Favorite Mouthpieces?

[fwbassbone]

Well right now it's a Greg Black 1 1/8G .312 #2. With that said I have played just about everything. For many years was only playing 60 size or bigger but several years ago went slightly smaller for a more focused sound and a bit easier to control. When I play small tenor I use a 6 1/2AL that I've had since dirt was invented. For large tenor and Euphonium I have a 1 1/2G that dates from right after they moved to Elkhart.

[TimBrass]

Euphonium: Warburton Demondrae
Medium Bore Tenor: Warburton 7D, 6

[FlightlessDutchman]

I have to say that I thought I wouldn't move for a long time until an old acquaintance (who plays euphonium) said that he'd trialled Kurun & Gilbert and had switched. They have some nice 'in-between' sizes, so for large bore tenor I play 5.5 C. Medium rim, gold plated, intones beautifully across the range. Love it.

[AEK]

Hi to you all,
I used to use Josef Klier Exclusive mpcs when I was at the university.
But last couple of years, I've been using Doug Elliot mpcs, which I think fits for me and also soundwise of course. I play tested lots of different mpcs in the last decade and compared with the DE system was the winner everytime I played. Cheers Doug.

[harrisonreed]

Christan Griego is up in there blowin it up.

Such great mouthpieces

[Slideorama]

Schilke 60.

[Savio]

My favorite is an old Mt Vernon 1 1/2g. I think I have about 30 mouthpieces. Time to sell some of them. They just collect dust. The Mt Vernon has grown in to my face.
Leif

[mrdeacon]

Savio, if you decide to sell the Mount Vernon 2g you have I've got first dibs!

[CornyBone]

I played on Denis Wicks for a hot minute, too top heavy for me, but I know plenty of people who like them. I use a Warburton RS5, which is their artist model mouthpiece for Rick Stout, 5G rim with a deeper than average cup on my large bores. Recently got a gold plated King M31 that I'm in love with for jazzing.

All that being said, I switched to a dual-bore .525-.547 slide on my daily driver, and now I'm falling in love with this Marcinkiewicz 8H-6 1/2AL (small shank) for solo work.

[Savio]

Savio, if you decide to sell the Mount Vernon 2g you have I've got first dibs!

Ooh, that's to late, It's gone, sorry!
Leif

[TromboneMonkey]

The AR Alan Kaplan S piece is a good 25% better than any other piece I've tried, for my needs.

[AndreaAndreoli]

Hello!
Could u please tell me the differences between the 13M and 13ML also Compared to a Bach 6,5AL?
Thanks!

The Karl Hammond mouthpiece series is very comfortable to play. I have the 14XS, 14S, 13M, 13ML, 13L, 12M, 12ML, 12MXL, 12L, 11M, 11ML, 11L, 19BL, 20BL, 21BXL. I use several of them on different horns. The L is a little to deep for most of my playing. It gives a too dark sound for my liking so they are not used that much but the rest have their place. Besides these I also use a Bach 12E on alto and a Bach 6 3/4C and a Yamaha "Nils Landgren" mouthpiece for different lead playing on small bores, plus a Hammond 12XL on Euphonium. I think I have probably another 100 mouthpieces I don't play.

/Tom

[dukesboneman]

On my Bach 42BO I was using a Doug Elliott and liked it. But I decided to go back to the set-up I used in Grad school
and thanks to a couple of forum members I have it.
Gairdinelli Symphony T underpart with a Giardinelli 4 Rim

[Trav1s]

Another Doug Elliot fan here. I was fortunate to catch up with Doug when ITF landed in my backyard in Iowa City. Prior to the DE setup (LT G102/LTD/D4) I had played Schilke 51Bs on .522"/.525" and .547" tenors since the late 80's. I had tried multiple different pieces but the kept coming back to the 51B.)

With my trusty 1969 Conn 79H in hand, I (reluctantly) jumped in and had Doug fit me. After watching and listening to me play, Doug offered several mouthpiece combos (no idea of specs and that did not matter to me) to try. I finally landed on the current combo. The entire experience was an epiphany for me on multiple levels - I noticed the ease of playing, increased predictability of response, and fuller/more colorful tone. This was affirmed by those present during the fitting and those who heard me play previously on the 51B and with the new piece.

[imsevimse]

Hello!
Could u please tell me the differences between the 13M and 13ML also Compared to a Bach 6,5AL?
Thanks!

The Karl Hammond mouthpiece series is very comfortable to play. I have the 14XS, 14S, 13M, 13ML, 13L, 12M, 12ML, 12MXL, 12L, 11M, 11ML, 11L, 19BL, 20BL, 21BXL. I use several of them on different horns. The L is a little to deep for most of my playing. It gives a too dark sound for my liking so they are not used that much but the rest have their place. Besides these I also use a Bach 12E on alto and a Bach 6 3/4C and a Yamaha "Nils Landgren" mouthpiece for different lead playing on small bores, plus a Hammond 12XL on Euphonium. I think I have probably another 100 mouthpieces I don't play.

