Mouthpiece for Small Bore Tenor

[brownmmhs]

just wondering, i'm new and have spent a year with a 12C on Small Bore Tenor. Is it better for me to move to the Bach 7C or the Bach 6.5 AL? What's better long term?

[BGuttman]

just wondering, i'm new and have spent a year with a 12C on Small Bore Tenor. Is it better for me to move to the Bach 7C or the Bach 6.5 AL? What's better long term?

This probably belongs in its own topic since the original thread was about a mouthpiece for a bass trombone.

That said, some players only use a 12C and are fine with it. Even some big pros. Some of us want a larger mouthpiece. Generally you change mouthpieces on the advice of a teacher or because something is not working with your current setup.

Both of the mouthpieces you listed are acceptable mouthpieces for some people on a small bore tenor. Neither is intrinsically better. One may work better for you; or neither. You will need to try them with an open mind. One thing you will find: going to a larger mouthpiece will make the upper register more difficult to play, but on the other hand will make the lower register sound better. If you are finding you need to play in the bass staff a lot, the 7C or 6.5AL may make sense. If you are generally playing above the bass staff, you may prefer to stick with the 12C. Hope this helps.

[skaskaster]

It depends what are you are playing. For me it is more comfortable to play Bach 12c on small bore, when I play 1st chair in big band, because there a lots of high notes including and even above.
When I play in horn combo in other bands (tombone-trumpet-1 or 2 saxes) I find the 7ish size mouthpieces are more suitable for this kind of job. But never 6 1/2 - every time I try this size on my small bore I can't get a good note above with that bite/attack/punchy dynamics like a have on a smaller mouthpiece. I find 6 1/2 worked better on my .525 Getzen 725 when I had it.
So I think give a try to 7 size mouthpiece, they say you can buy a cheap Faxx one that is a copy of old Bach Mt Vernon pieces.

[Kingfan]

What the best mouthpiece for you depends on three things - you, the mouthpiece, and the horn. I was using a 12, went to a 7C and 6 1/2 AL, and still felt restricted, like the horn was backing up on me. On recommendation of a chat member named Doug Elliott, I tried a Bach 5 size. My high range improved going to the larger mouthpiece - I didn't have to work as hard. However, that is not the results most people get. What I'm trying to say is that nobody can tell you what mouthpiece works best for you and your particular trombone unless they have seen and heard you play.