MCR-X10 
IDEAL FOR: ORCHESTRA, CHAMBER, SOLO

Inspired by the most prized, vintage mouthpieces of the 1920's, Reserve harnesses modern technology, pioneered by D’Addario, to recreate the incomparable mouthpiece craftsmanship of yesteryear. Milled—not molded—from hard rubber for a higher level of consistency, every Reserve mouthpiece is machined to the strictest tolerances.

About this mouthpiece:
To create the world's first 100% precision-milled, vintage-inspired clarinet mouthpieces, you need three things: a team of the nation's foremost clarinetists and craftsmen, a company dedicated to technological innovation, and the unwavering determination to build something legendary.

The Reserve mouthpieces were developed during a multi-year campaign that required constant problem solving, a single-minded commitment to perfection, and astonishing feats of technology. With every iteration of this incredible product — of which there were over a thousand — the boundaries of modern mouthpiece design and production were constantly pushed and surpassed.

Artistic advisors Mark Nuccio (New York Philharmonic) and Richie Hawley (Professor of Clarinet, Rice University), and Artistic and Technical Advisor Lee Livengood (Utah Symphony) had a singular vision: to create the best vintage-style mouthpiece the world had ever seen, and they challenged themselves and Rico to achieve this goal. The combination of bore, baffle and throat shape must yield a beautiful, harmonically rich sound that remains balanced and even at all volumes. The finest hard rubber must be used — not molded blanks — and it must provide superior sonic qualities and feel. Most importantly, this outstanding mouthpiece, while desired by these artists' colleagues, must be accessible to their students.

As vintage mouthpieces become more expensive and increasingly rare, clarinetists are running out of options for well-made, great-sounding mouthpieces. Reserve mouthpieces are the answer. They give every player access to the inspiring vintage tone they need to sound their best.

The finest proprietary blend of hard rubber

• Reserve X0: Close facing (1.00mm)
• Reserve X5: Medium facing (1.05mm)
• Reserve X10: Medium-open facing (1.10mm)
• Reserve X10E: Medium-short facing (1.11mm)
• Reserve X15E: Medium-open facing (1.18mm)
• Reserve X25E: Long facing (1.25mm)

• Designed and produced in USA
• Zero handwork for maximum consistency
• Produced to aerospace tolerances (within .0005")

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What began as an innocent question—"Could we create the world's best vintage-inspired clarinet mouthpiece?"—rapidly progressed into a project that would attract the most talented clarinetists, craftsmen and engineers from around the country. Preeminent clarinetists including Mark Nuccio and Richie Hawley—with their mastery of the instrument, passion for vintage mouthpieces and experience developing Reserve reeds—were tapped as artistic advisors for the Reserve mouthpiece project. As their innovative ideas, concepts and requirements unfolded, Rico and D'Addario hired dedicated machinists and engineers to turn these ideas into realities. Lee Livengood—who is famous for his artisanal handmade mouthpieces—jumped at the chance to oversee production and help bring this superior new mouthpiece to life. Read more about Mark, Richie and Lee

Reserve mouthpieces are milled, not molded, from solid rubber rods. This is how mouthpieces were made back in the good old days—when vintage mouthpieces were just mouthpieces. Milling from solid rubber affords ultimate control over every aspect of mouthpiece design and ensures the greatest production consistency. Today, most mouthpieces are made from molded blanks, which can produce inconsistent results. The rubber used to produce Reserve mouthpieces is the finest available. At the end of an exhaustive search that took us around the world, we selected a truly wonderful blend—which is now exclusive to Rico—that exceeded our high standards in tonal properties and feel.

With their polished angles and glorious curves, Reserve mouthpieces are simply stunning. But that's only half the story. Inside the Reserve mouthpiece lies an incredibly effective design that provides a perfect centered and soaring tone at all volumes. The bore, baffle and throat shape produce incredible results. This beautifully balanced design produces a centered, velvety sound that never sacrifices tone quality or intonation—from pianissimo to full-blast fortissimo. Reserve mouthpieces are rooted in vintage design but are produced using ultra-modern methods. This blend of old and new allows the Reserve mouthpieces to offer an unparalleled evenness in the tone—a mouthpiece characteristic clarinetists have been chasing since the dawn of the instrument. See the full list of specs

Revolutionary products require revolutionary technology, and Reserve mouthpieces are no exception. CAT scan technology was used to study dozens of vintage mouthpieces and collect all their best characteristics. Master mouthpiece craftsman Lee Livengood played a key role in Reserve production helping Rico's team of engineers refine the design. Thousands of prototypes later, it was distilled to its purest form. On the production line, Rico has established a quality control process that adheres to the strictest aerospace tolerances, the same ones used by NASA. Cutting-edge technology is at the core of the Reserve mouthpieces, and every product made by Rico and D'Addario.

Rico and D'Addario—the world's largest maker of musical instrument accessories—have a lot in common. Both are family businesses, both share the philosophy that musicians deserve the best, and both have insatiable appetites for technological innovation. When Rico joined the D'Addario family in 2004, it was with the promise of making Rico reeds the most consistent reeds available. Today, Rico has the most precise reed production system in the world. Partnering with D'Addario has allowed Rico to inspire countless reed players to fill the world with music which, for both companies, makes it all worth it.

Reserve mouthpieces are available in close (1.00mm), medium (1.05mm) and medium open (1.10mm) facings. Use Reserve reeds for the perfect reed-mouthpiece combination. Reserve reeds are the perfect pairing for Reserve mouthpieces. In fact, many of the artists involved in creating the Reserve mouthpieces also helped design—and now exclusively use—Reserve reeds. Reserve Classic reeds, which feature our most revolutionary cut, are unfiled and feature a narrower blank taper and more gradual tip shape, offering the most precise articulation and flexibility. Available in a variety of strengths, including a special 3.5+ and 4+ strength. Reserve reeds are unfiled and feature a wider blank taper allowing for greater brilliance and spectrum of colors. Available in a variety of strengths.

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