TromboneChat

I don't know of any mouthpieces using a single taper, most are various shapes.
Everything "makes a difference."
And reamers do not always cut consistently, so there are always some variations.
It's not simple.

Im surprised this 1.5 size bass trombone mouthpiece discussion is still going on. And all the discussions about gear? Conn, Bach, Shires, Jim Bao, Rath etc. Once I told that every gear can work, and different gear can give the same result depending on the player. Holy grail? There is no Holy grail gear out there but there might be some "holy grail" musicians out there. And its not interesting what gear they play. The only interesting thing is how they make music. Music is in the the end the interesting thing or the "holy grail!

Leif

Doug Elliott wrote: ↑Sat May 16, 2020 4:06 pm I don't know of any mouthpieces using a single taper, most are various shapes.
Everything "makes a difference."
And reamers do not always cut consistently, so there are always some variations.
It's not simple.

Doug, are you talking about backbores, or shank tapers?

Savio wrote: ↑Sat Jun 06, 2020 7:57 pm ... And all the discussions about gear? And its not interesting what gear they play. The only interesting thing is how they make music. Music is in the the end the interesting thing or the "holy grail!
Leif

Different strokes.

Backbores

What's the chance we talk about throat size with such precision and meaning because it's just about the only measurement on a piece one can confidently make? You know, the guy at night looking for his wallet under the streetlight because it's the only place he can see?

You know, these threads get too involved in the finite parts. The first time Van Haney drilled out my 11/2 g, it was not this meticulous. He gave the mouthpiece to a guy that he had work on his mouthpieces, he the drilled it out, Van looked at at it and said, here you go. Not too much thought about the finite parts. He used a pencil to test the opening. There you go. Not scientific and not over-thought.

Fridge

baileyman wrote: ↑Sun Jun 07, 2020 5:15 am What's the chance we talk about throat size with such precision and meaning because it's just about the only measurement on a piece one can confidently make? You know, the guy at night looking for his wallet under the streetlight because it's the only place he can see?

Fridge wrote: ↑Sun Jun 07, 2020 9:12 am You know, these threads get too involved in the finite parts. The first time Van Haney drilled out my 11/2 g, it was not this meticulous. He gave the mouthpiece to a guy that he had work on his mouthpieces, he the drilled it out, Van looked at at it and said, here you go. Not too much thought about the finite parts. He used a pencil to test the opening. There you go. Not scientific and not over-thought.

Fridge

I guess it's all about your perspective. Back in the dark ages (1970's) I gave my mouthpiece to my dad who took it to the machine shop where he worked. Somebody put a drill through it and that was that.

Fast forward to today and I have 42 years of repair experience the last 30 of which I did a lot of custom modification. So I know the importance of easing/softening all sharp edges in the airstream because they cause unwanted turbulence. So I do the drilling in a lathe and ease as many of the edges and tool marks as I can.

Like I said, two different perspectives, separated by 50 years.

I choose to do things with very high precision, but in all seriousness, the beauty of Bach's designs was that precision almost didn't matter. In spite of huge variation, they all played from pretty well to outstanding. There are still (other) mouthpieces being made with huge variation in tolerances, but not so successfully.

Nice to see one great mouthpiece maker pay tribute to another. Doug is right, the old Bachs range from good to outstanding, but no two are the same, so if you get sucked in, the search for 'the' mouthpiece could take forever ...and at current prices, break the bank too.
That said, a really fine old Bach piece can still astonish me after more than 50 years of trying them. Searching for that great Bach will be considered my most an indulgence or even vanity and it probably is... . but it's hard to stop once started.

Chris