The conventional wisdom is that wide tip rails inhibit squeaking, right?  Why is this the case?  

Some pieces tend to want to squeak, but I notice that if everything else is balanced (table flat, facing symmetrical and not too far off radial, tip baffle low enough), a tip rail can be as thin as you want it.  

So if a thin tip rail doesn't cause chirping, how can a wide one inhibit it? 

Here is part of the FAQ answer on my site:
 
Q.  Why does my metal mouthpiece chirp and squeak when I play it? 
A.  I have thought quite a bit on the physics of chirping. The driving force is high pressure. Players almost never chirp at low sound volumes. If a piece is uneven or the facing curve has irregularities, it will not be responsive and a player needs to use more pressure to make it speak. With high pressure often comes a tighter embouchure that closes off the tip opening some. This geometry is prone to squeaking. Especially if the tip is uneven and/or the baffle is high near the tip. It allows the very tip of the reed to vibrate like a mini reed at high frequency. The high baffle focuses the air even more.

I do not mention tip rail thickness, but I believe a thicker rail can keep that "mini reed" from getting excited.  It also allows different reed tip curve shapes to seal at the tip rail.  Otherwise you may need to overhang different reeds, or trim them, to make them seal on a very thin tip rail.  If there is a leak at the tip, this is a place chirps can grow.


      

The air between the reed and the rail acts as a damping medium…changing more
or less the vibrating behaviour of the reed edge. 

 

The larger the rail, the larger the area, the higher the damping (and by the
way, it also slow down the reed response)

 

Jacques 

 

 

-----Message d'origine-----
De : MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com [mailto:MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com]
De la part de frymorgan
Envoyé : jeudi 21 mai 2009 13:08
À : MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com
Objet : [MouthpieceWork] Tip rail width and squeaking/chirping

 






The conventional wisdom is that wide tip rails inhibit squeaking, right? Why
is this the case? 

Some pieces tend to want to squeak, but I notice that if everything else is
balanced (table flat, facing symmetrical and not too far off radial, tip
baffle low enough), a tip rail can be as thin as you want it. 

So if a thin tip rail doesn't cause chirping, how can a wide one inhibit it?

The air between the reed and the rail acts as a damping medium…changing more
or less the vibrating behaviour of the reed edge. 

 

The larger the rail, the larger the area, the higher the damping (and by the
way, it also slow down the reed response)

 

 

-----Message d'origine-----
De : MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com [mailto:MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com]
De la part de jacques fuchs
Envoyé : jeudi 21 mai 2009 16:55
À : MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com
Objet : RE : [MouthpieceWork] Tip rail width and squeaking/chirping

 






The conventional wisdom is that wide tip rails inhibit squeaking, right? Why
is this the case? 

Some pieces tend to want to squeak, but I notice that if everything else is
balanced (table flat, facing symmetrical and not too far off radial, tip
baffle low enough), a tip rail can be as thin as you want it. 

So if a thin tip rail doesn't cause chirping, how can a wide one inhibit it?

--- In MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com, "frymorgan" <frymorgan@...> wrote:
>
> The conventional wisdom is that wide tip rails inhibit squeaking, right?  Why is this the case?  
> 
> Some pieces tend to want to squeak, but I notice that if everything else is balanced (table flat, facing symmetrical and not too far off radial, tip baffle low enough), a tip rail can be as thin as you want it.  
> 
> So if a thin tip rail doesn't cause chirping, how can a wide one inhibit it?
>

The air between the reed and the rail acts as a damping medium…changing more or less the vibrating behaviour of the reed edge. 

 

The larger the rail, the larger the area, the higher the damping (and by the way, it also slow down the reed response)


NB : the response by mail seemed not working :(

--- In MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com, "jacquesf77" <jacques.fuchs@...> wrote:
>
> --- In MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com, "frymorgan" <frymorgan@> wrote:
> >
> > The conventional wisdom is that wide tip rails inhibit squeaking, right?  Why is this the case?  
> > 
> > Some pieces tend to want to squeak, but I notice that if everything else is balanced (table flat, facing symmetrical and not too far off radial, tip baffle low enough), a tip rail can be as thin as you want it.  
> > 
> > So if a thin tip rail doesn't cause chirping, how can a wide one inhibit it?
> >
> 
> The air between the reed and the rail acts as a damping medium…changing more or less the vibrating behaviour of the reed edge. 
> 
>  
> 
> The larger the rail, the larger the area, the higher the damping (and by the way, it also slow down the reed response)
> 
> 
> NB : the response by mail seemed not working :(
>
So you're saying the reason a wide tip rail darkens or deadens the sound is because the air between it and the reed dampen the reed's vibration?  I always thought it was just because there was less of the thin end of the reed vibrating over the window.  Now that you mention it, though, the sound bouncing right back into the reed instead being directed down the horn aught to have some effect.  Why it should neccesarily inhibit just the high frequencies, though, I'm not sure.