Favorite Mouthpieces?

[MikeStew40]

I honestly just love to collect mouthpieces. What are some your favorites? I'm a personal fan of the christian lindberg mouthpieces. I have the 4 CL and it is so comfortable to play on. I also have a King M21 mouthpiece that I liked to play on my olds ambassador in my high school jazz band.

[Crazytrombonist505]

Personally, I’m a big fan of Schilke mouthpieces. I use a Schilke 51 for large tenor and a 59 for bass. They’re very comfortable for me.

[imsevimse]

The Karl Hammond mouthpiece series is very comfortable to play. I have the 14XS, 14S, 13M, 13ML, 13L, 12M, 12ML, 12MXL, 12L, 11M, 11ML, 11L, 19BL, 20BL, 21BXL. I use several of them on different horns. The L is a little to deep for most of my playing. It gives a too dark sound for my liking so they are not used that much but the rest have their place. Besides these I also use a Bach 12E on alto and a Bach 6 3/4C and a Yamaha "Nils Landgren" mouthpiece for different lead playing on small bores, plus a Hammond 12XL on Euphonium. I think I have probably another 100 mouthpieces I don't play.

/Tom

[BGuttman]

I guess I'm an oddball. I hate CL mouthpieces. I like Denis Wicks. I play a 4BL on my symphonic tenor and a 4BS on my medium bore tenor. I have a Doug Elliott bass mouthpiece for my bass and also a Marcinkiewucz GR that I use when I need to be "a little less".

I also have been experimenting with Warburtons. Trying out a 7D with a 4 backbore on small bores.

For Euph I have a Warburton 3B with a 3 backbore that is just wonderful.

[imsevimse]

I guess I'm an oddball. I hate CL mouthpieces. I like Denis Wicks. I play a 4BL on my symphonic tenor and a 4BS on my medium bore tenor. I have a Doug Elliott bass mouthpiece for my bass and also a Marcinkiewucz GR that I use when I need to be "a little less".

I also have been experimenting with Warburtons. Trying out a 7D with a 4 backbore on small bores.

For Euph I have a Warburton 3B with a 3 backbore that is just wonderful.

I have two CL-mouthpieces, one for large tenor and one for alto. They do not resonate well with me. I played on a Denis Wick 6BL when I studied music at college. That mouthpiece was terrible and held me back unfortunately. I did not experiment so much back in college. My teacher sold me that Wick mouthpiece and I just held on to it because he said so. That was wrong. Today I use a couple of Heritage Wick mouthpieces with my tuba's. I like them. I also have several Marcinkiewich 11 C-ish signature series mouthpieces. They are all great

/Tom

[Kingfan]

Doug Elliott combo for my small bore tenor tailored to me by Doug. Gold Bach Megatone 5g for my .547. Got the gold megatone only because the tbone instructor at an adult band camp I attended years ago sold it to me cheap!

[MikeStew40]

I really wish I had the funds to try out all of you guy’s favorites. I’ve wanted a Wicks for so so long and I’m kinda interested in saving for a giddings mouthpiece. I did just get in on an auction for a lot of 18 vintage mouthpieces. I hope I find some nice ones in there. Tbh when looking at my next mouthpiece to try, a big factor is how cool it looks.

[Basbasun]

Well, I curently use mostly Laskey, 50m and 54md on small tenor 57 or 58 on large tenor 85MD or 90D on bass. Right now I dont remember the tuba piece... on sackbut several a couple hand made by a Swede , Svedberg.

Other pieces I like is Marcincowitch GR Hamilton 20 BL, my first bass mpc Was a Holton 1 1/2G, it really worked. Long gone. 48 years ago.

[dukesboneman]

All my small bores (16MG, 12, Lt12G, 2B+SS & 36 ) I use Mount Vernon Bach 7C`s
Large Bore 42BO - DE 98/F/F8 / on my 36 I also use a DE98/E/E
Bass - Yamaha 59

[Matt K]

Elliott XT104N (Lexan)/XTE/Whatever shank you need --- there's very little that you can't play with that setup, especially if it's a rim size that works for you. Ironically, I actually don't own that exact configuration at the moment!

[MTbassbone]

I also like Doug's mouthpieces. I play XT 105N (Lexan), F+ and G cups, G8 shank on tenor and LB 113MW (Lexan), J and K cups, J9 and K8.5 shanks on bass. I find the Lexan to be really comfortable.

[ronnies]

Wick 2AL for bass that I've had since about 1980. I also have a Schilke 58 but rarely use it, the 2AL seems to work fine.

