Bach Vs. Curry

3861 · Regular Member Joined: 21 Apr 2023 Posts: 31

Can you explain to me where the Curry 3C is. and 3M are better than modern Bach 3C? I found the Bach 3C superior in every way.
Perhaps the bad reputation of Bach mouthpieces dies hard, but ultimately they are working very well. I have tried 4 new 3C mouthpieces in the last 3 months and they are all exactly the same and sound great.
I bought a Curry 3C.: easy to play, good support, I prefer it more pronounced, but the sound is bleh. I just threw the 3M away.

MisterBighorn · Regular Member Joined: 31 Oct 2022 Posts: 18

We all have unique tastes. I prefer the Schilke 14B. Some people dislike the 14B. I don't need people to like what I like. If the Bach works for you, play it.

Dale Proctor · Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2023 3:29 pm Post subject:

I played an old Bach 3C for many years, and while it played well, the sound was too bright for my tastes, I tried a Curry 3C. and played a show on it the day I received it. It was still familiar, but better for me - nicer tone, and easier on the lip, too. Obviously, I haven’t played a new Bach 3C, so they may be better than the old one I had, or at least better for you than the Curry 3C. Different strokes for different folks.
_________________
"Brass bands are all very well in their place - outdoors and several miles away ." - Sir Thomas Beecham

Vin DiBona · Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2023 4:18 pm Post subject:

I have a Bach 3C from the mid-80s. It plays beautifully.
Back then, I was strong and had great endurance so of course, I had a 23 or 22(I don't remember the exact number) throat put in it.
It still plays great, but at my age, I can't fill it like I used to. I have 4 modern ones and while they are very good, they aren't like the 80s one.

As Bud Herseth said, you play Bach for its sound. No other mouthpiece sounds quite like a great Bach, but they aren't always the easiest to play

R. Tomasek

stuartissimo · Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2023 9:15 pm Post subject:

Better is a very subjective term when it comes to mouthpieces. For modern mouthpieces made by professional manufacturers, it basically comes down to personal preference. Both sell quality products, both are popular and there’s really no reason why you should favor one over the other besides what you feel plays best.
_________________
1975 Olds Recording trumpet
1997 Getzen 700SP trumpet
1955 Olds Super cornet
1939 Buescher 280 flugelhorn
AR Resonance mouthpieces

jadickson · Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2023 2:16 am Post subject:

They are just different, not better or worse. The Curry is objectively "better" in terms of build quality: Mark is more careful and concerned with quality than Bach (I have toured the Bach factory... lawd...)

Curry 3C. was created by digitally scanning a Mt Vernon era Bach 3C. The 3C design back then was much different than the modern one. Fatter rim, a cup that is slightly deeper and more bowl-shaped, slightly wider cup diameter. Maybe you will like that more than a modern Bach 3C, maybe not.

The blessing and curse of Bach mouthpieces is their inconsistency. They are all a little different, because they are all buffed MANY times, inconsistently, throughout the manufacturing process (again, I toured the factory and saw it myself). My current favorite mouthpiece is a stock Bach 3C... but I tried a dozen and picked that one.

Have fun.
_________________
Justin Dickson
Middle school band director. Still learning.
www.BandmateTuner.com

mafields627 · Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2023 1:55 pm Post subject:

Richard III · Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2023 2:05 pm Post subject:

Louise Finch · Posted: Sun Sep 24, 2023 2:17 am Post subject:

Hi

Or you do what I did. Find one Bach 3C that you really like, and have it scanned. I had mine scanned by Jim New whilst he was still at Kanstul. There were two reasons that I went for this option. The first is that I was also using a Bach 3C on my Bach 184ML cornet at the time, and was struggling to find a cornet Bach 3C that felt like my trumpet Bach 3C. There seemed to be variations between trumpet examples, and variations between cornet examples as there was, but more variation between an average trumpet example and an average cornet example. From memory, this was in the run up to Bach re-tooling their mouthpiece production. I wonder whether they now use same "cherry" cup end for the trumpet and cornet Bach 3C.

Anyway, I did this myself, by having the cup end of mine scanned by Jim New, and modular tops made. I have a fair few of them for all my trumpets and cornets, some in a Bach trumpet mouthpiece blank, some later ones in the James R New mouthpiece blank, and some in a Bach cornet mouthpiece blank. The different blanks sounds different, darker when there is more mass at the bottom of the cup.

In a nutshell, that was my issue with Bach. If you go with Curry, I imagine that you can easily buy a mouthpiece for each of your trumpets, and all will feel the same. I imagine that the rim on his equivalent size cornet mouthpiece would also feel the same, and if you wanted him to make you a 3C for cornet, the cup would be the same as the trumpet one.

With Bach, if it took a dozen to find one you liked in the first place, whatever did you do if you wanted several, then you also want one or more cornet mouthpieces that felt like the first trumpet mouthpiece? Maybe Bach have solved the issue now. Hopefully they have.

