Wedge mps

[rhatheway]

One of the trumpet players in my section showed me her mp the other day. She's using a Wedge mp, which has a rim with a slightly oval shape (in the north to south orientation) and sloping sides (at the west and east points) so that there is a slight wedge shape at the high point (hence the name). She said it's really made a difference for her playing and endurance.

I'd never seen this type of mp before, so I looked it up (https://wedgemouthpiece.com/the-wedge-design/). According to the Wedge website, this design follows the natural shape of the teeth and provides greater playing efficiency by transferring pressure away from the sides of the rim at 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock, so that the chops don't get pinned down, and shifts it to the top and bottom of the rim at 12 and 6, where is does not interfere with how your embouchure works. This gives the comfort of a wide rim, and the improved flexibility of a narrow one.

I'm curious if anyone has used this mp and what their experience with it has been. Is this really a good design and does it do the things it says it does, or is it just a gimmick?
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Richard H
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Working on getting my chops back...

“Without music, life would be a mistake” ― Friedrich Nietzsche

1958 Conn Director 14A
1968 Getzen Eterna Severinsen
1977 Reynolds Medalist CR-58

[JayKosta]

No experience with it, but I wouldn't call it a 'gimmick' - just a design that might work well for players who have difficulty with conventional 'circular' rims due to teeth or lip physiology.

I think that various non-circular rim designs have been around for quite a while (50+ years at least) and they seem to work for some people, but conventional circular rims don't seem to have any inherent flaws for the majority of players.
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Most Important Note ? - the next one !
KNOW (see) what the next note is BEFORE you have to play it.
PLAY the next note 'on time' and 'in rhythm'.
Oh ya, watch the conductor - they set what is 'on time'.

[ldwoods]

Everyone is different. I had a few of them and played pretty regular for several months, but moved on. I am NOT criticizing them or trying to discourage anyone from trying them, but to me they actually worked just the opposite of the claimed advantages. The shape of the mpc ends up putting more pressure on my top lip "pinning it down" more than with a normal mpc, which is the last thing I need. I even goofed around with them rotating them 90deg to get the hi points that are intended to be at 12 & 6 o'clock moved 90deg to 3 & 9.
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Larry Woods
LDWoods

[huntman10]

I had bought a couple of horns from different estates a couple of years ago that came out that type ofmouthpiece. One was an early generation, about a 1 1/4 C, the other a lead cup approximately a Warburton 7S cup and rim with several mid shanks 4 shank tips, and a Warbuton shank that worked well with the horn it came on. As it turned out, the value of the multi part mouthpiece was nearly what I had paid for the lovely CarolBrass trumpet.

The 1 1/4 ish was closer to what I normally play, and the sound was GREAT, and the lead piece really brought out the flash in the CarolBrass trumpet, but as hard as I tried to like them, they did not work with my face shape. I guess I have flat dentition and thick lips.
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huntman10
Collector/Player of Fine (and not so fine) Brass Instruments including
Various Strads, Yammies, Al Hirt Courtois, Schilkes,
Selmer 25, Getzen Eternas, Kanstuls (920 Pic, CG)
Martin Custom Large Bore, Lots Olds!, Conns, etc.

[Andy Cooper]

If you have a problem with mouthpieces cutting into your lip at the 3:00 and 9:00 positions then - yes it's a great idea. You know you need something like this if you are tempted into a mouthpiece safari. You try a new piece - it's great - your high register is the best ever - you've finally found "the one". Then about 3 weeks later the high register locks down again and you are back where you were with your original mouthpiece. Repeat the cycle - continuous loop. The correct Wedge would probably fix that.

Here is another way to resolve the issue

BACH 2-1/2C vs. NEILL SANDERS 17DA

It's called an "inverse lay" - high point much closer to the outside of the rim than most mouthpieces. So the pressure is transferred mainly to the top and bottom of the mouthpiece. The Sanders mouthpiece is now custom only - the only thing stock that is close is the G&W David Hickman. Maybe the Rod Franks a little.

If it ain't broke - don't fix it - but if is is broken , something like the wedge or the Sanders makes all of the difference.

[Shark01]

I have been a Wedge only player for about the last 5 years, and probably own about 20 of them.

Simply put, they deliver what they promise. Not saying they are for everyone, but they are worth everyone on safari trying. And there is a money back guarantee.

The best thing Wedge has got going for them is Dr Dave (a real MD) himself, the founder of the company. You can book free consultations with him on the website. Just be prepared to learn stuff.

[Divitt Trumpets]

I've been playing them for 15 or 16 years now. Total game changer for me.
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[longtermparking]

Tried them and generally had a good experience. They "worked" right away for me. The design is definitely not just a gimmick. Much of what they say about it giving you the advantages of a bigger piece on a smaller diameter felt pretty legit to me - may still look into one for piccolo use because of that. While I didn't really see the big endurance results they tout, I did find that recovery time was better; if I overdid it one day with the Wedge, I wasn't having to do so much careful warm-up to fix things the next.

They sounded good, responded well, and have a pretty sensible/complete line of options to cover most playing situations I can imagine. The return policy is excellent which makes them a pretty safe thing to check out if you're curious.

Ultimately I moved away for a couple of reasons. I didn't love the actual contour of the rim, a tad too much bite for me even with the pressure re-distributed. Also, most of what I was after was better endurance, so not getting that made it hard to justify getting a full set to cover all my needs, even though the pieces worked fairly well for me generally.

[Robert P]

Only way to know is to try one. Not a fit for me but clearly not a gimmick since some players really like them.
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Getzen Eterna Severinsen
King Silver Flair
Besson 1000
Bundy
Chinese C

Getzen Eterna Bb/A piccolo
Chinese Rotary Bb/A piccolo

Chinese Flugel

[patdublc]

Wedge player since 2007 so obviously I'm a fan. The best advice given here was to book a consultation with Dave. His excellent return policy minimizes your financial risk.
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Pat Shaner
Play Wedge Mouthpieces by Dr. Dave exclusively.
Experiment with LOTS of horn makes and models.