Lezwoymn

Ok. I was wondering if anyone had any info about these. Do they work and which one to pick. Jazz, symphonic or classical. TY

tatakata

If you want to sound dull go buy one. They are a gimmick IMHO. Yes they will change the tone but not for the better. You would be better off buying a mouthpiece that has the "mass" built in if you are looking for a heavier piece.

ex. Monette

stay away from the mega tone.

Lezwoymn

TY

Brekelefuw

Take what he says with a grain of salt. If it works for you, then it works. Adding mass or removing gaps in certain places can really affect how a trumpet blows. I don't know what specific product you are talking about, but depending on where it goes, it could make a huge change.

Sounding dull is up to the player, not the gear.

tatakata

Bottom line is its going to sound dull. You add a bunch of mass to a mouthpiece that wasn't designed to have that added mass and you are fighting it.

Vulgano Brother

When we start talking about jazz versus symphonic models intensifiers then we may as well talk about the finish on them. The basic idea is to allow less leakage out the shank, and my experience with Mark Curry's first SoundSleeve was one of "wow!" Multiple tonguing was easier and response improved on my horn/mouthpiece set up. Mark's MonsterSleeve does some things I really like on his mouthpiece blanks.

Tone intensifiers do something, and you might like that something, but please remember that some of these products are on the cutting edge of voodoo technology--test and try before you buy, please!

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www.letsbuildhope.org

rowuk

Mass applied to the trumpet, just like to the human body can have dramatic effects depending on how much and where!

Any time we "investigate" such phenomena, we need to try to figure out the obvious and not so obvious. Adding mass to a mouthpiece often makes the "slots" tighter (not good if our horn has an intonation problem...) and makes us think that we have more projection. This is very difficult to objectively measure. What happens in any case, mass damps vibrations - and most likely makes the leadpipe more "inert". This is the most sensitive part of the horn and making it mechanically more stable will for sure change the playing characteristics.

This "geeko" explanation is not really of much help unless we use it to play test.

With your standard setup and in a good sized room with decent acoustics, play several Gs in the staff. Take your time and talk between the notes to get a fresh start each time. Have a friend with an electronic tuner take note of the intonation. Then play several Gs on top of the staff - your friend takes notes, but does not tell you what is going on. Try and play those notes as relaxed as possible. Finally, play several Gs below the staff. Do the same thing with the 3 Cs.
So now we add the "intensifier" and do EXACTLY the same procedure. Try not to pay attention to the sound. You are behind the horn and that does not count at this stage! Now take a look at the intonation notes. It is most likely that the added mass will make the high G and C a few cents lower. If you play tense, that would seem to be an advantage, but we have just applied a bandaid to a problem instead of solving it! We have just created a system "tolerant" of our tension and designed to help us mainain this state! If they are in fact lower in pitch, a slight "lipping up" will make them brighter in sound, but cost more energy when playing.
The next test is lip slurs. Pick some of the most difficult ones out of your standard routine. The best thing here is to record them and then play them back. Listen to the transition between the notes and again the intonation. Generally the added mass will make the transition "cleaner" but highlight intonation issues.
So by now you have probably earned a break. What we have just tested is the acoustical integrity of the solution. An incredible perceived sound or, fantastic slotting is of no help if we have more work "muscling" the horn into tune or need more work to play high! Most of the products that I have tested have brought as many negative traits into the solution as changes perceived to be positive. The human species are masters in self deception.

If your intensifier passed all of the above tests - YOU WIN! congratulations. Post the results and how you objectively got them. Millions of trumpet players are looking for inexpensive tweaks to replace practice time!

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Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

tatakata

ya. What Rowuk said.

Toobz

Yup, that's me ! If only I could find something to replace practicing , I could be the greatest ever !

However, it must be cheap, easy to use and readily available.
After all, I've got a life !

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Conn 10B New Era trumpet
Martin Committee cornet
And lots of other old and smelly stuff !

Patric_Bernard

If you guys are talking about megatones... I dont have a problem with mine. I get an amazing tone out of it.

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