I love my 3C. It is a larger variant, apparently larger than a lot of Bach 1 1/2Cs according to one UK tech who has measured it, and has a slightly softer rim than some. Maybe it was buffed a lot, hence the larger diameter. Who knows, only that I know that I really like this one.

All the best

Lou
_________________
Trumpets:
Yamaha 8335 Xeno II
Bach Strad 180ML/37
B&H Oxford
Kanstul F Besson C
Yamaha D and D/Eb
- James R New Custom 3Cs
Flugel:
Bach Strad 183 - Bach 3CFL
Cornets:
Yamaha Neo + Xeno
Bach Strad 184ML
B&H Imperial
- Kanstul Custom 3Cs

jadickson · Posted: Sun Sep 24, 2023 2:32 am Post subject:

Dale Proctor · Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2023 3:17 pm Post subject:

Louise Finch · Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2023 10:20 pm Post subject:

Dale Proctor · Posted: Tue Sep 26, 2023 12:01 pm Post subject:

Louise Finch · Posted: Tue Sep 26, 2023 12:39 pm Post subject:

Dale Proctor · Posted: Tue Sep 26, 2023 12:52 pm Post subject:

iiipopes · Heavyweight Member Joined: 29 Jun 2015 Posts: 540

I have an early Selmer Bach 3C trumpet mouthpiece I no longer play. I have a Bach 3C mouthpiece that is between 10 and 20 years old that has a custom #76 backbore that helps me conserve air and I feel is a better tonal match to my late construction King Super 20 trumpet. Recently I found a Parduba HJ 5* in an old trumpet case that for me is, well, interesting. I can see why HJ used it. It is a little small for me, but when you get the air support focused, Oh, my!

For my two cornets I have several Curry's. For my late '70's 921 Globe Stamp, I have a Curry 3BBC & 3TC which I enjoy greatly. I am coming to prefer Curry's 3 dot rim, which is modeled on a Mt. Vernon 3C specimen. I have a 3BC and 3DC for my Bach CR301H (previously marketed as the King 602), so I have quite a range of mouthpieces that can cover the tonal variations that may be required, as I am coming to prefer holding a cornet rather than a trumpet.

News flash: Yesterday I found online a Parduba 6 1/2 cornet mouthpiece which has been reconditioned, the shank milled from the wider original taper to Bach standard, and replated with a gold top. I'll post more about it when it gets here. If the traces on the current version of the trumpet cloud comparator are anywhere close, the Parduba 6 1/2 rim and the Curry 3BC dot rim are very similar, indeed. I'm looking forward to it to add to the arsenal when I want a brighter tone for a fanfare, paso doble, etc.

I don't really notice much difference in the rims of my Bach 3C, 3C/*76, a Yammy Shew Jazz I have around, which is copied off of one of Bobby's personal 3C mouthpieces but with a tighter backbore, and the Currys, or even a Yamaha 14B4, which is essentially identical in cup and rim to current manufacture 3C. The differences to me are in the cup, throat, and backbore, and the air required to produce the tone each mouthpiece is designed to do.
_________________
King Super 20 Trumpet; Sov 921 Cornet
Bach cornet modded to be a 181L clone
Couesnon Flugelhorn and C trumpet

Louise Finch · Posted: Tue Sep 26, 2023 10:10 pm Post subject:

Louise Finch · Posted: Tue Sep 26, 2023 10:15 pm Post subject:

iiipopes · Heavyweight Member Joined: 29 Jun 2015 Posts: 540

Edit to above. Well, well, well! Blurry pictures in the ad. What I really got was a 1st generation Dick Akright reproduction. Guess what: I like it better! It feels between a 3C and 7D in rim diameter, with the internal edge similar to a Mt Vernon 1 1/2 C. Very comfortable, very efficient in the amount of air it takes. It feels, and my cheap calipers measure, like the published chart and the trumpet cloud comparator. So I guess this post no longer qualifies to discuss Bach v Curry.

I play the Parduba through a Bach CR301H which I have had modified to resemble a 181 (3rd valve stop, etc.). Heh, heh, heh! Now with one instrument I can be more mellow with the Curry 3DC, mid-toned with the Curry 3BC, or play the bright repertoire with the Parduba 6 1/2.

In the meantime, I took my Globe Stamp 921 to a rehearsal on Tuesday with my Curry 3TC and had a lot of fun. In the end, that is what it is all about: having fun playing even if you are getting paid to play.
_________________
King Super 20 Trumpet; Sov 921 Cornet
Bach cornet modded to be a 181L clone
Couesnon Flugelhorn and C trumpet

Louise Finch · Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2023 12:23 am Post subject:

Hi iiipopes

All sounds great!

Thanks very much for sharing.

All the best

Lou
_________________
Trumpets:
Yamaha 8335 Xeno II
Bach Strad 180ML/37
B&H Oxford
Kanstul F Besson C
Yamaha D and D/Eb
- James R New Custom 3Cs
Flugel:
Bach Strad 183 - Bach 3CFL
Cornets:
Yamaha Neo + Xeno
Bach Strad 184ML
B&H Imperial
- Kanstul Custom 3Cs