BIGMouthPiece for Alto Clarinet - Big easy sound using a Tenor Sax Reed

BIGMouthPiece™  for Alto Clarinet
~  Big easy sound with a tenor sax reed  ~
© 2024  Windy Dankoff

The alto clarinet is often described as stuffy and stubborn. BIGMouthPiece awakens its voice with a tenor sax reed and fine-tuned acoustics. My first buyer describes it perfectly:

 “I LOVE THIS MOUTHPIECE setup!  You have done a remarkable thing here. You've taken a rather boring horn and given it a sonorous, gutsy personality.  The alto has never been regarded as anything but a filler horn, and now it can take center stage. It has very fat sound both in the chalumeau and the clarion, and MUCH more projection. This is a really fun instrument with brand new relevance. I do not foresee ever going back to a traditional MP.”  –– Jim D. “Windsong” on ClarinetPages.info – popular, jazz and klezmer musician (1948 Pedler alto)
     
BIGMouthPiece is created from a US-made classical tenor sax mouthpiece, highly modified inside and out, ​with a baffle enhancement and full re-boring for pitch, accurate 12ths, and altissimo. Ironically, it makes the horn sound moreclarinet-like. It's free-blowing and expressive with more of the character of a bass clarinet.  It crosses the break with greater facility than a standard MP, and produces a stronger low clarion. Maybe the alto clarinet reed was always too short, and nobody noticed!

LOGIC of the TENOR SAX REED   Start with the fair assumption that the standard B♭ clarinet has an ideal reed length, particularly the length of the vamp (the vibrating part of the reed). The vamp of the alto clarinet (or sax) reed is 12% longer than the vamp of the of the B♭ reed. But the instrument is 34% longer (acoustically). Perhaps the vamp should be about 34% longer? A typical tenor sax vamp is about 38% longer.  A tenor reed makes sense.  BIGMouthPiece makes it possible. Performance further enhanced by two internal features – Noise Filter and Airfoil Baffle (visible in the photo). These are explained further below.   
 
THE TONE is like dark chocolate, pouring over the break with a soulful undertone, and rising into altissimo with a unified character. 

More from the Fan Club ...

“You've nailed it, Windy.  Never before had I experienced such pleasure and ease with the lower clarion range. Intonation is on the spot. You've revolutionized the alto clarinet MPC concept like what Santy Runyon did a century ago for the sax.”  –  Damir Vidovic, classical musician  (1942 Conn alto, Buffet copy) USA
 
​"Awesome mouthpiece ... made all my reeds play fantastic. I can fly around top to bottom on my alto easily with no stuffiness and no resistance like the old mpc I had. This is going to revolutionize alto playing and bring back the alto like never before. Big shout out to Windy!"  – Eugene Kirton, originator of the tenor sax mouthpiece conversion, player of popular, jazz, and klezmer  (Bundy alto) Canada
                                                                                       
 "I’ve tried out the mouthpiece and I’m quite impressed. Intonation was good throughout the range and it made the alto very free blowing. …  I think this could appeal to a lot of people. Thanks again for sending it to me!"  – Jared De Leon, woodwind technician, low clarinet and mouthpiece specialist, classical musician, alto) USA

"It is fantastic! The alto now matches my Selmer Low C professional bass clarinet both in volume and overall tone. As a comparison I switched back to my best mouthpiece made by Olav Bakke in Norway. The volume and tone were severely diminished compared to the BIGMouthPiece. In community band, often an alto cl. part is not available so an alto sax part is substituted. Alto cl. normally can’t match alto sax in volume and punch, but with the BIGMouthPiece I know I can. I’m thrilled!"   LL, Louisiana, USA  

Included with BIGMouthPiece:
A suitable reed to get you started
Flexible Ligature
Tooth Patch and Mouthpiece cap
 
The cork is thick for resiliency, and runs the length of the tenon. This offers you the greatest chance of an easy fit, with no wobble. Sized for typical 23.4mm socket unless requested smaller.

