Holiday Greetings to all,
 
Back in the day when I learned about sax repair, I was told that the MP was a cylinder and the neck was a conical section ( simplified for discussion) with the cork having the function of "fitting" the two.  Yet, during a MP extension project I found that many, but not all, of the mouthpieces I own actually have tapers.   Is this a vintage MP vs. modern design thing?  If so, when did the design change? and why?   
Here's what I did: measured the cylindrical bore of the modern Brilhart bari MP so I could match the diameter to the bore of an extension.  I designed and made sleeve to lengthen the Brilhart so it could play on the old bari i have.  I compared the diameter to the old MP and found that the old MP was also a conical section proportionate to the neck.   All this time I just assumed it was a cylinder.

Regards,
Bill

 
Bill Daleiden
A NEW Tune, LLC
(920) 264-5827


      

Tapering the shank (throat) so that it somewhat matches the taper of the neck cork insures even pressure on the cork.  If the small end of the neck cork is too loose in the throat, the mouthpiece will wobble.




________________________________
From: William Daleiden <wdaleiden@...>
To: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thu, December 10, 2009 5:16:45 PM
Subject: [MouthpieceWork] Sax Mouthpiece tapers

  
Holiday Greetings to all,
 
Back in the day when I learned about sax repair, I was told that the MP was a cylinder and the neck was a conical section ( simplified for discussion) with the cork having the function of "fitting" the two.  Yet, during a MP extension project I found that many, but not all, of the mouthpieces I own actually have tapers.   Is this a vintage MP vs. modern design thing?  If so, when did the design change? and why?   
Here's what I did: measured the cylindrical bore of the modern Brilhart bari MP so I could match the diameter to the bore of an extension.  I designed and made sleeve to lengthen the Brilhart so it could play on the old bari i have..  I compared the diameter to the old MP and found that the old MP was also a conical section proportionate to the neck.   All this time I just assumed it was a cylinder.

Regards,
Bill

 
Bill Daleiden
A NEW Tune, LLC
(920) 264-5827 

 


      

The more common practice with today's mouthpieces that have a cylindrical shank is to sand the neck cork in such a way as to make the tapered end of the neck into a cylinder that matches.

Using this method, the mouthpiece is snug on the cork regardless of the placement (within reason) and there are no gaps between the cork and the interior of the mouthpiece shank.

John

--- In MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com, MartinMods <lancelotburt@...> wrote:
>
> Tapering the shank (throat) so that it somewhat matches the taper of the neck cork insures even pressure on the cork.  If the small end of the neck cork is too loose in the throat, the mouthpiece will wobble.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ________________________________
> From: William Daleiden <wdaleiden@...>
> To: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Thu, December 10, 2009 5:16:45 PM
> Subject: [MouthpieceWork] Sax Mouthpiece tapers
> 
>   
> Holiday Greetings to all,
>  
> Back in the day when I learned about sax repair, I was told that the MP was a cylinder and the neck was a conical section ( simplified for discussion) with the cork having the function of "fitting" the two.  Yet, during a MP extension project I found that many, but not all, of the mouthpieces I own actually have tapers.   Is this a vintage MP vs. modern design thing?  If so, when did the design change? and why?   
> Here's what I did: measured the cylindrical bore of the modern Brilhart bari MP so I could match the diameter to the bore of an extension.  I designed and made sleeve to lengthen the Brilhart so it could play on the old bari i have..  I compared the diameter to the old MP and found that the old MP was also a conical section proportionate to the neck.   All this time I just assumed it was a cylinder.
> 
> Regards,
> Bill
> 
>  
> Bill Daleiden
> A NEW Tune, LLC
> (920) 264-5827
>

If the mouthpiece bore and the cork are both tapered then a smooth fit for tuning becomes very difficult. As the mouthpiece is pushed on it will get progressively tighter (and vice versa).
In actual practice all the sax mouthpieces I see tend to be parallel or very nearly so (within a few thou.) so that with a parallel cork I can get a good smooth fit.
With a taper the fit will only be good in one position.


