Different Rims?

[Bryant Jordan]

Hi

Here's something else I've been wondering about.

How many players play different mouthpieces with different rims? I'm talking consistently, pretty much daily, using two different rimmed pieces for the work they do.

I know it's 'best' to have the rim matching on the pieces you actively use, but does anyone know anyone else who uses different rims?

Thanks

[deleted_user_687c31b]

The rim on my 'lead mouthpiece' is slightly smaller than that of my 'classical mouthpiece'. When I bought the mouthpiece it took me a while before I finally decided on a rim size (it was a toss up between equal and 1 size smaller) but in the end I found that the smaller rim worked better for the type of sound I wanted to use the lead piece for.

I don't know if it's just a mental thing though. There've been discussions on whether you should use similar mouthpieces when playing different instruments (for exampe, using a trumpet-like French Horn mouthpiece) to make switching back and forth easier. Some players state that they'd rather have something radically different because it helps them to play the each instrument properly (where the difference actually makes the switch easier for them). Maybe the slightly smaller rim helps me to mentally transition between 'normal' and 'jazz' playing? I cannot tell...all I know is that for me, it works.

On the other hand, my 'flugel-style' mouthpiece has the exact same rim size as my 'classical mouthpiece'. And the rare times that I playing marching, I noticed that a big rim mouthpiece made it easier to keep my instrument on my lips and reduced fatigue...so yeah, I guess my answer would be...it depends?

[HaveTrumpetWillTravel]

I believe it's a large number. It would make a good poll. I've definitely seen folk here who do a larger and smaller rim based on what they need (endurance, range, style, etc.). Someone put up a video where Bobbie Shew moves between mouthpieces (I guess I don't know if they were the same rim). Some folk as a matter of practice switch rims for higher instruments (smaller for piccolo, D/Eb trumpet, etc.). I've also seen folk who play many different mouthpieces just because they enjoy it. If I were conducting the poll I'd ask:
-Who sticks to one rim across everything they play?
-Who spends most of their time on one rim but plays others for fun or for other reasons?
-Who sticks to one rim except for high instruments?
-Who regularly moves between two rims?
-Who regularly moves between a mix of rims?

For me I have mostly played Bb (90% of my time) on a Bach 5 or Monette 4. I have a generic 3 on my flugelhorn and a Monnete 4l for piccolo. I also play some bigger mouthpieces now and again for fun (Wick MMC2, Yamaha 17b4). I also have some mouthpieces that are around a 5 and work fine (Bach 5B or Yamaha 14e for cornet and Bach 5v, Purviance 8b, or Wick 4b on trumpet). I have a Monette 5l mouthpiece for higher range. These are not hard to move between.

I would guess that you'll find both amateurs and professionals who move between mouthpieces, and also people who think it's a bad idea. I'm an amateur and a dabbler, but I thought it was a good question.

[zaferis]

I find using the same rim on all my trumpets helps me maintain consistency, makes it easier to move from one to the other, and lessoning the "learning" curve from one instrument to another.

For me the rim is the match-point between you and the instrument, and have spent a long time searching for the shape that allows my chops to work more efficiently. Finding the same match-point on different sized rims is nearly impossible.

My solution was found with Mark Curry's mouthpieces. One element of his designs is that the rim is consistent within a series (i.e. all 3's) regarless of the depth or shape of the cup.
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[AJCarter]

I feel like I know personally or am aware of many players who use at least two different mouthpieces for most work. Usually it boils down to one MP/rim for larger instruments and auxiliaries, and one for piccolo. Commercial mouthpieces are typically a different animal from say, orchestral or piccolo mouthpieces, so it wouldn't shock me to learn if that was different as well.

I have four different rims that I like: Yamaha 17B4 big horns, a Bach 1X rim on a cornet underpart for... cornet! Yamaha 11A5 for picc, and Warburton 3SV for commercial/lead.

If you play them all frequently enough switching between them isn't an issue. I understand the "one rim to rule them all" philosophy, I just don't always find it to work 100% of the time for everyone.

Do what works for you.
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[wilder]

I have been playing on a BACH 5C MEGATONE for 30yrs. For my lead playing, commercial stuff and Piccolo I down size to a BACH 10 1/2 type diameter (.630). Difficult to do and maintain but I cant make a living just doing one type of music. jw

[Bflatman]

I am completely agnostic about gear.

It makes no difference to me if I play on a yamaha 16e4, a bobby shew jazz, a wick 4b, a yamaha 11e4, a selmer Lew Davis SC18, a noname 7c or one of half a dozen other pieces I play on from time to time that range from a 1.25c size to a 20c size.

Changing from a cushion rim to a cookie cutter or a sharp rim with bite feels quite different at the time of the change but it does not matter after a moment or two.

I shift from deep to shallow, rounded to sharp, large to small, quite easily with no acclimitisation beyond a couple of moments embouchure modification to accommodate the change.

My philosophy is to not stick with gear that suits me which restricts me to one horn and one mouthpiece and forces me to have two dimensional playing, but to change myself to suit my gear which opens my playing up to all gear and allows three dimensional playing.

Three dimensional playing allows me to modify all my instruments to produce the tones I want to generate from bright salsa to deep and rich flugel tones. I can play cornet tones with a trumpet and trumpet tones with a cornet quite easily.

The embouchure makes the tones, the mouthpiece modulates them, and the horn modifies that. I regard all three as the instrument.

There are limits of course and that is why I play on 3 trumpets and 2 cornets and 6 mouthpieces almost daily.

I choose the horn and the mouthpiece pairing that will deliver the tones I need to generate and then change myself to conform to the gear I have chosen for the performance to be able to do it.
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[AndyDavids]

[Seymor B Fudd]