One of my vendors is considering entering the hard rubber blank market. What is the current market price for high quality blanks? Are there sources other than Babbitt?

Zinner in Germany is the only other source of blanks I know of.

I know they sold clarinet blanks to a number of makers who faced them and 
sold them as their own product.  I haven't seen any saxophone blanks from 
them but my understanding was they did make them.

Paul C.

Probably marked up for retail:

http://shop.weinermusic.com/ZINNER-CLASSICAL-BLANK-ALTO-SAX-MOUTHPIECE/productinfo/MZAC/

http://www.muncywinds.com/index.php/zinner-tenor-saxophone-mouthpiece-blanks.html


> On Sep 30, 2014, at 9:46 AM, tenorman1952@... [MouthpieceWork] <MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
> 
> Zinner in Germany is the only other source of blanks I know of.
> 
> I know they sold clarinet blanks to a number of makers who faced them and 
> sold them as their own product.  I haven't seen any saxophone blanks from 
> them but my understanding was they did make them.
> 
> Paul C.
> 
> 

do you guys think that if blanks were available at a lower price the market would enlarge? It looks to me like the current "price of admission" would deter a lot of folks




On Sep 30, 2014, at 11:18 AM, "Keith Bradbury kwbradbury@... [MouthpieceWork]" <MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

> 
> Probably marked up for retail:
> 
> http://shop.weinermusic.com/ZINNER-CLASSICAL-BLANK-ALTO-SAX-MOUTHPIECE/productinfo/MZAC/
> 
> http://www.muncywinds.com/index.php/zinner-tenor-saxophone-mouthpiece-blanks.html
> 
> 
> On Sep 30, 2014, at 9:46 AM, tenorman1952@... [MouthpieceWork] <MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
> 
>>  
>> Zinner in Germany is the only other source of blanks I know of.
>> 
>> I know they sold clarinet blanks to a number of makers who faced them and 
>> sold them as their own product.  I haven't seen any saxophone blanks from 
>> them but my understanding was they did make them.
>> 
>> Paul C.
>> 
> 
> 

I think a low price hard rubber blank would be interesting to the hobbyist.   But it seems like those who are refacing blanks for selling under their own label have their sources.  

There are plenty of low price Asian made plastic and metal mouthpieces out there that a hobbyist can use as blanks if they do not mind a logo already on them.  

There has not been much chatter here from members looking for blanks.


> On Sep 30, 2014, at 1:06 PM, STEVE GOODSON saxgourmet@... [MouthpieceWork] <MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
> 
> do you guys think that if blanks were available at a lower price the market would enlarge? It looks to me like the current "price of admission" would deter a lot of folks
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>> On Sep 30, 2014, at 11:18 AM, "Keith Bradbury kwbradbury@... [MouthpieceWork]" <MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> Probably marked up for retail:
>> 
>> http://shop.weinermusic.com/ZINNER-CLASSICAL-BLANK-ALTO-SAX-MOUTHPIECE/productinfo/MZAC/
>> 
>> http://www.muncywinds.com/index.php/zinner-tenor-saxophone-mouthpiece-blanks.html
>> 
>> 
>>> On Sep 30, 2014, at 9:46 AM, tenorman1952@... [MouthpieceWork] <MouthpieceWork@...m> wrote:
>>> 
>>>  
>>> Zinner in Germany is the only other source of blanks I know of.
>>> 
>>> I know they sold clarinet blanks to a number of makers who faced them and 
>>> sold them as their own product.  I haven't seen any saxophone blanks from 
>>> them but my understanding was they did make them.
>>> 
>>> Paul C.
>>> 
>> 
> 
> 

I only make custom clarinet mouthpieces and use both Zinner and JJ Babbitt blanks.  Babbitt makes about a dozen different blanks and they can put a generic facing and tip opening on them.  You could re bore them as experiments (good luck finding reamers) , file away at the chamber, reface to your hearts content.  But none of the blanks are cheap as they put quite a bit of hand work into them before you ever see them.  Early on, I bought 100's of old rubber MPs on ebay to use as experiments and learned the craft with them.  Moving onto better blanks refined the sound and feel of what I could do.  But differences between a good and great mouthpiece is often an unmeasurable stroke on the paper.

I present lectures on mouthpiece acoustics at Universities and call the lecture, The Search for the Holy Grail.  Yes, making mouthpieces is like assembling a puzzle but you do not know the actual picture you are putting together...only piece shapes.  I find it an intellectually stimulating hobby, part craft and part art.

Dave