What is the best clarinet mouthpiece that i can buy with 40 bucks?

Question

Im in my sophmore year i high school and my section leader told me that a good mouthpiece for me would be b45.....but the problem is that i don't know if i can afford one of those...i've been playing in a c85 for about an year if that helps..

Answer 1

See- here's the problem... the b45 is good for your section leader... my bet is that your mouth is built differently.  Your hard palate may be higher or lower, extend farther back in your mouth... you may have a gap in your teeth, or still have your tonsils... and guess what?  This all amounts to the fact that what works for them won't work for you, and what you play won't work for me!

The best advice I can give you, is go into your local music store with your horn, and try a few mouthpieces.  You want to find one that doesn't make you work too hard to play the ENTIRE range of your horn, should be comfortable, and it should give you a deep, full, resonating sound (though a lot of that is your horn itself).

I have 2 mouthpieces that I use regularly... one is a $20 mouthpiece, and one is a $220 mouthpiece... I prefer the $20, even though the more expensive one pops my high notes easier.  One was handcrafted personally by Clark Fobes specifically for me, and the other is a generic blank E-15(? I think?).  I'll let you guess which is which! LOL

But the other thing to think about is that your mouthpiece is just part of your sound... the other factors are which reeds you are using (brand and strength) and ligature... and how good your embochure is.  And realize that the quality of the player is not determined by a higher strength number- the strength is going to depend on the mouthpiece/ligature set up.

The best way to find what you're looking for is through trying.

Good Luck!

PS- While in the store, go ahead and try some mouthpieces that are $20-$40 out of your price range... see what you really like... then go home and check amazon.com or wwbw.com to see if they have the same make and model for cheaper... you can get a really great mouthpiece for cheap, but try before you buy!

:)

Answer 2

I used to use a vintage "Otto Link Reso Chamber" mouthpiece probably from the 40s, 50s, or 60s. Clarinet mouthpieces by them are very hard to come by and their sax mouthpieces go for hundreds of dollars. Anyways, if you're strapped for cash, look for one on eBay where they probably sell for pretty cheap. Unfortunately if you only have $40 in hand that might not help. If that's the case, ask your parents if you can use their credit card to pay via PayPal (it's secure) and then give them the cash. Hope you find what you need.

Answer 3

The natural progression is a b45 try ebay! Or go to a music store with your clari and try out a few! They may never let you pay in installments. What does your clarinet teacher say!