Mouthpieces Inperfection in mouthpiece

[DJade]

Hi. I got this in the post the other day and noticed this imperfection in my Vandoren mouthpiece. Is this typical? I did get it second hand. Perhaps the previous owner did it?

 

[Andante cantabile]

This is hand-made. It is not typical. Someone marked where the upper teeth should go. I read somewhere that Marcel Mule used to do this for his mouthpieces.

 

[kevgermany]

Looks like it was made that way to me, should have been picked up in quality control. Should really go back to Vandoren or the seller. I'm not sure if it'll affect playability or sound much, but it's not worth taking a chance on.

How was the mouthpiece described, and was this visible on the photos if there were any?

 

[Andante cantabile]

Do you really believe that Vandoren would allow a mouthpiece in that condition to be sold? Somebody tampered with it, made a mess of it, and Djade has become the unwitting owner.

 

[Fraser Jarvis]

I'd be more concerned about that ridge that runs all the way round, the other hole looks like an injection molding point that hasn't been finished properly (or at all).

 

[kevgermany]

Do you really believe that Vandoren would allow a mouthpiece in that condition to be sold?

Sadly I do.

Nb. The groove/hole are inside the mouthpiece, not on the outside of the beak as a tooth placement guide.

The groove looks as if it was made by a cutting tool, and the hole looks to me as if the tool dug in just when it was stopped. Whether it was done by Vandoren, or a third party, the sanding marks go over the groove - so it was finished after the groove was put in.

 

[Fraser Jarvis]

Those sanding marks look really bad, and something i doubt any mouthpiece maker would have done, mind you whoever did do it you would have thought the first "modification" would have been to remove that "sproo" from inside

 

[jonf]

How does it play? If it plays well, it's not a problem. Personally I doubt very much that a small imperfection like that on the inside of the piece would make any difference.

 

[DJade]

I've played it a little and there doesn't seem to be any problems with it, but then I'm not that great a player. I'll give it another go later today if I get the chance.

The auction was described as:

Vandoren V16 Alto saxophone mouthpiece A6. Opening 196 (1/100 mm), medium long facing length, medium chamber.
"Ebonite mouthpiece for jazz in the tradition of the famous American Alto saxophone mouthpieces of the fifties."
Bought new about about 3 years ago, always used with mouthpiece cushion.

And the seller won't take returns. These are the seller's pictures.

 

[kevgermany]

Hopefully Morgan will see this thread and comment.

If you paid a lot for it, consider telling the seller it's defective, show your photos and insist on a refund/ebay dispute. If it wasn't too expensive and plays OK, probably better to live with it. But it may show problems later as your playing progresses.

 

[DJade]

Well, I've had a good blow on it and haven't had any problems with it. I've had a word with the seller and he said he's never noticed the imperfection in it, he hasn't had it modded, and he got it brand new. He's offered full refund and postage back to him. I'm thinking at £40 I can't really be bothered as it plays fine.

I've sent a message off to Vandoren via their website and asked them about it. Let's see if I get a response. For anyone wanting to use their online form, note that it doesn't like .co.uk email addresses. It took me a while to work that one out as I just kept getting an "error in address" message in French whenever I hit the submit button. I filled in all the parts it wanted for a postal address, removed spaces, put in a phone number, used a different browser...

And a final thought, surely mouthpiece manufacturers test play all of their mouthpieces before boxing them up and shipping them off?

 

[kevgermany]

For that price, I'd keep it. Just like Jon said.

 

[Morgan Fry]

Wierd little gouge. Looks like there was heat involved, more like someone slipped with a soldering iron than a cutting tool. Whatever the cause it's unusual but pretty small.

I'd be more concerned about that ridge that runs all the way round, the other hole looks like an injection molding point that hasn't been finished properly (or at all).

This is just from the edge of the core mold I think, a lot of hard rubber pieces have similar. the pics are really good, makes things like this look worse than they look IRL.

How does it play? If it plays well, it's not a problem. Personally I doubt very much that a small imperfection like that on the inside of the piece would make any difference.

This is of course the important thing. If it plays I wouldn't worry about it. for a £40 piece I really wouldn't worry about it.

Those sanding marks look really bad, and something i doubt any mouthpiece maker would have done, mind you whoever did do it you would have thought the first "modification" would have been to remove that "sproo" from inside

They look typical for Vandorens. Scratches show up really well in pictures like this, the HR Vandoren pieces all seem to have this finish in the chamber these days.

 

[aldevis]

And a final thought, surely mouthpiece manufacturers test play all of their mouthpieces before boxing them up and shipping them off?

))))))))))))

Only very small companies.

 

[DJade]

Only very small companies.

NOOOOOOOO!

 

[Andante cantabile]

I must say that i am not quite satisfied by the comments on this mouthpiece. OP says that he or she bought it secondhand, and it definitely looks worn. However, if you look carefully at the pictures provided by the seller as per OP's satement, they are of a new or nearly mouthpiece. (My two Vandorens certainly look very much like that). I magnified the pictures as far as I could, and there is no sign of that weird incision on them.

Who knows how many owners this mouthpiece has had? And on what basis should we assume that the original buyer would not have noticed the blemish or would have accepted is as par for the course? There is in fact no evidence (though there is always the possibility) that the incision occurred in the Vandoren factory, and the aspersions made against it in this thread are unfair.

It seems to me that OP had bad luck with his or her supplier on this occasion, and his/her last post may well indicate a realisation that this happened.