A letter from Bill Bell (1957)

[Art Hovey]

My father's favorite BBb mouthpiece was made by Fred Geib, whose name is stamped on the side. While studying with Bill Bell in the early 1950s my father noticed that Bell had some Conn Geibs, and after some years he started trying to get Mr. Bell to part with one of them. (Bell didn't like them; he preferred a wider rim.) In 1957 my dad wrote another letter to Mr. Bell, repeating his request in rather succinct form, and finally got this reply:


A larger and more legible PDF image can be downloaded from here:

http://i40.tinypic.com/8ye68w.jpg

[Rick Denney]

That is exceptionally cool. And funny.

Did you ever grow into the Geib?

Rick "who loves stuff like this" Denney

[cjk]

The larger download link doesn't work for me.

"The file you are trying to download is currently not available, please try again in a few minutes. "

[Bill Troiano]

Very cool, Art! I have a letter that Bill Bell wrote to me when I was in 5th grade. I heard his solo album and I was floored!! I wrote to him and a year later, he wrote back to me. I'll look for the letter and post it here!

[Ben]

That is a fun letter, you are even mentioned! Great little piece of history. Do you still have the mouthpiece?

Thank you for sharing!

[Art Hovey]

I did use the Conn Geib during my college years, but never could get any high notes with it. Eventually I started making plastic duplicates and experimenting with the rim shape. (The way my teeth grew, I should have been a piano player.)

A few years ago someone offered me a substantial sum for the Conn Geib, and I accepted the offer. Two interesting things happened a short time later: Stofer and Dillon began selling Geibs, and mine appeared on Ebay, where it sold for a substantial sum.

My father was always opposed to letting anyone copy the Geib or even look at it closely; it was his "secret weapon". But I never saw any reason not to share it. One important feature of Geib's mouthpieces was the streamlined, venturi-like throat. I do not believe that one could ever get a clean, pure sound with one of those silly inserts, with their sharp edges. But a smaller throat shaped correctly definitely does make pianissimo easier.

I do still have his original Geib, which is almost identical to the Conn Geib but with a slightly larger throat. It's not for sale, but you can ask my wife about it someday when I am gone.

The Bill Bell LP arrived (nicely autographed) when I was in 9th grade, and only then did I start to understand what my father had been trying to teach me about sound.

[Alex C]

What a wonderful letter and in Bill Bell's own hand. Thanks for posting it.

[Art Hovey]

I have fixed the link problem; try it again if you like.