Mouthpieces by Charles Bay Woodwinds

[Airflyte]

Does anyone here have any experience with a Charles Bay mouthpiece?? If so, how was the quality

http://www.charlesbaywoodwinds.com/H1H2Clar.html

[DrBob]

Does anyone here have any experience with a Charles Bay mouthpiece?? If so, how was the quality

http://www.charlesbaywoodwinds.com/H1H2Clar.html

I notice no prices are given...that must mean they\'re fairly expensive... as the Yacht salesman said to the inquiring customer, \"if you have to ask how much, then you can\'t afford it\" (or thereabouts).

[philpedler]

I have experience with them. But my experience is so very old. If Charles is still making mouthpieces after all this time, they have got to be good! They were always famous for having so many variations. There were a bewildering number of options. I would think it would be hard to be sure whether you would like any particular mouthpiece— in these days when you can\'t go to a store and try out a selection of them.

[super20dan]

bay mpcs are the best i have ever played. i have them for Bb -alto and bass as well as alto sax. they were liquidating his estate on ebay and i got amazing deals . you can still pick up the Bb models for 30-50$ on ebay. the bass model is really good.

[DaveLeBlanc]

Last time I played a Bay mouthpiece was a custom-faced piece that was built specifically for a Bay Custom R13. I didn't like all the mods that the clarinet itself had, but the Bay duckbill was one of the most pleasant pieces I've ever played. Of course, since Bay keyed it in for that particular clarinet, of course it's going to be a stunner.

[super20dan]

i have a bay bass neck comming for my leblanc 400. will report on it

[Windsong]

I have 9 brand new untouched Charles Bay blanks for Bb. I purchased them several years ago from his estate.  They are just collecting dust, and ready to be faced.

[super20dan]

i have 4 or 6 unfaced new ones also. the finished ones i have play so well i dont see how the blank ones can measure up unless a true master works on them

[Windsong]

I faced one of them, (I had a box of 10, originally) after taking a short, 4 hour class at The University of North Carolina by a noted re-facer.
I figured I had little to lose.
It plays.  It does not play very well, (because I really still do not know what I am doing, but am decent with symmetry), and, of course, "playable" and "enjoyable" are two entirely different animals.
Interestingly, these were reportedly made by Babbitt for Bay.

[super20dan]

babbit may have made the blanks but the facing work was done by chas bay

[Windsong]

That is my understanding.  Babbitt handled manufacturing, at least on the ones I received.