McClune's Mouthpiece Service

Products and Services Bb Clarinet Mouthpieces
JP model $190 I start with a stock Vandoren M13 and do extensive chamber work, completely flatten the table and reface to my custom facings. The mouthpiece retains the core sound of the original blank but the playing characteristics and the sweetness and warmth of tone are greatly improved.

SP model $190 The SP uses a Zinner blank with a deeply curved chamber. The tone is warm with great center. Pitch will be around 440. This is my most popular model.

SPE model $190 The SPE uses a Zinner blank with a higher chamber floor. The sound has more center to the tone and is slightly in higher pitch (442). Many orchestral players like the added brilliance in the sound and the flexibility to play higher in pitch. I personally use an SPE with a 67mm or 68mm Muncy/Buffet barrel to drop the pitch.
*Note on SP models: The SP and SPE models are based on two different German Zinner blanks. My approach to these blanks is quite different from other mouthpiece makers. The table is flatten, completely reface the mouthpiece to my preferred facings and then reshape the chamber and especially the upper baffle.

Eb Mouthpieces $180 The Eb mouthpiece is uses a parallel walled Zinner blank with a Bb facing and a 1.06 tip opening. The facing is a Bb facing curve and works will with both Eb and Bb reeds.
Bb Facing curves and Tip openings. 1.00 C This is a long closed tip facing very similar to old Henry Chedeville facings. 1.04 is a standard medium long facing with a slightly warmer sound., 1.06 is our most popular facing with great balance of center and warmth. 1.06L is a little longer facing with increased warmth and depth in the sound. 1.08 and 1.08L are similar to the two 1.06’s but slightly more open. More open facings are available on special order.
Bass Clarinet mouthpieces $250 S1. This is based on a Selmer C* mouthpiece and is highly modified and completely refaced with my own facing design and a tip of 1.80mm. The facing is good for orchestral players and for occasional players. S2. This facing and chamber design is a copy of Michael Lowenstern’s favorite Matson modified Selmer mouthpiece. He has played many of these for me and has found them to be very close to his. It has s tip opening of 1.90. This mouthpiece has a more virtuosic quality and tends to be preferred regular bass clarinetists. Z1. This is based on a Zinner blank and has my own facing developed specifically for the blank. The tip is about 1.80 and the tone quality is smoother and warmer than the two models based on the Selmer mouthpiece. Another bass option is to send me your Selmer C bass clarinet mouthpiece and I will reface and re-chamber the mouthpiece using either my S1 or S2 facing. All my bass clarinet mouthpieces are based on samples of Everett Matson's modified mouthpieces which I have been loaned, so I could study and measure them. Price for conversion is $70.
So, what do the model letters mean: SP, SPE, JP, S1, etc? Lets face it, all makers have seemingly weird model numbers and secret codes. The JP and SP are the initials of two great clarinet students of mine. During her Spring break from a major school of music, JP begged me to reface her M13 mouthpiece to match mine and her university clarinet teacher loved it so much he pushed me to make more. So JP really started off this crazy hobby. SP was a college student of mine who had a great ear and listened too and played hundreds of mouthpieces the first three years of development. It was during her tenure that I developed all the Zinner models and I named them after her. The SPE means the Zinner “E” blank. On the Bass clarinet, the S1 and S2, simply mean Selmer first facing I developed and Selmer second facing I developed, while Z1 is a Zinner blank with my first facing.
Refacing and minor chamber adjustments $55 I can reface your mouthpiece to any degree you require. I have worked on both contemporary manufactured mouthpieces (Gigliotti, Hite, Gennusa) as well as older Kaspars, Chedevilles, Bettoneys, etc.

Reboring $20 I have various custom made bore reamers. This is always tricky; as each bore change alters tone, blowing and pitch characteristics. However depending on the problem with your mouthpiece, too sharp or too bright, changing the bore will alleviate those problems, though with a change in other areas. The goal is to then modify the chamber and facing to balance out the changes. We will discuss this option after I examine and measure the mouthpiece.

Products and Services