Matching mouthpiece to a dual bore small shank horn that plays really big?

[none4u]

I'm playing on a very strange frankenhorn right now that has a small shank .500/.525 modified ysl-356 slide with a pulled lead pipe and an 8.5" super light unlacquered bell.

I've been having good results on a bach 5g, but am always trying other pieces.

I saw in another thread somebody talking about how they pick pieces to suit the particular horn they're playing. How do y'all go about doing that? And more specifically how would you do that for a very strange horn where you can't source information from people with specific experience on your horn?

[Burgerbob]

Well, like you said, just keep trying things. What sound concept are you going for? Large tenor? Medium?

I use a Doug Elliot E cup on my .525, could be worth checking out.

[none4u]

My ear tends to most enjoy the large tenor vibe. Huge fat low end, centered boisterous mid range, and silky lyrical highs.

If I was only playing bass or only playing lead it would be so much easier, but in my band I use everything from the low E to the high B flat really regularly. Often in the same song!

I also want to be able to push a red line for the occasional solo which is really where my 5G fails me. The large throat is a real buzz killer when it comes time for a hardcore metal solo.

I selected a horn that can do all of this really well, but have yet to find the piece that is as much of a chameleon, unfortunately.

[none4u]

Maybe I'm looking for more of a medium large tenor vibe.

[hyperbolica]

I tend to use Doug Elliot stuff, probably a C, D or E cup with a 2, 3 or 4 shank on that size horn.

https://soundcloud.com/maydaymarchingband

[none4u]

There's a leadpipe, it's friction fit. I could switch it out if I could find lead pipes with friction fit connections.

[none4u]

Looks like the brassark pipes are friciton fit, what a find. And also what a curse for my wallet

[none4u]

I would caution against listening to our soundcloud. It's pretty bad XD We're a community band so we include members at all skill levels. Some of our members picked up their instruments 6 months ago. But this is our most recent recording:
https://neighborhoodvoices.org/live-mus ... ching-band

[BGuttman]

It's really hard unless someone can listen to you. Doug Elliott could custom fit a setup to do as close to what you are looking for, but at a price. Then again, the cost for a session with Doug and a mouthpiece will be less than 4 mouthpieces that you may not ever use.

If you ask Doug nicely, he may do a quick assessment of you over Skype for free. But a lesson is well worth his fee.

[Doug Elliott]

In my stuff I would say LT 101 or 102 (or another size) with E cup and E4 shank, or F cup and F4 shank.
Those are right around 5GS size

[none4u]

In my stuff I would say LT 101 or 102 (or another size) with E cup and E4 shank, or F cup and F4 shank.
Those are right around 5GS size

So I have a vague understanding of cup depth and how that affects me and I feel really comfortable in something in the size of the 5g. What would you say is the impact of the different back bores between what you make, the 5G and the 5GS? There's so much to consider and I'm really lost in trying to understand how to balance all of it.

[Matt K]

I played on an E/E4 combination on that horn and it worked great for me! The comfort you get is often familiarity with the rim size. Some players also do well on "larger" rims, but with manufacturers like Bach... you tend to get everything bigger when you go bigger on the rim. With Doug's pieces, the 1.01" (which is similar to the Bach 5G rim size) would give you similar familiarity/comfort but be a little more tailored to the instrument. The E cup is a touch shallower than the 5G and the "4" shank is well suited for the dual-bore size. I find that the "E" depth is a really good mix if you want an all-around piece where you have demands similar to what you're looking for.

I also finally got around to having my King 2b+ leadipe finished (I bought only half of the leadpipe by mistake years ago intending to put it in that horn...). I suspect it would play very well with that combination and the King parts are pretty attainable by most techs. It would require one solder point, but should fit okay in that receiver. You might want to consider having your tech solder a small ring at the top like the 354 pipe is currently too.

I also have a 32H on order from Brassark and they say it's done, but it hasn't arrived quite yet. If I make my way up north, I can let you try it. I'm pretty sure I'm going to stick to my 2b+ pipe so I could probably sell it and let you skip the multiple month lead time

[Doug Elliott]

I design my #4 backbores specifically for .525 bores... I test on my 36B.

It's likely that small shank 5G or 5GS are also made with that size horn in mind.

My cup depths are in much smaller increments so you can fine tune to your needs. And fine tune the rim size and shape also. The 5G is supposed to be 1.004" inside, but some are a little smaller and many are bigger, up to 1.02" or so.

The E cup is an excellent compromise between smaller and larger mouthpieces, about halfway between a 6-1/2 and a 5GS. The F is more like the effect of a 5GS.