I've only just acquired an older Bach 42 straight tenor so am in the process of choosing between the Bach 6.5AL that came with it, my trusty old (1979) Wick 4AL and a (new) Wick 5BS with an adapter. I also have a 'no name' 51 L that would need replated before I could really use it.

Ronnie

[ghmerrill]

I also like Doug's mouthpieces. I play XT 105N (Lexan), F+ and G cups, G8 shank on tenor and LB 113MW (Lexan), J and K cups, J9 and K8.5 shanks on bass. I find the Lexan to be really comfortable.

Interesting. My primary bass mouthpiece is a DE 110 Lexan rim on a LB K/K9 setup. But recently I've been trying out my MB 108 Lexan rim/J/J8 for the 2nd parts I have to play fairly frequently when these hang primarily in the high range. ... And thinking of maybe going up to a 112 on the K setup.

I agree about the Lexan. Just love 'em, and have one one (106) on my Euph J setup.

Other than that, among all the things I've tried, I've also really liked the Stork BT 1.5 Heavy (std. backbore). I measure it as a bit smaller in all dimensions than my DE 110/K/K9 piece, but it performs very well and produces a very nice sound on the horn.

[MTbassbone]

I've also really liked the Stork BT 1.5 Heavy (std. backbore).

I played a Stork 1.5S for almost 7 years before switching to various DE combos. Another "smaller" one that I have liked is the Griego 2 in the New York blank. I don't play on either of these anymore because I need a bit more room for the extreme lower register. I could do it on the Stork, but I would have to really contort my face to get it to work.

[bassbone]

I use Greg Black for Tenor and Bass

I played his 1G about 10 years ago and while I really liked it, I decided at the time it was a bit too much for me. From there I played Laskey 93D, Hammond 20 for a year or so each. Found an original Minick L that I loved and played that for about 5 years. Once Greg started offering his 1G with #2 backbore and .312 throat (basically rim and cup of his 1G with throat and backbore of a 1.5G or 2G) without having to go the custom route I bought one and have loved it. Much more manageable for me, and I've played that for about 2 years now.

On tenor, I play a NY 3.5 which I also like quite a bit

[ghmerrill]

I don't play on either of these anymore because I need a bit more room for the extreme lower register. I could do it on the Stork, but I would have to really contort my face to get it to work.

Yeah, for me it's a matter of trade-offs -- in general facility in the high register on the bass vs. facility in the low register. A good player could do it all just fine on one mouthpiece, but I can't devote the time and effort to getting there. So I try for a reasonable balance based on the stuff I normally have to play. If I didn't have to deal with a lot of community band arrangements that don't even have 3rd parts, I would go with one piece. Even so, I still use my larger DE most of the time.

[BassBoneWadie99]

Personal favourites?

Well, I don't have a favourite per say but based on experience, I've found Schilke 59 and 60 pieces to play better for me on bass. I will be honest that I'm not too keen on Bach and Yamaha pieces since the rims don't feel that great for me. I always found wider rims to fit better for me personally and found "narrower' rims very iffy and felt small in comparison.

Although, Greg Black and Wedge has been peaking my interests lately. With Wedge's Giannini 1G-S59, S59, 3G, 2G, 1.5G, 1G, and their recent Morandini 1C piece. With Greg Black, their 1G #2 .312, 1.5G, 2G, 1 3/8G, 3G, NY series, and their custom 1 5/16G that has been circulating around recently. I could see myself using one of them in the near future and they seem to have me sold.

[blast]

The one that keeps out of the way and lets me do what I do.

Chris

[LoremIpsum]

I use classic Denis Wick 4 mouthpieces. Most of my playing is on a 4AL, although I have a 4BL for when I need a bit more projection and a 4BS for my medium bore. They are just about similar enough in feel for me to switch from the AL without losing too much performance. In an ideal world I would try to find a complementary smaller mouthpiece, but I feel that I do not play enough music to be able to manage two distinctly different mouthpieces.

[hurry]

I like Doug Elliot mpc. The rim fits my lips.
DE101F8, F4

Hammond also fits my jazz horn like Rath R10
Hammond 13S, 13M

[Bach5G]

Bach5G.

[Matt K]

Bach5G.

Handle name checks out

[Cush]

The one that keeps out of the way and lets me do what I do.

Chris

Well put (provided it is in my satchel when I show up to perform, ).

Of late I have been enjoying a Pickett 6M with a 6C rim for work with large bore and bass bones - and a Laskey 43 with small and medium bore horns.

[MikeStew40]

Where’s the best place to buy them?? I know most people have probably been gathering for awhile but it sounds like people have sunk thousands of dollars into mouthpieces. Is there a cheap place I just haven’t heard of?

