Vandoren B45 Series Bb Clarinet Mouthpiece

Comments about Vandoren B45 Series Bb Clarinet Mouthpiece:

I love the mouthpiece. I am a saxophone player and the mouthpiece can handle what I give it. It I just a good mouthpiece I would recommend

Comments about Vandoren B45 Series Bb Clarinet Mouthpiece:

When I use this mouthpiece, this sound does not come out as nicely as it did on my old mouthpiece, and it takes me more effort to play notes using this mouthpiece than it did for my old mouthpiece. However, the mouthpiece seemed a little big for the barrel (it took a lot of effort to get it on at first, but cork grease helped a lot). At first, it really didn't work well at all, but after I prayed to the LORD and used cork grease, it became a little easier to play out of and the sound was better. Maybe I am not playing the clarinet correctly (I know my embouchure needs to be corrected) so even though this review does not sound too good, it could be me and the fact that the mouthpiece may be too big.

Comments about Vandoren B45 Series Bb Clarinet Mouthpiece:

It appears to play well but not as good as it was advertised.

Comments about Vandoren B45 Series Bb Clarinet Mouthpiece:

When I began using this product I noticed my sound qualtiy in proved.Also it is alot easier to play on then several other mouthpieces that I have tried

Comments about Vandoren B45 Series Bb Clarinet Mouthpiece:

My child's 7th grade band director required this mouthpiece for all clarinet students who were not upgrading to a nicer clarinet.

My child did not notice that much of a difference in this mouthpiece and the one that came with her student model Yamaha.

It seems to be a fine mouthpiece. No complaints.

Comments about Vandoren B45 Series Bb Clarinet Mouthpiece:

I just bought this mouthpiece under the instruction of my college professor and it has improved my tune and my high note quality especially. My notes are less airy at he beginning of the note and that helped tremendously! I was worried about getting a bad mouthpiece for a price above my liking, but I think it is worth it. It plays pretty nicely in the cold, too, as it doesn't get affect by the cold as much as my old mouthpiece!

Comments about Vandoren B45 Series Bb Clarinet Mouthpiece:

I bought this as a step up mouthpiece for my son who has been playing clarinet for 4 years, he has a Buffet B11 and was playing on the Hite Premier that I bought from the WWBW when he got started. A clinician came to his high school (now in 9th grade) and suggested that he and some others move up to this mouthpiece. His sound immediately opened up and his tone improved, and he really appreciated the response with the new mouthpiece. I mostly play sax and could hear the difference right away. I really liked the Hite for him early on, and have recommended it to other parents looking for guidance, but this was clearly a step up for him.

Comments about Vandoren B45 Series Bb Clarinet Mouthpiece:

There are two bad reasons that band directors recommend this mouthpiece to their students: 1. This is what someone told them to recommend (old, outdated advice, tradition from 40+ years ago). 2. It darkens (dulls) the edgy, bright sound of a student who doesn't know how to control the reed with his/her lip muscles. Vandoren is an excellent mouthpiece company with many other fine mouthpiece models with better sounds that are much easier to control such as the M13, M30, B40, to name just a few. Some of the best clarinetists players in the world play these models, and there is no reason why less advanced students including beginners can't be playing these same models.

Comments about Vandoren B45 Series Bb Clarinet Mouthpiece:

The B45 was marketed by Vandoren heavily after its release as the "universal mouthpiece". Therefore, band directors everywhere jumped on the mouthpiece like crazy. In my experience, the B45 is too open and too short of a facing to be desirable for many clarinet students. For instance, many directors will pair students with this mouthpiece and a size 2 reed, and steadily increase the reed strength to an ungodly degree. This leads to an innate difficulty to be flexible in playing, as well as response issues. I would not outright recommend this model for students. However, it is well suited to those who can accommodate this facing with appropriate reeds. In Vandoren's more open mouthpieces, I believe the B40 Lyre is best, and one of the best overall.

Comments about Vandoren B45 Series Bb Clarinet Mouthpiece:

I used this from middle school into high school (about 5 years). It worked really well and has a pretty rich tone. I'd recommend this as a great upgrade from a "generic" mouthpiece!