--- In MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com, MartinMods <lancelotburt@...> wrote:
>
> Tapering the shank (throat) so that it somewhat matches the taper of the neck cork insures even pressure on the cork.  If the small end of the neck cork is too loose in the throat, the mouthpiece will wobble.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ________________________________
> From: William Daleiden <wdaleiden@...>
> To: MouthpieceWork@...m
> Sent: Thu, December 10, 2009 5:16:45 PM
> Subject: [MouthpieceWork] Sax Mouthpiece tapers
> 
>   
> Holiday Greetings to all,
>  
> Back in the day when I learned about sax repair, I was told that the MP was a cylinder and the neck was a conical section ( simplified for discussion) with the cork having the function of "fitting" the two.  Yet, during a MP extension project I found that many, but not all, of the mouthpieces I own actually have tapers.   Is this a vintage MP vs. modern design thing?  If so, when did the design change? and why?   
> Here's what I did: measured the cylindrical bore of the modern Brilhart bari MP so I could match the diameter to the bore of an extension.  I designed and made sleeve to lengthen the Brilhart so it could play on the old bari i have..  I compared the diameter to the old MP and found that the old MP was also a conical section proportionate to the neck.   All this time I just assumed it was a cylinder.
> 
> Regards,
> Bill
> 
>  
> Bill Daleiden
> A NEW Tune, LLC
> (920) 264-5827
>

Thanks for your replys.  So as I understand it, the shank taper really has little to do with tuning and more for fitting.  


Bill Daleiden
A NEW Tune, LLC
(920) 264-5827

--- On Fri, 12/11/09, norman.smale <norman.smale@...> wrote:


From: norman.smale <norman.smale@googlemail.com>
Subject: [MouthpieceWork] Re: Sax Mouthpiece tapers
To: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com
Date: Friday, December 11, 2009, 10:40 AM


  



If the mouthpiece bore and the cork are both tapered then a smooth fit for tuning becomes very difficult. As the mouthpiece is pushed on it will get progressively tighter (and vice versa).
In actual practice all the sax mouthpieces I see tend to be parallel or very nearly so (within a few thou.) so that with a parallel cork I can get a good smooth fit.
With a taper the fit will only be good in one position.

--- In MouthpieceWork@ yahoogroups. com, MartinMods <lancelotburt@ ...> wrote:
>
> Tapering the shank (throat) so that it somewhat matches the taper of the neck cork insures even pressure on the cork. If the small end of the neck cork is too loose in the throat, the mouthpiece will wobble.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ____________ _________ _________ __
> From: William Daleiden <wdaleiden@. ..>
> To: MouthpieceWork@ yahoogroups. com
> Sent: Thu, December 10, 2009 5:16:45 PM
> Subject: [MouthpieceWork] Sax Mouthpiece tapers
> 
> 
> Holiday Greetings to all,
> 
> Back in the day when I learned about sax repair, I was told that the MP was a cylinder and the neck was a conical section ( simplified for discussion) with the cork having the function of "fitting" the two. Yet, during a MP extension project I found that many, but not all, of the mouthpieces I own actually have tapers. Is this a vintage MP vs. modern design thing? If so, when did the design change? and why? 
> Here's what I did: measured the cylindrical bore of the modern Brilhart bari MP so I could match the diameter to the bore of an extension. I designed and made sleeve to lengthen the Brilhart so it could play on the old bari i have.. I compared the diameter to the old MP and found that the old MP was also a conical section proportionate to the neck. All this time I just assumed it was a cylinder.
> 
> Regards,
> Bill
> 
> 
> Bill Daleiden
> A NEW Tune, LLC
> (920) 264-5827
>









      

--- In MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com, William Daleiden <wdaleiden@...> wrote:
>
> Thanks for your replys.  So as I understand it, the shank taper really has little to do with tuning and more for fitting.  
> 
> 
> Bill Daleiden

Bill and others, the taper in the bore actually has to do with molding the mouthpiece.  It is necessary to have a very slight taper in order to withdraw the bore die, for the same reason rifle cartridges have a slight taper, rather than straight walls, in semiauto and full auto types.

Paul