[Matt K]

Where’s the best place to buy them?? I know most people have probably been gathering for awhile but it sounds like people have sunk thousands of dollars into mouthpieces. Is there a cheap place I just haven’t heard of?

Yeaaahh, about that

[MikeStew40]

Yeaaahh, about that

Oh boy

[Matt K]

As long as my wife never sees this thread, I'll be okay

[MikeStew40]

As long as my wife never sees this thread, I'll be okay

Omg I’ve hardly got any and my girlfriend already gets on my case

[imsevimse]

Where’s the best place to buy them?? I know most people have probably been gathering for awhile but it sounds like people have sunk thousands of dollars into mouthpieces. Is there a cheap place I just haven’t heard of?

I got most of them for free since each came with a new trombone.

As long as my wife never sees this thread, I'll be okay

Omg I’ve hardly got any and my girlfriend already gets on my case

Before you get a girlfriend be sure you already have started your collection of trombones. If you only own one and get one more the difference is 2:1 which means the chance she will notice is 100%. If you already own 100 and you get another one the chance she notice is 101:100. You will then get away with it. The chance she notice is less than 1%. Even less if she does not even care. Believe me you have to make up plans to be a successful collector. Choose a wife who doesn't care.

/Tom

[Pre59]

I’ve hardly got any and my girlfriend already gets on my case

Try asking her how much those new high heels cost..

[MikeStew40]

That’s all too funny

[JohnL]

Try asking her how much those new high heels cost..

That could backfire in so many ways.

[Pre59]

Try asking her how much those new high heels cost..

That could backfire in so many ways.

This is a tbn forum, so I won't push it. But older members may see what I'm getting at.

[sacfxdx]

She may tell you that she used the money that she made selling some old used brass tubing that she found. Some of it was flared.

[StevenC]

Where’s the best place to buy them?? I know most people have probably been gathering for awhile but it sounds like people have sunk thousands of dollars into mouthpieces. Is there a cheap place I just haven’t heard of?

I have bought mouthpieces from Hickey's and Dillon's. They have good selection, service and prices. I only buy and use one mouthpiece at a time. For me it's Wick 4ABL for tenor and Schilke 58 for bass.

[BGuttman]

Where’s the best place to buy them?? I know most people have probably been gathering for awhile but it sounds like people have sunk thousands of dollars into mouthpieces. Is there a cheap place I just haven’t heard of?

Classified Ads here and on Trombone.org. Ebay. Borrow from friends (just remember to return them!).

Woodwind and Brasswind, Music 123, Musician's Friend, etc. often have generous return policies and you may only get hit for a restocking charge, but they won't have the more exotic types. For that matter, Faxx makes good copies of popular sized mouthpieces at very low prices.

[Pre59]

My favourite (at the moment) is a Faxx 6.5AL. I've owned it for quite a while but never gave it a serious tryout. There's stories about the Faxx m/p's being based on samples sent by Bach to Germany with a view to some being made there for the european market.
I do know that my Faxx is nothing like any V/B 6.5 that I've owned in the '80's, which had quite rounded rims.
I think that it's possible to have a m/p that in some ways ticks all the boxes, range, tone, stamina etc, but sometimes a piece has a kind of magic in how it helps you to play. The Faxx doesn't extend my apple range at all, but it does seem to help support it a little.
Also it has a kind of musical "ping", that I remember from a 11C back in the day.

40$ from Hickeys BTW.

[sirisobhakya]

Yamaha Douglas Yeo Replica for my bass, upsized from Yamaha 59 just 4 months ago. I am impressed that it has more brilliance than the 59 despite larger, deeper cup and very large throat.

But for cheating high notes I sometimes use a second-hand Bach 3G. I can't believe I got it for only $30 plus shipping.

[bimmerman]

NY 7C for small bore stuff, once upon a time.

Nowadays, DE XT102 with C+, D, or F+ cups and the appropriate shank size for the slide bore.

[tbathras]

I’ve landed on a ‘piece that I never would have picked out myself. At the last Shires factory day Pickett did mouthpiece fittings. I told them to not tell me what they were having me try so I’d have as little bias as possible. There was one very clear winner from what I tried out; everyone in the room agreed hands down and that was corroborated a week later when the music director at a rehearsal came up to me after and complimented on my sound, he could tell something had changed for the better even just when he happend to hear me do my warmups.

And what was the piece you ask? A Pickett 1C-1D. It’s huge! But my sound is still focused and clear, but also big and warm when I want it, or zingy and snappy. I’m floored. High range needs more TLC, but I’m more than happy with that trade off.

