BamaBoy

Hello, I have been playing trumpet for 5 years now, I play a Strad Standard, and have been using just the regular bach 'C' cup MP's since I started playing, but have recently decided to upgrade to a professional grade mouthpiece but I have no idea where to begin. I will be looking into buying a lead MP and an orchestral type MP with a darker sound. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

cornetguy

first of all talk to your teacher. in order to even give you starting points, need more information what size are you on now etc....

BamaBoy

Oh sorry. Well I'm on a 1c megatone now, and my teacher is a drummer, and I don't take private lessons so he doesn't know what to tell me. I tried asking him already =/. I'm mainly just looking for a brand(s) to look into and stuff like that. Brands that people have been satisfied with and have a good reputation and things of that sort

nplotts1

Well, if you have a lot of pocket change laying around, you could always try Monette Mouthpieces. I have only ever played one and loved it, and I have never heard anything bad about them minus the $200 plus price tag.

Brekelefuw

Don't go to a Monette yet. Build your technique and abilities before investing like that.

There is nothing wrong with Bach mouthpieces. They are great to start on and great to play well into the professional years.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Richard Oliver

Mouthpiece Express : Brass & Woodwind Mouthpieces

Mouthpieces out the yazoo!

tom turner

I'd recommend spending the mouthpiece money on initial lessons with a qualified trumpet teacher.

You can spend thousands of dollars on an endless "mouthpiece safari" (as many call it) and never find a mouthpiece that will solve all the problems and imagined problems.

Your sound will come from yourself ultimately, and no mouthpiece will totally correct for what you put into it. Spend your money right now . . . on yourself, and how YOU create the initial sound, via a qualified private teacher.

T.

Richard Oliver

Kudos to Cornet Guy and Tom. 'Tis so.

"Spend the money on yourself" good reason for the qualified teacher.

Grizzle

Absolutely second and triple that. Mouthpiece hounds are often the not so great players, and the greats--guys like Byron Stripling and Jerry Hey and Charlie Davis--rarely mess with their MP set up. Charlie and Jerry, I'm almost certain, use a 3C Bach MP for most of their playing. If it's good enough for them, it's good enough for a HS player. Find the best teacher in town by auditioning the most recommended ones for 4 lessons each. Which one seems to get the most consistent results with their students? That's where your money should go.

And listen to a lot of great sounding recordings: Maurice Andre, Doc, CSO, German Brass, Freddie Hubbard, Wayne...

uatrmpt

A 1C is a huge mouthpiece and ought to give you as dark of a tone as you need. Especially with the larger throat of the Megatone. The principal trumpet of the Alabama Symphony plays on a 1C and has a huge orchestral sound. That being said, he is 6'6" and about 250-300 lbs and started playing trumpet at age 8 on a 1.5C (I know this because he was my teacher in college). He also plays just about everything on picc on a "small" 1.5C.

I would be willing to bet that you -- like most other people, including me -- don't really need to be on a 1C. Something a bit smaller in size, like a 5C/3C/1.25C, will give your embouchure the support it needs to work on developing your tone. All that being said, don't run out and change just yet.

If you need some names of qualified teachers in Alabama, feel free to PM me.