TromboneChat

Good day,

What’s the back story on the Beversdorf mouthpiece rim profile as used on the Bach 4GB, 5GB, Schilke 52E2, and perhaps others? I do know who Tom Beversdorf was, but I haven’t found anything on the mouthpiece rim design.

Thanks in advance.

I have a ‘90’s custom Beversdorf that I ordered directly from Schilke. It has a very round rim, about the same thickness as a regular flat rim. It’s not round and wide like a Parduba, for example. I believe it’s a slightly different shape or contour than Schilke’s #1 shape rim, but I’m not sure about that. The model I have has a very different style cup: very funnel-shaped and a somewhat smaller throat than most Schilkes.

I also have Bach 5GB from the ‘90’s. To my untrained eye, it looks Bach (a) rounded off the outer edge of the rim so that it slopes dramatically down, and (b) increased the inside rim diameter. Rather than rounding the inner edge of the rim, it looks like it was simply increased with a very limited slope or curve. It leaves a very sharp inner rim, and a uniquely shaped cup. The bottom of the cup is like most 5G’s, but the top part of the cup is like a funnel, something like this: \ /. It gives a very nice sound—depth and clarity, a nice balance of highs and lows. However, I find it almost unplayable due to the sharpness of the rim.

My mouthpieces may be different than other Beversdorf examples. Bach’s quality control at the time was suspect, and I learned afterwards that Schilke had several different Beversdorf models.

I got a 5GB as my first 5G-sized mouthpiece, without realising it was at all different to a normal 5G. Imagine my surprise when I eventually tried a regular 5G.

If I were to speculate what the design brief was for the 5GB based on my own observations, I would say the narrower and rounded rim of the 5GB help me with flexibility between partials and encourages me to play with less lip pressure (otherwise it becomes unbearably uncomfortable). As Kbiggs says, the difference in rim profile could also create an unusual top section of the cup. It would be great to hear from someone who studied with Tom Beversdorf, especially if they heard anything first hand from him about it.

In any case, whatever the reasons, I like the sound of it, especially on a Bach 42. On my 8h, it can get a bit too bright for my personal tastes. If it were just a bit more comfortable I’d use it a lot more.

Does anyone offer a 5G-sized mouthpiece with a rim profile between 5G and 5GB?

I had one back when I had braces, as it seemed to make it easier to play. I remember the rim being very rounded, and there wasn't much of a rim bite at all.

I’m probably wrong about this, but I believe the 5GB was not made for or designed by Beversdorf. If it was, then it’s a very different rim profile compared to what I have seen in other Beversdorf mpcs., e.g., Schilkes. This is purely speculation, but the 5GB could have been an experiment that Bach decided to include in their standard catalogue.

I did not study with Beversdorf, but did study with one of his students who had a Schilke Beversdorf mpc. His Beversdorf mpc. was very different compared to the one I bought from Schilke.