[ebrenner]

Upon returning to playing after 30 years, I experimented with dozens of mouthpieces until I discovered Doug's pieces. They work best for me. (Doug, I apologize for not buying more directly from you!) I currently have 8 different cup sizes, various matching shanks, and 7 different rims, 6 of which are Lexan. Once you get used to playing on Doug's Lexan rims, it is difficult to return to metal. The only one I have that still gets occasional use is a small shank Remington that I bought almost 50 years ago when I was in high school.

[AndrewMeronek]

IMHO I have 3 series of mouthpieces that I consider to be the best:

Doug Elliot's stuff.
Denis Wick Heritage series. Not the standard line - the ones with extremely thin rims.
Wedges.

[walldaja]

Been using Dave Harrison's Wedge mpc since 08. Love them for trumpet and flug. Use a one piece 5G large shank for my Bb/F but only have a Getzen 6.5 AL for my "new" Getzen 351 small shank. Dave has a generous return / trial policy. I notice he is charging in USD now instead of Canadian. I also have Delrin models for outside in the cold gigs.

[mrdeacon]

I love Doug's stuff! I've been using his pieces on small bore, large bore, euph and bass for years. His lexan rims are still the most comfortable thing I've played!

XT106 D setup for small bore, XT106 F setup for large bore and euph, and LB114 K setup for bass.

Currently I'm going through a bit of a quarter life crisis with my Minick and I realized I need something in the 1 1/2G size, so I'm moving away from my Elliott for bass. Currently my favorite mouthpiece with my Minick is a Getzen 1 1/2G... yeah I don't understand it either but it seriously plays well in my horn.

I'm hoping to get a Bob Reeves Mr.Bass and see how that works! Maybe I'll get around to picking up one of Doug's SB series... but for now I think I'm going to try Reeves since it's more traditional and my horn seems to want something more traditional.

[hyperbolica]

I have 5 or 6 Doug Elliot mouthpieces. Most of them are XT104 G-C, but I also have a Euph108 J for small bass playing.

The DE just feels good on the face, and I pretty much match the cup and shank to the horn I'm playing. I have all silver narrow rims except one lexan. I use the same rims with all the XTs. I didn't believe it at first, but the same rim works on everything from my .485 24h to my .547 88h. It really simplifies changing horns. I've been playing this combination for 3 years, and will probably keep playing it unless something happens to my chops, or someone shows me a miracle mouthpiece. I got tired of constantly auditioning mouthpieces to find that goldilocks size for each horn.

Doug is also easy to do business with, and is a great teacher in addition.

[MikeStew40]

I’m relatively new around here and I’ve heard a lot about the Doug Elliot mouthpieces and some people even talk like that know him. Is he a member here that makes mouthpieces??

[Bassbonechandler]

I’m relatively new around here and I’ve heard a lot about the Doug Elliot mouthpieces and some people even talk like that know him. Is he a member here that makes mouthpieces??

Yes. He has his own website for his mouthpieces. Lots and lots of options.

[BGuttman]

Doug is a member here (and a Moderator). He makes a line of mouthpieces where you can interchange rims, cups, and shanks. They aren't cheap, but if you need something that is custom it's the best game in town. Disclaimer: I play a Doug Elliott system on my bass trombone. And, yes, I've met him in person.

Doug studied embouchures under Reinhardt and is an expert. He has a knack to look at your face and decide what size is best. Surprisingly, he may not even sell his own mouthpiece if there is a more common size that works.

That said, good as Doug's mouthpieces are they are no substitute for a good teacher and diligent priactice. You can't buy virtuosity.

[imsevimse]

There are other makers who make good mouthpieces too. Karl Hammond is a very skilled maker, a real artist who has a whole set of mouthpieces he sells from his site. It is not the same concept with switchable cups and one rim instead these mouthpieces are in one piece but all have very comfortable rims and for a player like me who can play different rims they are fantastic. He also makes mouthpieces on special orders. I have orderd mouthpieces with Remington tapers to fit old Conn trombones. They are expensive but very good and work much better than Denis Wick or Bach mouthpieces in comparison.

/Tom

[Doug Elliott]

I’m relatively new around here and I’ve heard a lot about the Doug Elliot mouthpieces and some people even talk like that know him. Is he a member here that makes mouthpieces??

Yes I'm here, and yes a lot of people here know me, in fact quite a few have taken lessons with me either in person or by Skype. I'm a freelancer in the DC area, mostly jazz but I do everything and play alto trombone too. Former member of the Airmen of Note, immediately after the Dave Steinmeyer era.