I have a Wolfe Tayne tenor mouthpiece that was a wreck, and I'm 
interested in trying an elliptical curve on it.  I forget who uploaded 
the spreadsheet for elliptical curves, but thank you - saved me at least 
an afternoon of math.

Seems that I'll need to pick an ellipse ratio (I've somewhat arbitrarily 
chosen 4.0) and a hypothetical 0.000 feeler measurement for facing 
length.  With the length the same as a radial curve (e.g., .090 tip, 54 
length at 0.000), there is very little difference in the facings - just 
slightly shorter numbers (by 0.3 max)  in the middle.

So what would be a good starting approach for the input parameters?  I 
could open it up some from .090, BTW.  Is 4.0 a reasonable ratio?  Would 
a longer 0.000 length be the usual choice for an elliptical facing?  Is 
there some reason this mouthpiece (tenor, currently .090 tip) would be a 
bad candidate for an elliptical facing?

Thanks, guys.

Dan Torosian

--- In MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com, Dan Torosian <dtorosian@...> 
wrote:
> 
> So what would be a good starting approach for the input 
parameters?  I 
> could open it up some from .090, BTW.  Is 4.0 a reasonable ratio?  
Would 
> a longer 0.000 length be the usual choice for an elliptical 
facing?  Is 
> there some reason this mouthpiece (tenor, currently .090 tip) would 
be a 
> bad candidate for an elliptical facing?
> 

With the same tip opening and facing length, a "4" ellipse ratio will 
blow a little more resistant than a radial facing (radial = a "1" 
ellipse ratio).  So you can compensate for this if you wish.  Make 
the facing a tad longer, or close the tip a little, or use a little 
softer reed.

I like the way a 3 to 5 ellipse plays on a tenor mouthpiece with 
a .105" tip and a 50-52 length to the .0015" feeler.  Very open tips 
usually need to be as free blowing as possible so I use a radial 
facing most of the time.  Smaller tipped "classical" MPs usually can 
take a 4 to 8 ellipse and a medium facing length (like 46-48 on 
tenor).  

This html message parsed with html2text ---------------------------Thanks, Keith - that helps a lot. Interestingly, you've touched on another
issue I've had on my mind - a very free-blowing facing on a classical piece
isn't always what is called for. So shorter facing lengths and/or a more
elliptical shape could be a way to address this.  
  
DT  
  
Keith Bradbury wrote:

> \\--- In
> [MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com](mailto:MouthpieceWork%40yahoogroups.com),
> Dan Torosian ..>  
>  wrote:  
>  >  
>  > So what would be a good starting approach for the input  
>  parameters? I  
>  > could open it up some from .090, BTW. Is 4.0 a reasonable ratio?  
>  Would  
>  > a longer 0.000 length be the usual choice for an elliptical  
>  facing? Is  
>  > there some reason this mouthpiece (tenor, currently .090 tip) would  
>  be a  
>  > bad candidate for an elliptical facing?  
>  >  
>  
>  With the same tip opening and facing length, a "4" ellipse ratio will  
>  blow a little more resistant than a radial facing (radial = a "1"  
>  ellipse ratio). So you can compensate for this if you wish. Make  
>  the facing a tad longer, or close the tip a little, or use a little  
>  softer reed.  
>  
>  I like the way a 3 to 5 ellipse plays on a tenor mouthpiece with  
>  a .105" tip and a 50-52 length to the .0015" feeler. Very open tips  
>  usually need to be as free blowing as possible so I use a radial  
>  facing most of the time. Smaller tipped "classical" MPs usually can  
>  take a 4 to 8 ellipse and a medium facing length (like 46-48 on  
>  tenor).  
>  
>