My GR experience

[alanjk]

After 10 years of playing I am still very much an amateur student. There are some things that remain a struggle, some days more than most: Not quite getting a note to speak, inconsistency of attacks, landing on the right note but having it sound somewhat out of tune (no, not a slide issue) and of course getting the sound quality that you want. We all know players who just blame their equipment and end up with a drawer full of mouthpieces and closet full of trumpets in their struggle to eliminate their technical issues. I recognize that in my case, some of this is just plain inadequate technique. But, to the degree that I could eliminate equipment as the source of my issues, I wanted to do that. The quest for a different mouthpiece began again.

For me, Bach mouthpieces always hurt way too much after a very short time. Curry was always the most comfortable on my lips and I've been using a Curry for the past 5 years. But I still wasn't getting the sound I wanted and, there were too many struggles.

A professional friend suggested the Bach Artisan 3B. I loved the sound but the bite, not so much. There were others that I tried and they either didn't give me the sound I wanted or were too uncomfortable. I'd read about the GR mouthpiece consultations. Most users seemed to really like their mouthpiece and thought the expense was worth it.

So, this past week I bit the bullet and drove a couple of hours to West Allis, WI to meet with the GR rep there Pierre Allard at Charlie Melk's shop. It may be too soon to judge but so far it was time and money well spent.

Pierre had me do some slurs without my lead pipe first and identified issues with the gap on my current mouthpiece. Some simple etudes followed each requiring tonguing, some slurs and jumping up and down the staff. He was listening for issues with difficulty in each area and most of all consistency. Some mouthpieces caused issues while the same passage was very easy with others. Control was the name of the game. With some, playing felt like riding a horse where you were just trying to hold on tight to stay on. Others felt like riding a beautifully behaved animal. Some of the rapid fatigue I get Pierre says is because I've been working way too hard.

After a bit over an hour I had my mouthpiece. A GR 65MX. It is much easier to control than anything else I've ever played and felt pretty good. I also like its sound.

The mouthpiece got a lot of use today. Much more than usual and I still feel good. Pierre was a pleasure to work with and so far I am impressed with the choice. Time of course will tell and perhaps my current enthusiasm will be tempered with use. I'll let you know. But for now I am optimistic and I think there is one less excuse now for any technical issues..

[VetPsychWars]

Nice!

Play gently for a while and get real feel for it.

Tom
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1950 Buescher Lightweight 400 Trumpet
1949 Buescher 400 Trumpet
1939 Buescher 400 Cornet
GR65M, GR65 Cor #1

[Richard III]

Congratulations. When I used to play GR, I did find that they made everything easier. They are really first rate and the service also top notch.
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Richard

Conn 22B Trumpet
York Eminence Model 4028 Cornet
1903 Conn The Wonder Cornet

[jaysonr]

I'm in the middle of my own GR experience right now, and I can echo everything that has been said. After a long journey, I'm on mouthpieces that match me and my horn, and everything is easier.

Brian and GR are the nicest of people and give service above and beyond what is expected of anyone.

I cannot say enough good things about them, or the mouthpieces.

Also, and this is the most important thing: tell them what you are playing, what you need help with, and listen to their recommendations. Forget everything about what you think you need to be playing, and try what they suggest. You just might be surprised, as I was.

Keep tooting!

J.
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Isaiah 40:8
3 John 2

[MasaKrisT.wc1]

Wow, great feeling! I have same last few days and hope that you will have that feeling all the time

I can relate to you because today I bought GR 63S. On my own to be honest, without consultation with anyone from GR. If anyone from GR sees this, please don't kill me, this is how I felt when trying pieces

I borrowed GR 62 S-Z, GR 63 S-Z and GR 63S and since few hours ago, GR 63S is my new piece!

Safari is on, I was doubting between 63S and 63S-Z (62 was too small for me, especially considering switching from big Chuck Findley E13). GR 63S has brilliant fat tone, a lot of "zing" in higher areas (for me that is d/e over high C, or as we in Croatia call it - d3/e3) and it has a little more room for my lips when I am tired (compared to 63 S-Z) but not deep that they "drop" inside mouthpiece. I would be happy if this is my last pece because it is really comfortable with great projection. I always play only one piece at time and played all on it - commerce, big band, funerals, pop gigs. I have thin upper lip and bigger lower lip. Dunno if I helped anyone with it but there are my 2 cents.
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Yamaha Xeno YTR8335G + GR 63S
Thomann Black Jazz Bb Fluegelhorn + Yamaha Bobby Shew

[Gartex]

Find a Warburton consultant in your area!
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Arthur D. Ferris

[alanjk]

It has been two months and this seems like a good time for the followup I promised. Bottom line: I still really like the mouthpiece but it has been a bumpy road.

Changing mouthpieces is a struggle I have minimized by not doing it much over the time I have been playing. It changes subtle muscle memory things you have learned that now have to be relearned. When I switched to this GR mouthpiece I found my endurance playing anything over the top of the clef dropped preciptously. What had been a problem before got worse. After a couple of weeks with the mouthpiece I contacted Pierre Allard who had done the evaluation. He graciously invited me back for a lesson to see if he could identify the problem.

His diagnosis: I was not playing with a focused stream of air so I was working too hard. That resulted in more pressure which predictably made endurance impossible. A warmup with soft lead-pipe buzzing to pay attention to the airstream was prescribed. Pierre was clearly correct about my air and I think that has helped my tone. But it did not seem to move the needle in my endurance.

Thinking that maybe it was just simple inadequate lip strength I started doing more gentle long tone exercises and then also began exercises with the P.E.T.E. device. Starting less than a week later and now after two weeks with the P.E.T.E. there has been a VERY noticeable difference. My endurance is now better than before the mouthpiece switch and continuing to improve. Control is improving too.

I do the lip pulling excercises but not the "pencil" type exercises with the P.E.T.E. since I have read that the latter tend to just cause stiffness. The exercises are done at the end of the day and only done 4 days/week to allow for recovery. So far that has worked well.

Summary: The mouthpiece is now comfortable at all times and I like the tone. My endurance and control are better than before and improving as I continue to get used to the mouthpiece and do the long tone, lead-pie buzzing and P.E.T.E. strengthening exercises.