| Ok, really quick because I'm a bit limited on time:
I have been fiddling this morning trying to figure out which mouthpiece I am going to try to use with this trumpet - never before have I played a horn where the whole tone color and character changes so dramatically with the change of a mouthpiece. Also this is one of the few horns that I have played where it seems like every mouthpiece focuses as it should. With my Bach, I always had to consider the gap between the mouthpiece and receiver, but it seems like there really isn't an issue with this one - maybe I'm still in the honeymoon phase with this horn. Time will tell.
Sadly, the old 14A4a that I have been playing for years is probably going to be retired. The combination of the tightness of the B6 with the tight backbore of the 14A4a is just a bit much, at least for now.
For legit work, the Stork Vacchiano 3C is going to be more than adequate - for a trumpet that is supposedly designed to be bright/brilliant, I have no troubles achieving a dark round sound with this mouthpiece.
For rock band, at the moment it seems to be a tossup between the Schilke 14A4 that I got yesterday and the Holbert custom mouthpiece. Both have their advantages but it seems like the Holbert custom is overall a better match - for now. It is a little darker than the 14A4 but they both seem to respond and play about the same - the biggest difference is in the sound. They both offer plenty of sizzle without being too edgy, but the Holbert seems to have a bigger core of sound. It requires just a tad bit more work when playing in the G - third ledger E range, but the payoff is a thicker sound - for now.
I keep saying "for now" because something that I have noticed this morning is that this trumpet requires much less work to play than my Bach, and I keep finding myself pushing the horn, probably much harder than I need to. Over the next week or so I am going to work on backing off a bit and letting this horn do some of the work for me - something that I am confident it WILL do. As I get used to not pushing so danged hard, I may find that the mouthpieces that I like today won't be the same as the mouthpieces that I like in a month.
Whatever direction that I go, I will wind up with two primary mouthpieces. This has been my practice for a long time. I have one mouthpiece for legit, one mouthpiece for rock band, and once I settle on what I feel works the best, that will most likely be what I stick with for a long while.
One last comment that I would like to make is that this horn is much more "on" than my Bach. My best description of this is that with the Bach, when I hit a note, there is always some play as to where the pitch is, thus making it a little loosey goosey. This Schilke slots tighter than the Bach, but it doesn't impinge flexibility at all, which is a little surprising - overall, I would say that intonation is better too.
More later!
__________________ Patrick Gleason
email me at: trickg1@hotmail.com
"What we do in life echoes in eternity"
"At my signal, unleash hell."
- Maximus Decimus Meridius |