I don't play my clarinet often anymore, but I played throughout high school, college, and even some community bands as an adult. I didn't want to spend too much on a new mouthpiece (but desperately needed one) and I hit the jackpot with the Hite Premiere! It produces a mature, clear, vibrant tone that is easy to play on, but it doesn't sound like a honking beginner clarinetist. I find it perfect for my occasional needs and for the fact that I don't play nearly as well as I used to!

I have bought 2 of these mouth pieces for my son. One he uses on his Yamaha with Rico Plasticoat and a markIII lig for marching band. The other is for his Wood Buffet using Rico Royals and same Lig for concerts and competitions. He said they are twice as good as the originals and has tried several others that were 4 times the cost. He is in 9th grade this year marching first string with the High School Band and won State last year with his 8th grade band and his solo with this mouth piece and his Buffet clarinet. I am a proud and happy parent. The price keeps me smiling and his music keeps me humming. This mouth piece is the Cats MEOW.

A great mouthpiece for the price! An end to the days of "airy" playing resulting from low-end mouthpieces.

One thing that people do is compare student mouthpieces to professional mouthpieces. Although I would not consider the Premier a student mouthpiece because of many qualities that you wouldn't normally find in a student mouthpiece, that's what it is. The premier offers an exceptionally round and warm sound compared to many other student mouthpieces. With the Premier, the right reed, a decent horn, and a correct embouchure, many people would mistake this mouthpiece for another "higher quality" one, as happened to me at auditions. Even for an advanced player, this can help tremendously. The Premier really opened and cleared up my sound. It produces a sound that really resonates and rings. It helps with embouchure development tremendously as well. The Premier works surprisingly well with Vandoren Rue Lepics 3.5+, or to an extent, the Vandoren V12s 3.5. Or if you have a GOOD pack of Reeds Australia strength 4, it works wonders. With a PERFECT reed, the sound you get is just amazing. Overall, I personally don't think there is a better student mouthpiece out there, but that's just me. Many may like other's. It's really hard to find these now, but with a lot of research, you could be doing yourself a favor for very little money.

I bought a Hite mouthpiece after being told by my band director that the mouthpiece that came with my clarinet wasn't adequate for getting a good tone, etc. He suggested I go out and buy a Hite mouthpiece for the price and quality and I did and it served me well for the time being. After about two months, I started taking lessons and at that time, my teacher suggested that I should move up to a higher grade mouthpiece; the Vandoren 5RV Lyre. I'd suggest moving up to a Vandoren 5RV as soon as you were up to a Vandoren size 3 reed, or something equivalent to one.