Show us your mouthpiece(s)!
Mouthpieces represent our direct connection between flesh and metal. They’re extremely important to getting the right sound for the musical situation, and no two hunks of metal are identical. Show us your mouthpiece collection – I’m sure we’ll all have a thing or two to learn! Why do you use the ones you do?
16 replies
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I've been playing on this Schagerl Apredato Gileno Santana mouthpiece for the last 6 months and I absolutely love it. Prior to that I played on a much smaller Callet Solo mouthpiece for many years but after a lip injury due to swelling and scar tissue I needed to go to a larger diameter piece. I'm interested to hear from other players using Schagerl mouthpieces.
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I played a 1.5C through high school and college at the direction of my teacher. Then switched to a GR67L when my trusty 1.5C "disappeared" during a concert and thought I'd try the newest coolest thing (they were expensive back then, but not the insane pricing they're at now). I played that for a few a while, then recently had some endurance issues to work through. I tried switching back to a 1.5C Megatone, and actually preferred it to the GR67L - I found it easier to play for me, but I was still struggling with making it through a long performance.
I had a Marcinkiewicz 3/5C sitting in my case that I had picked up on someone's recommendation years ago, and decided to give it another go. I prefer the tone I get off the 1.5C still, but with the Marcinkiewicz I can get through my shows again so I've stayed on it. An interesting comparison - the finish on the Marcinkiewicz looks like garbage after 20+ years, while the finish on the GR looks flawless after the same time and more use. I might look for more SS pieces in the future.
Next problem.... I switched horns from a Yamaha 6345S to a Bach LT1901B in June.... and now I'm having intonation problems. Now that I'm through the honeymoon period with that horn I'm finding that to play it in tune I need the tuning slide all the way in, and then I still need to lip it just a little. I can lip it all the way up, but it's obvious I'm not in the harmonic slot of the horn. Part of it is the Yamaha/Bach difference I know and I'm still learning the characteristics of this horn, but at a baseline I'm struggling to tune it.
Rather than get the horn modified or spend more money on yet another horn, I'm on the look for a new piece that might help. I'm told maybe a shallower cup and/or tighter backbore might bring it up a little, though I'm hesitant to go shallower than the 3/5C since it's already affecting my tone. Possibly I've just got a mismatch between hardware, or possibly I'm just a garbage player. Unfortunately I don't live in an area I can just try out mouthpieces, so I'm dragging my feet making a decision on what to order. With my flugel I notice that changing the mouthpiece significantly changes the tuning, so I have hope, though that difference is likely more to do with the couesnon taper than anything else.
On my flugel I play a Stork VF2-FL-C-1S (vacchiano #2 very deep, couesnon taper), and on my cornet I play a Curry 1.5DC (deep cup). The cornet piece is an easy transition for me to double with and I don't perform on the cornet so it's not a huge deal other than being easy to transition. The flugel stork piece is the only mouthpiece I've found that I can get my 1924 couesnon to play in tune (or as in tune as a 100 year old flugel can get anyway), though the tuning slide is all the way in even with it. I also tried a Curry 600 80FLD on my flugel, and it plays so flat that I can't get it in tune.
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For me these days it's a Bob Reeves 42d69, something shallow with about a 3c rim. Helps me cut through playing 2nd in a big band and I find I can get a nice round sound on it doing small group stuff too. I used to play a 3c for everything, and while I love the texture in the low register, it was not the most efficient in a big band setting.
I'm actually in the middle of hunting for something new, since I don't play in big bands as much. -
I am an amateur player who is now in my 40s. I have been playing a Bach 3C forever and could probably use an upgrade. Any advice on how to get started on looking for a better mouthpiece? I figure most people just try out a bunch of different mouthpieces but I don't want to buy a bunch of mouthpieces I won't use. Thanks y'all!
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I've been through a number of mouthpieces but have mainly played my Bb with a NY Bach 10 1/2C cut to fit a Giardinelli 6 rim. Seems to have the sound I wanted with a nice feel and resistance. Been using this one for most of the last 25 yrs.
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My Bach Trumpet 3 and Olds cornet 3 mouthpieces.