My two daughters (10 and 12 years) are playing in the local school marching band. Today I found 6 clarinet Vandoren 5RV Lyre mouthpieces in the instrument storage room who all needs some kind of refacing and cleaning. 

This is my first clarinet refacing. Regarding to Vandoren 5RV Lyre has a .42 tip opening and 20mm long facing. My plan was to work om the table, tip rail, facing curves and tip opening.

Does anyone have any good advice on what I should do with these mouthpieces so they will work best for our young musicians? (Facing curve? Tip opening? etc.)

EgilF.

This is a standard facing, so cleaning one up to specs to have them try one first would be one idea. Then if possible, take another one to B45 specs. That has been the college entry standard, and is a good facing for many many folks. 

With the apologies to those who have met corrupted "brand name" directors - Clarinet sections do blend better with quality, similar faced mouthpieces. And every beginner should have a great mouthpiece, but not one that costs an arm and a leg. $75 dealer cost (or for factory seconds) is too much for marching band. I hope you make something good out of them.

If you mess them all up, there are other affordable good mouthpieces.- I received a sample of Redwine Jazz's EXCELLENTE MEZZO MODEL, and did not get to even try it myself! An experienced (AKA older) musician and clarinet player tried it first and said "MINE!" She was playing on what should have been a fine mouthpiece, and I caught it (for further study)on the way to the trash can. 

Clean them off like Paul C. has posted. I am amazed how well lemon juice gets the deposits out of woodwind and brasswind mouthpieces.

E ve r e t t  F i d le r

--- In MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com, "EgilF." <egfurre@...> wrote:
>
> My two daughters (10 and 12 years) are playing in the local school marching band. Today I found 6 clarinet Vandoren 5RV Lyre mouthpieces in the instrument storage room who all needs some kind of refacing and cleaning. 
> 
> This is my first clarinet refacing. Regarding to Vandoren 5RV Lyre has a .42 tip opening and 20mm long facing. My plan was to work om the table, tip rail, facing curves and tip opening.
> 
> Does anyone have any good advice on what I should do with these mouthpieces so they will work best for our young musicians? (Facing curve? Tip opening? etc.)
> 
> EgilF.
>

That was the same thing I said when I tried a Hite Premiere clarinet mouthpiece.  That and the similar Fobes Debut are terrific beginner mouthpieces (or beyond -- I used the Hite to play in a pit for Fiddler on the Roof) and they cost barely more than a stock Bundy.  For a little more you can move into the Redwine models.  Frankly, I can't play Vandoren mouthpieces in tune -- for me, they are always flat above the staff, where any other brand I've tried is fine.  Too bad, too, because they SOUND good.

Bill Hausmann

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is TOO LOUD!

--- On Tue, 8/24/10, fidlershorns <grassinospam@...> wrote:



If you mess them all up, there are other affordable good mouthpieces.- I received a sample of Redwine Jazz's EXCELLENTE MEZZO MODEL, and did not get to even try it myself! An experienced (AKA older) musician and clarinet player tried it first and said "MINE!" She was playing on what should have been a fine mouthpiece, and I caught it (for further study)on the way to the trash can.