Gold plated mouthpieces

T-Money · Regular Member Joined: 01 Jun 2014 Posts: 49

How does it feel to play them, I read it felt slippery would it be possible to get over it?

Schilkeshaker · Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 12:44 am Post subject:

Buy one and try it!

brassjunky · Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 1:06 am Post subject:

warmer and a bit more slippery than silver.
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Dayton · Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 3:04 am Post subject:

The feel is not radically different; just a bit more slippery. I found that it only took an hour or two of playing in order to get comfortable with that. Also, you might find that it helps to start with a warm mouthpiece the first few times you play a gold-plated mouthpiece. (Run the mouthpiece under warm -- not hot! --water or put it in your pocket for a few minutes before you play.) Good luck!

Craig Swartz · Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 4:58 am Post subject:

I've used gold plated ever since Ren threw in a GP 15 with my first Schilke trumpet back in 1969. I do, however, use silver plated on Eb and pic. I don't feel any difference in the amount of, or lack of friction. Tone quality, either.

zaferis · Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 5:16 am Post subject:

I actually prefer gold plated.. the feel difference is slight - warmer and smoother feeling... feels to me like it stays cleaner while I'm playing, less build up of yuch on the surface of the mouthpiece.

As far as any difference in sound - no
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Brad361 · Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 6:13 am Post subject:

trumpaholic · Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 6:39 am Post subject:

One other option is the stainless steel and titanium mouthpieces made by Giddings & Webster. Just excellent playing mouthpieces and feel so smooth on the chops.
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lbegnaud · Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2014 7:30 am Post subject: Gold plated mouthpieces

It's difficult to discern if the feel of the gold rim on my lips is different than with a silver rim because the gold mouthpieces I've used play better than previous silver mouthpieces, and is probably due to slight differences in the cup and shank/backbore. That said, the two gold mouthpieces I've used, Monette B6S1 and Austin Winds 665MS-27 play better (for me) compared to the Bach 3C I've used.
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trpthrld · Heavyweight Member Joined: 09 Mar 2007 Posts: 4806

wealy · New Member Joined: 20 Feb 2006 Posts: 5 Location: Austin

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VetPsychWars · Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2014 10:30 am Post subject:

I'd been playing a gold-plated piece for some years but then got the silver Al Cass reissue 1-28. I polished that one as best I could with some polish that is mildly abrasive and got it super-smooth and shiny...

and I couldn't tell any difference between that and gold plated.

I'm guessing that the extra buffing a piece gets before gold plating, at least from Charlie Melk, who does the prep work before sending a piece out, is the big difference. A lot of silver-plated pieces are pretty rough, comparatively speaking.

So instead of paying the extra $80 for thick gold plate and being without the mouthpiece for weeks, I said the heck with it. Sure, gold is pretty, but once the silver is sufficiently polished, I can't tell the difference, therefore I don't much care.

Tom
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Autigermania · Regular Member Joined: 11 Mar 2009 Posts: 29

I agree with the slightly more slippery feeling, and the warmth of sound. It really amazes me the change in sound that can be achieved by just changing the plating on a mouthpiece. So, a complete gold plated instrument really can sound mello. Just my 2 cents.
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RussellDDixon · Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 6:40 am Post subject:

Looks like http://www.goldchops.com/32.html ... is a good business to use for gold plating your pieces.

I play a gold plated Monette piece and aside from the fact that Dave spits on them and rubs them all over his cat before shipping .... it feels great. Plus, it looks perty in my gold trumpet (brass)
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HERMOKIWI · Heavyweight Member Joined: 24 Dec 2008 Posts: 2581

To me there's no difference in the feel or in the tonal qualities of a mouthpiece that's silver plated compared to the same mouthpiece that's gold plated. The coefficient of friction and the coefficient of sliding friction are virtually identical for the two metals.

Although some people report they can feel a difference the science would tend to support the conclusion that any such difference relates to the relative smoothness/roughness of the surface of the underlying material to which the plating is applied. This assumes two otherwise identical mouthpiece rims are being compared (same width, same contour, etc.).

That being said, if you think something helps you play better then there are advantages to using that something. To paraphrase Yogi Berra, "Trumpet playing is 90% mental. The other half is physical."
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pfeifela · Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 8:14 am Post subject:

I can't tell the difference between MP finishes. And I'm not sure I could even tell the difference between finishes on the same model of horn. I think differences between the horns themselves (even identical models) would loom larger than the finish. I've always wanted to see a legit blindfolded test done on both these issues of finish. Wouldn't it be interesting?
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ewetho · Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 8:20 am Post subject:

At first a really clean and polished MP in either gold or silver is no different. However after paying a while some of the saliva ends up drying on the MP and that is when Silver seems to be get sticker that gold. So for me the gold remains more consistent in its feel over a long concert.

Sound??? Not a big change here unless you count the more relaxed feel after playing a while and not getting locked up. YMMV....
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bddanie · Regular Member Joined: 23 Sep 2014 Posts: 38

But does it really make a difference? Is it worth paying the extra $$$ for the gold?
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John Mohan · Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 8:50 am Post subject: Re: Gold plated mouthpieces

VetPsychWars · Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 11:12 am Post subject: