MFHorn683

Fellow trumpet players:

I have heard along the way (and come to subscribe to the mentality) that one should play the smallest mouthpiece they can handle while maintaining the sound quality they desire. Seems simple enough, right? Well, I was doing some experimentation yesterday, sort of. I play regularly at an amusement park with the instrumentation of two trumpets, alto sax, trombone, tuba and various marching percussion. In this setting, I go for a pretty bright, what I'd like to call "commercial" sound. Ideally I retain the same overtones from my classical and lead sounds in this commercial style, as to blend with the darker sounding trombone and tuba, while being able to match the brightness of the other trumpet and the sax.

Yesterday we were reading down some charts and I was playing my "classical mouthpiece", a Curry 5BC. I had been playing a Warburton 5M with a 7* backbore for everything and decided that I just didn't get the gerth to my sound that is necessary for a classical sound. I've been using the Warburton for lead for the past couple years and liked the projection and power I was getting (note the past tense, haha!). When I was getting up to B and high C on my Curry, my sound just opened up and I was getting this really fat, lead sound that I didn't know I was capable of producing! Lots of overtones, tones of body and lots of presense.

I need to do some more experimenting with this, but I'm beginning to wonder if in classical, you play the smallest mouthpiece you can handle, while mainting the sound quality you desire and for lead/commercial, you play the BIGGEST mouthpiece you can handle while maintaining the RANGE you require! I'm kinda grasping at straws here, but I definitely liked the quality of sound I was getting. I'm in no way saying I would play a 5BC on a lead gig, I'd kill myself on the 3rd tune! But, I definitely think I need to go bigger on my lead piece. I'm looking into the Curry 5XS and 5Z. These are HARD to come by online, I'd like to buy one used... If anyone out there has one to sell, let me know!

Let me know what everyone thinks!

Manny Laureano

If you do a search you'll find this has been discussed at some length. I go from the glass half full side of things and believe for classical players you play the biggest mouthpiece that complements your endurance and upper as well as low register.

ML

Mikey

I'm in agreement with Manny here, but it took some trial and error (and some fracked notes on gigs) for me to figure this out.

Realize of course that everyone is different. I sound my best when I am playing a rim diameter ranging from a 1C on the large end to a 3C on the small end. I've been doing a lot of lead playing the past few years, so I have downsized to a Reeves 43 or Warburton 4 rim. (Very close to a 3C inner diameter). I still get "my" sound, but find endurance to be helped by playing a slightly smaller rim. However, I have tried at length to play rims in the 7C to 10 1/2C range (various makes: Reeves 41, Warburton 5 and 6).......In all cases, my sound got small and tiny, no matter how long I kept the piece on my face. I equate rim diameter to shoe size. I wear a size 10. I can wear a 9, but they get tight and then my feet hurt. I can also wear an 11 or 12, but they are too loose and I end up falling down a lot.....
I have a sound that I am known for, both for classical and commercial playing. When I stray from that sound, people start asking questions. As far as a "commercial" type sound, I still prefer the wide, fat, projecting "wall" of sound, like so many players get or used to get (Doc, John Audino, Snooky, Gozzo, etc).........

But that's just me and my preference.

TrentAustin

Contact Mark and let him know your thoughts. He's the best in the biz and we'll hook you up. He's really helping me transition to lexan rims and I'm sure he'll answer your questions.

Tell him I said hi! ;)

I personally try to play the smallest piece I can get away with while still retaining my fullest sound possible. (Curry 3.M).

Best,

T

MFHorn683

Thanks for the input guys! I've kind of made up my mind for the time being, as far as this topic is concerned, but I enjoy hearing other's thoughts. Keep them coming!


Still looking for a Curry 5Z! Anyone.... Anyone.... Bueler.......

klipschfan4life

I get all of my curry mouthpieces from Dillonmusic.com

They just got a big shipment in this weekend and I think they have just about every size in stock. Check them out and I'm sure you can find a 5Z there.

P.S. I wouldn't go with the Curry XS cups.....there are extremely shallow and hard to control.....for me anyway. I would go with the Curry Z or Star cup.

nsu_tpt

I have a 5z that I might be willing to sell. Let me know if you're interested.

MFHorn683

Is it a 5Z, or a 5Z. (yes, with a dot) The rim's are different and I'd be curious to try out a 5Z. Let me know!

rowuk

There is no "rule of thumb" (or face for that matter!). The mouthpiece game is so dependent on outside factors, that at one point of time in your life one thing may be best and a while later something else.

The basic math is that a shallow mouthpiece emphasizes the overtones and "blocks" fundamentals, giving you a "brighter" sound. A deep cup acts as a low-pass filter doing just the opposite. A shallow mouthpiece requires more lip tension to keep the lips from "bottoming out" however.

Mouthpiece rim size determines how much of your lip is actually in the cup producing tone. More lip mass in the cup generally will give you more "body" to the tone.
The throat and backbore of the mouthpiece influence both intonation and playing resistance. They are critically related to one another and just drilling out the throat yourself does reduce playing resistance but will generally make the intonation "slots" sloppier-making it easier to bend out of tune notes, but not solving the problem (mostly creating even bigger problems). A big throat does not have to sacrifice slots OR intonation if the backbore is a good match. Selecting a mouthpiece that is NOT extremely "free blowing" often aids your ability to play long phrases.

Another factor is the gap between the end of the mouthpiece and the beginning of the leadpipe. That is something that also does affect the overall playability of the mouthpiece/horn and is not always easy to "tune" yourself. Manufacturers like Schilke strived for no gap. Other manufacturers have their own formulas for success. I have personally played mouthpieces designed both ways and if the total mouthpiece concept is sound, they work equally well.

There are disciples of heavy/massive mouthpieces all the way to skeletonized ones. This too is an optimization process that depends on other factors like horn weight for instance. Heavier seems to "project" better all other factors being the same. Better projection means you do not hear yourself as well in sub-optimal playing environments.

There is no correlation between big/thin lips and small/large mouthpieces. There are too many fine examples of all combinations!

Moral of the story:
1) find a rim that is comfortable (preferably from a good mouthpiece company)
2) talk to them and have them make some suggestions. They play with this stuff every day and are closer to predicting success than ANY guesstimate that we could make with our limited chance to fairly compare!
3) buy what they recommend
4) do not attempt to judge a mouthpiece in a music store or practice room. You need to compare them in the environments that you actually play in, preferably with at least one other pair of ears that you trust!

joey

MFHorn683,

I don't know why so many players feel the need to go to extremes. Why must it be 'the smallest' or 'the biggest' you can play?

As someone who does a fair amount of playing in a lot of different styles, I do use different mouthpieces for different jobs. What I'm looking for in each mouthpiece is the right fit.

Think of it like a pair of shoes. I can squeeze into 11 1/2's, and I can certainly walk around in 15's, but I really wear a 13.

It's the same with mouthpieces. Look for the right fit. And, as Rowuk said, there are a lot of variables involved...not just rim and cup size. These are just the most obvious to the feel.

Joey Tartell