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BrassSection
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Location: Central PA
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 Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2023 2:45 pm Post subject: Gold plated mouthpiece |
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Several months ago I had my Dad’s Bach 12SC trombone/baritone mouthpiece replated, opting for gold plating on the rim and cup. I’ve been using that mouthpiece since the 60s and really like it in my trombone. My question is does the difference between gold and silver plating transfer to trumpet mouthpieces? Wondering if I would appreciate the gold on my trumpet as much as I do on the bone, or would it be a wash, or a step backwards?? Anybody with the gold experience I’d welcome your input.
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Low brass player by birth, trumpet player by necessity
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bach_again
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Ronnman
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| Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2023 5:50 pm Post subject: |
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BrassSection - in the last 2 months I purchased two gold plated mouthpieces and have the identical pieces in silver plate. I had also read that the gold plated pieces would be more slippery. After using the mouthpieces and making a comparison, if blindfolded, I could not tell the difference.
FYI - My mouthpieces are Jettone Al Hirt Models A & B, which are fairly shallow and smallish inner diameter. Not sure if this has a impact of the feeling of gold plating. The seller I bought the mouthpieces from, stated he did not perceive a difference with the gold plated pieces either.
Ron
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Martin Committee #2 1954
Leblanc “Al Hirt” Model 1966
Olds Custom Crafted Ultra Sonic 1974
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zaferis
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| Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2023 8:10 am Post subject: |
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Gold is softer, smoother, and warms more quickly than silver. Could I tell the difference blind folded? Maybe, probably not.
There really is no affect to tone, if that was a question. The amount of gold on a trumpet mouthpiece (that has to be silver plated first-gold doesn't bond well to brass) is minute.
There is a subtle difference between 16, 18, or 24 Karat gold. Not only color but durability/longevity.
I have some gold plated some silver, mostly to visually match different instruments. I don't believe there is an affect on playability.
The only negative I think I've ever noticed, is on really hot days, particularly outside, when sweating, the slipperiness of gold is more noticeable.
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GeorgeB
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| Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2023 8:36 am Post subject: |
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I have both silver and gold mp and don't find any difference in how they feel on the chops.
George
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GeorgeB
1960s King Super 20 Silversonic
2016 Manchester Brass Custom
1938-39 Olds Recording
1942 Buescher 400 Bb trumpet
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trickg
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| Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2023 8:58 am Post subject: |
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| bach_again wrote: | I do it because I'm mildly allergic to silver.
It is a little less grippy, but that's about it.
Best,
Mike |
For a bigger mouthpiece where I'm playing classical music, I really like gold plating - the slicker, "softer" feel is always nice.
On the flip side, I once took a mouthpiece I really liked for doing lead stuff - a Schilke 14A4 - and had the rim and cup plated. Oof. It turned out that for that kind of playing, I really needed the extra grip that the silver provided, so I carefully buffed the gold plating off of the parts of the rim where I wanted that grip.
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Patrick Gleason
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"95% of the average 'weekend warrior's' problems will be solved by an additional 30 minutes of insightful practice." - PLP |
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BrassSection
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Location: Central PA
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| Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2023 4:25 pm Post subject: |
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To be fair, the trombone mouthpiece I have was from my Dad’s Army band days in the late 40s and early 50s, and was starting to show its age. Not sure if dad bought it new or used, and how old it really is, but I’ve never enjoyed using that mouthpiece as much as I do now. Tone is the same, but ease of transitioning is greatly improved, and it just feels more comfortable. Pro trumpet buddy hates gold mouthpieces, but one of his buddies hates silver ones. Pro tuba buddy prefers gold over silver, so I’m seeing it may be a personal preference more than anything.
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Dale Proctor
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| Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2023 4:36 pm Post subject: |
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To me, a new silver plated mouthpiece feels about the same as a gold plated one. An older silver plated mouthpiece does feel a bit “sticky” to me when compared to a gold plated one, though.
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jamel_tza
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| Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2023 5:01 am Post subject: |
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Like a lot of the others here, I can’t tell the difference between silver and gold plated mouthpieces.
I have two stork studio master mouthpieces one gold and one silver. I don’t notice any differences between the two. It kind of made me regret getting gold, an expensive experiment.
I will note however, that the gold plated mouthpieces don’t tarnish, which is kind of nice but not a huge deal to me. |
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trickg
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| Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2023 5:33 am Post subject: |
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| jamel_tza wrote: | Like a lot of the others here, I can’t tell the difference between silver and gold plated mouthpieces.
I have two stork studio master mouthpieces one gold and one silver. I don’t notice any differences between the two. It kind of made me regret getting gold, an expensive experiment.
I will note however, that the gold plated mouthpieces don’t tarnish, which is kind of nice but not a huge deal to me. |
The only time I ever truly noticed a difference was for my lead mouthpieces - I didn't realize how much I depended on the grip of the silver. For other playing, there's not much of a difference except that the gold maybe feels a bit more smooth and responsive? Dunno - it has been a long time since I had a gold-plated mouthpiece.
One downside is that gold plating doesn't last long - it's soft enough that it doesn't wear nearly as well as silver plating.
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jamel_tza
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| Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2023 10:44 am Post subject: |
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| trickg wrote: | | jamel_tza wrote: | Like a lot of the others here, I can’t tell the difference between silver and gold plated mouthpieces.
I have two stork studio master mouthpieces one gold and one silver. I don’t notice any differences between the two. It kind of made me regret getting gold, an expensive experiment.
I will note however, that the gold plated mouthpieces don’t tarnish, which is kind of nice but not a huge deal to me. |
The only time I ever truly noticed a difference was for my lead mouthpieces - I didn't realize how much I depended on the grip of the silver. For other playing, there's not much of a difference except that the gold maybe feels a bit more smooth and responsive? Dunno - it has been a long time since I had a gold-plated mouthpiece.
One downside is that gold plating doesn't last long - it's soft enough that it doesn't wear nearly as well as silver plating. |
Your post piqued my curiosity. I did a quick test with 4 mouthpieces I had laying around:
- Kanstul M-B6L P - (copy of a Monette B6L Prana): Silver
- Stork LDS4: Gold
- Yamaha 14E4: Silver
- Monette B6: Gold
I wet the rims of each mouthpiece to simulate what it’s like if I’m playing for a few minutes without taking the horn off my face. After putting each one up to my face what I found was that the order of most sticky to least was as follows:
- Kanstul M-B6L P.
- Monette B6
- Yamaha 14E4
- Stork LDS4
Is this representative of real playing? I’m not so sure myself. |
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