But wait, there's more  . . .

BIGMouthPiece Fixes the Major Weakness of the Alto Clarinet
 A common frustration with alto clarinets is the poor response in low clarion – the heart of its range. BIGMouth corrects this weakness. And in the process, it improves the whole instrument.

THE CAUSE of low clarion weakness in most alto clarinets  
An alto with a bore of 17mm is called “small bore”. One with 18mm bore is called “large bore”. But if the bore were directly proportioned from the B♭ clarinet, it would be 20mm. Thus, every alto clarinet is really a small-bore instrument. As a consequence, the register key vent (the little metal tube) has trouble sounding the entire clarion register. Weakness shows at bottom B C C#. These “over the break” notes require a skillful oomph. Advanced bass clarinets have two register vents to fix this (as saxophones do). Alto clarinets typically have a single vent, except high-end Buffet models. (To be clear – the typical register key shifts to a B♭ vent when the thumb is released, not to a second register vent.)
                                                                                                             
The single register vent is at a compromised location, by necessity. In the low clarion, it causes high-frequency noise that degrades articulation and purity.

BIGMouthPiece has THREE WAYS to suppress the noise and stabilize the low clarion:
(1)  The longer reed has a lower tonal spectrum with less high noise.  (2) The Airfoil Baffle focuses the tone, further reducing noise (see the raised teardrop in second photo). It also increases the nozzle effect to match the resistance of the clarinet. (3) Remaining noise is absorbed by the Noise Filter. It's a textured surface in the segment of the MP bore that most influences the low clarion (inside the tenon).  A soft ligature also helps by allowing the reed shank to absorb “shock waves” that are reflected back during challenging articulations. Flexible or minimal ligatures work best, including Syos.

Noise reduction also enhances and unifies the tone through the whole range of the horn. 

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WHY I LOVE THE ALTO CLARINET   Because it's so obscure, I’m the best player on my block. It’s a rich and unique voice for jazz and blues with a wonderful range that can resemble bass clarinet and baritone sax. And it adds depth and mystique to many musical settings. I use it for variety when I do exercises. It keeps me prepped for bass clarinet. Ensemble players sometimes use it to substitute for alto sax parts or and for less common horns.
 
TWO VARIETIES OF ALTO
Alto clarinets fall into two categories, based on inside diameter – 18mm “large bore” (Vito, LeBlanc, Noblet) and 17mm “small bore” (Selmer USA/Bundy, Selmer Paris, Buffet). I test each BIGMouthPiece on a Vito and a Bundy. When these humble horns both sound spectacular, your mouthpiece is good to go. I prefer the large-bore design for freer blowing and deeper tone, but either one is greatly improved.
  
BIGMouthPiece evolved through hundreds of hours and 30 prototypes
It started as a fun experiment, but it kept exceeding my expectations until ... just read the testimonials.

REED OPTIONS   

Vandoren 2.5 traditional tenor reed is included

Fibracell 2.5 synthetic   Over half of my clients favor the Fibracell 2.5 over any other reed. I do, and I used them throughout the development process – no soak, highly consistent, and long life at modest cost.
For $20 – I will substitute the Fibracell for the normally included cane reed
For $28 – I will send both the Fibracell and a traditional Vandoren reed

SELECT YOUR REED LENGTH  – LONG or SHORT
The LONG VERSION is 3mm (1/8") longer than a traditional MP, to accommodate the overall length of a tenor reed. If you have an adjustable neck, reduce your pullout by 3mm for correct tuning. This is the most convenient option.

SHORT VERSION   If your neck is not adjustable (LeBlanc) or if you cannot reduce the pullout by 3mm, you will need the Short Version. You will need to trim 3mm from the shank of your reeds to avoid overhang (wrap with masking tape and use a fine saw blade). If you order reeds from me, I will trim them for you. Alternative: consider the composite adjustable neck from jdwoodwinds.com. It can adapt to the Long Version.

TELL ME IN THE COMMENT BOX which Version you want - same price