| Alex.... as a general rule (common experience and marketing), a shallower cup "can" lend itself to an easier higher range (not necessarily more than what you can already play...just perhaps more efficient)... However, you are YOU! Many people (myself included) have some lip engagement in the cup. You don't have to be a Mr Left Arm, pressure guy...to have some lip naturally in the cup. The reverse...you can be loosey goosey, yet still be someone who's lips get in the cup.
SOOOO... those shallower cups may not be for you. Many can get all the brightness and ease of range needed for a commercial sound with a bit larger cup. Backbore, throat can all help in that area... From what it looks like you do (playing-wise), maybe you are pushing a bit too hard as well. That's something you can adjust...just be conscious of it on the gig. I'll bet you are mic'ed... back off a bit and you'll still get the job done, but perhaps without killing yourself early on. It will re-balance the pressure vs air support and you will probably do better.
Back to your mpc... I don't know the throat and backbore characteristics of what you are using...but perhaps you check into a slightly larger cup with maybe a more sizzling/tighter backbore (yes, I know you said you felt back pressure..but that may be caused after you've been pushing for that extra sound...). You'll get the aid (for "you") of the slightly larger cup volume but retain or even enhance the sound you are after with the backbore. You can also look into larger throats...but I'd almost advise against that for now. (there are real challenges with this as there is really more to it than just having someone send you a mpc with a bigger hole on their stock configurations. So far...for me...(and I don't use these...only have experimented and worked with others who use them) the Monette line of mpcs have made the best use of a larger throat because of other design features that balance things out). Still, I don't mean to send you down the "larger throat" road (yet..)... as that may cause more problems than it solves. Plus, the Monette pcs are very pricey "experiments". Know what I mean? They can be terrific...but you can experiment much more cheaply.
I'll bet that with a combination of maybe that change in mpc and easing off a bit, you'll come around just fine. Post again to let us know how it's working! |