Extreme example of adding weight to a mouthpiece

[Franco]

Not a particularly realistic example but it lines up with what I've experienced trying out heavier mouthpieces in the past (not as heavy as this obviously).

[Burgerbob]

Very interesting!

[Tbone00]

Are these characteristic similar in a Heavy bell vs a Lightweight bell?

[Basbasun]

Wow! How would work on a tuba mpc?

[BGuttman]

Wow! How would work on a tuba mpc?

You'd need an overhead hoist just to hold the mouthpiece

[trombonedemon]

Deadening sound oscillation by adding weight is like doing push-ups with your embouchure, could incite extra movements in the muscles on the face just to slot well....

[harrisonreed]

It's nothing like that monstrosity, but I use a heavier mouthpiece and there is nothing wrong with heavyish mouthpieces. It's just like adding weight anywhere else on the horn. A super light bell might will be complimented by a heavier mouthpiece. And they sure do play loud

[Aznguyy]

Wow! How would work on a tuba mpc?

Look up R&S Tuba mouthpieces.

[brassmedic]

The gigatone just sounds dead to me. Traditional mp sounds much better.

[harrisonreed]

https://iymcorp.com/maximus-tuba-mouthpiece/

[afugate]

https://iymcorp.com/maximus-tuba-mouthpiece/

--Andy in OKC

[SwissTbone]

Looks pretty normal to me, no?

[AndrewMeronek]

Is that a practical joke? The mouthpiece audio comparisons (what I bothered to listen to) have no discernable difference beyond normal variance between recording takes.

[BGuttman]

I've mentioned this before. I used to add mass to the shank of my mouthpiece (sort of a home brew Sound Sleeve). It did nothing to or for my upper range, but seemed to make the lower trigger notes "speak" better. I used this setup, a steel bearing end, for several years until I had a catastrophic accident with my Yamaha 682G trombone and while it was getting a bell transplant I had to use a King 5B. The 5B was incompatible with my bearing end so I had to stop using it. Guess what? My upper register was still unchanged, and the solidity in the lower register was now still there. I think the sleeve changed how I blew for the better.

[MBurner]

Like Bruce above mentioned, I successfully added weight to a mouthpiece of mine to darken the sound. I’m a bright player, and used a nut on the shank of my mouthpiece to add mass and darken the sound. Cheap hack for a poor freelancer, at the time! I think it’s similar to when players added duct tape on their bells to suppress higher overtones. It worked for me- my “nut of destiny” has a permanent place on my mouthpiece shelf.

[CalgaryTbone]

Is that a practical joke? The mouthpiece audio comparisons (what I bothered to listen to) have no discernable difference beyond normal variance between recording takes.

I listened to the whole thing, and I heard a huge difference between the two samples. Although I preferred the normal Bach-style blank, it was interesting to hear what all of that weight did to the sound. I played medium weight Greg Black mouthpieces for many years, and the extra weight (MUCH more subtle) added more core to the lower range and a solid feel, but perhaps lessened the flexibility and some of the good brilliance that you want in the upper range that you would get in his regular weight pieces. Both were really good mouthpieces, and you would choose which you used based on what you were looking for as a baseline in your playing - the player has to work a little harder to produce the other qualities. Some players use different blanks for different types of playing (orchestral vs. chamber music) and others just choose one that fits their general sound concept and their playing-characteristic needs the most, and work to change the sound color and response when they play different genres.

This guy in the video is a good player who is definitely an equipment geek. He does a lot of videos about different horns and mouthpieces. I've seen a few of the others, and while it's not everyone's cup of tea, it is informative. I doubt any really serious orchestral player would actually use anything that extreme as a "daily driver", but it is a good illustration of what the weight of the blank does. If it's done in a more subtle way, it can be good in some circumstances and in the hands of the right player.

Jim Scott

[Burgerbob]

Is that a practical joke? The mouthpiece audio comparisons (what I bothered to listen to) have no discernable difference beyond normal variance between recording takes.

There's a pretty massive difference, listening on my dac/amp and headphones.

[harrisonreed]

Yeah, the projection with the heavy blank from a distance was obvious.

[greenbean]

Wow! How would work on a tuba mpc?

Look up R&S Tuba mouthpieces.

I bought a second-hand Meinl Weston tuba a few days ago and included was an R&S mouthpiece. The heavy one. It plays extremely well! I will try to upload a photo.

[greenbean]

Photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/p2SkE1NpojvoZZM47

[LIBrassCo]

I joke about making stuff like that regularly, and the responce is always, " I bet someone would definitely buy it". I guess its true...