/Tom

13M is more V shaped than 13ML. 13ML is deeper.Rims are the same.13M gives a clear brilliant sound. The 13ML gives a broader sound

Personally I would choose 13M for lead in a big band or 1:st in a windorchestra or 1st in a Symphony orchestra. I would use a 13ML for louder playing and 2nd parts.
It says their rims are equivalent to Bach 6/Schilke 50.

The rim of an 6 1/2 AL is a tad smaller and it gives me a different feeling on the lips, not as rounded as the Hammond.

Sound is good on all these mouthpieces.

Hope that helps

/Tom

[AndreaAndreoli]

Thank you!

[BrianJohnston]

Bringing this forum back to life, because I think a lot has changed in two years:

Since my time playing my large bore tenor: Yamaha/Hammond are my two favorite brands for such a beautiful sound/feel combination. I also own a Giddings and a Marcinkiewicz that I use for specific playing styles, which are both nice pieces that get the work done.

At some point I played on a Greg Black, and I liked it for the consistency & accuracy, but the sound was always a bit warmer than I liked. Regardless, GBs are great mouthpieces.

- Brian

[bigbandbone]

2 current favorites. For big band jazz I play a Denis Wick Heritage Edition 1AL. For concert band and symphony band I'm on a Denis Wick Heritage Edition 0AL.

[Cotboneman]

Coming up I was strictly a Bach mouthpiece guy, playing a 6 1/2 A (not AL) on my tenors and a 1 1/2 G on my bass. Over the last 30 years I found myself more comfortable with Schilke pieces, if only because I found the rims of the Bach's a little sharp and the more rounded and narrower Schilke rims more comfortable. The Schilke 59 and 53 are my go to mouthpieces now, though I do own a 60 and and also a Griego 1 (which is an excellent mouthpiece).

While I have been idled over the pandemic from my ensembles I have used the time to work on the Ultimate Brass Curran Crusher, which is a cross between the Schilke 60 cup depth with a bigger backbore, and a 59 rim diameter. I think it is a fantastic mouthpiece and I may use it full time on bass trombone once we resume rehearsals.

[Bach5G]

I’ve been alternating between a DE 114 and a Yeo, but this am I popped a Hammond 20BL in. How nice! Sounded and played great!

[CalgaryTbone]

My current mouthpiece is an Ultimate Brass 4.1 that has been Resonance Enhanced. I love this mouthpiece! I'm waiting for a custom alto mpc. that Sun is making for me right now - I prefer to use the same rim when I double on alto. Sun He has joined the elite group of mouthpiece makers like Doug Elliott, Greg Black, Christan Griego, and Scott Laskey. Highly recommended!

Jim Scott

[Bach5G]

Resonance enhanced?

The return of cryo?

[harrisonreed]

Resonance enhanced?

The bad notes are already expended completely before the mouthpiece is shipped. A mouthpiece only has so many of each note it can play before those notes are no longer possible. Only the good notes are left unplayed when shipped. It takes the assistant chimpanzee playtesting technician approximately 10,000 monkey-hours of mouthpiece buzzing to achieve this result. Don't worry -- it's rinsed lightly before final boxing.

[CalgaryTbone]

I wasn't a believer either until I got mine - I had already picked up another of the same size without the treatment. It plays very well too, but the sound and response on the RE version is just better. I played both for some colleagues, and they heard a positive difference too. Several top players are using/endorsing RE versions of his mouthpieces. It won't give you another octave or speed up your Blue Bells however! I have no idea of what he does exactly - it's a proprietary process. Lots of top players from Philly, NYP, Met, SF and Detroit are playing his mouthpieces - a few with their own models. Very good mouthpieces!

[MikeStew40]

Wow! It's amazing to see this post still active 2 years later. Unfortunately in those two years, I've yet to expand my collection.

[yhc]

I use a Bach 5g large shank for the tenor trombone and a Yamaha 59 GP for the bass trombone. I am going to buy a Griego NY 5M for tenor and a 2 NY for the bass. Let you know how it’s goes.
Cheers!!!

[sporto]

Yamaha 45C-GP. King 28

[Nobbi]

My best fit so far is a King 29 mouthpiece with my King 5b ..... followed by a Mount Vernon 6,5A.
The King 29 has such a full rich sound and fit's my really thin lips, even in the higher registers (I have a background of 40 years playing Fluegelhorn with a VB 1,5C) ... I am amazed!

[boneberg]

Always been a Schilke fan... then I discovered Hammond pieces... then Laskey.

Result: Schilke 51 and 51C4 with a Hammond 12 rim, as well as the Hammond 12S to the 12XL for alto, tenor and euph.
Laskey 85MD and Hammond 20BL for bass (Schilke 60 on hand "just in case" and a 59 in the glove compartment of the car).

[Thrawn22]

I have quite the Bach 7 mpc collection going right now.

[mbtrombone]

Right now my favorites are:

1) Hammond 21BXL
2) Schilke 59
3) Schilke Symphony M5.3
4) Hammond 12ML

[Elow]

Just got a zirconium symington 1.5 and it makes my bass feel like a completely different instrument.