table. If you have any doubts about this attach an accelerometer and you will see. The myth of a lig allowing the reed to "vibrate freely" ranks right up there with that about materials making a difference in woodwind bodies.