Marcinkiewicz Mouthpieces

groovinhigher · Posted: Sat Dec 28, 2002 4:59 pm Post subject:

Joe is without a doubt one of the most talented and knowledgeble guys to make mouthpieces. I have to share that over the last twenty years, anytime I ever thought I would check out the "latest" or "newest" thing, I have always stayed on my Marcinkiewicz! The feel and the incredible tone, ease of playing, I personally have never found anything even close. Joe is playing a lot more again these days, and sounding great.

Check out his site:

http://home.teleport.com/~mmpco/tptcat/trumpet.htm

Thanks Joe!

_________________
Rich Wetzel
Trumpet Artist / Band Leader / Holton - Leblanc Clinician
"Rich Wetzel's Groovin Higher Jazz Orchestra"
http://www.richwetzel.com
http://www.groovinhigher.com

[ This Message was edited by: groovinhigher on 2002-12-28 20:00 ]

B6L · Posted: Sun Jan 12, 2003 6:33 am Post subject:

Rich,
Which Marcinkiewicz do you play?

Zaphod · Posted: Sun Jan 12, 2003 9:04 am Post subject:

Yes, these mouthpieces are great!

I spend lots of time and money to find "my" legit or picc mouthpiece, but my Marc. E14.1 "P. Cacia" for lead is never questioned at all. It simply gives me anything one can reasonable demand - and even a bit more!

trptsbaker · Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2003 1:24 pm Post subject:

I must agree, Joe's pieces are unique in sound and feel. You will always get whatever intensity is needed. In addition, his trumpets are really something else. I have a model 3, Vermeer, that just peels the paint off the back wall, the best lead horn I've ever played, but it's a trip to practice on it because it's so intense, I should put a sticker on the case that says "For Performance Only". Sometimes when you practice on a trumpet, what you hear in a practice room or wherever is not what the audience hears of the horn in a hall. Anybody out there ever play one or own one? I'd like to hear some opinions, pro or con. Tom.

groovinhigher · Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2003 5:18 pm Post subject:

booradley5 · Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2003 9:06 am Post subject:

trptsbaker, I too own a model 3, although not the Vermeer model. Mine is an earlier Marcinkeiwicz model 3 with the 5 leadpipe. I agree with you, that thing can peel paint. I try not to practice it at home because my roommate just wants to shoot me whenever I drag that thing out. The first time I played it, I couldn't believe how easy it was to put air through the horn; I can now hit notes on it I only dreamed about before. And the sound is unlike anything else I have ever played, not Bach, not Schilke, but warm, bright, dark, fat, soft, you name it, it seems to do it. I always played on Marcinkiewicz mouthpieces since HS and when I found someone wanting to sell one of his horns I jumped at the chance. Well worth it. I'm sending it to Joe in a few weeks to have a tune up and do some work, so I can't wait for what it will feel like after that. I might just have to get another mouthpiece too. I play an E10 right now, but I'm thinking about an E14...Any suggestions/impressions there on new combinations?

Thanks!

Dustin

trptsbaker · Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2003 12:59 pm Post subject:

Dustin-Yeah I guess mine is not a Vermeer, it's a model 3, as the serial # is 4**. Same as yours. The Shew 1.25 makes a lot of noise on that horn, also check out the E7 and the E19/E7, a shallower version of the E7. You might try playing that horn w/the 3rd valve slide extension, where you empty the water from, pulled out 1/4 inch or so, see what happens. Have fun. Tom.

4Him · Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2003 1:21 pm Post subject:

I bought a Marc. E4 about a year ago and did not make the effort to transition to it from my Schilke lead piece. I sent the Schilke off for plating and out of necessity started using the Marc. I have really come to like it a lot.

Probably most remarkably, it has opened up the lower range while keeping the upper range in place. When the Schilke comes back, it might be hard to switch back!

Ken

[ This Message was edited by: 4Him on 2003-01-21 16:26 ]

booradley5 · Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2003 5:38 pm Post subject:

Tom,

I looks as though our horns are brothers. Mine is SN 493. Mine differs from the Vermeer by not having the brace on the tuning slide. I suppose it was a custom horn by its original owner, so I have no idea its origins; I am the 3rd owner. What do you get from pulling the 3rd slide spit release slide out by a 1/4 inch? Do you play alternate fingerings for 1-2 on 3 to improve intonation? I'll give it a try. I could only think what would happen if I used a smaller cup on the horn... Yikes...that thing would scream! On my E10, I have to admit that the lower register is the purest I have ever heard on any horn I've played: warm, fat, and almost flugel-like. The Marcinkiewicz makes my Yammy and Benge sound like tin foil. Do you notice that it is easy to hit notes in the upper upper register (above about E over the staff), but that they don't slot very well? I can almost lip trill back and forth between double G and B without thinking about it. Not like any other horn I have played. Do you think the smaller cup might help this? I am worried, though, that the lower register might suffer. I probably don't play up there enough to justify it, though. I am not that good.

Dustin

trptsbaker · Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2003 7:53 pm Post subject:

Pulling the third valve slide extension out by "1/4 or so opens up the sound and blow of the horn and darkens the tone. It doesn't seem to affect the intonation, really. The third valve slide is always a resonating chamber, even when that valve is not being used. I learned about this fron Darryl Exity, who was played lead on Jack Morgan's big band. His trumpet was a Bach, that trick works great on Bachs. You can do it to any horn that has a third valve slide extension, did it to a Benge, an Olds Mendez, a Besson Meha, bunch of other horns, and the result is always the same, bigger sound, more open, slots better, etc. The high notes sound fatter, too. But, the horn sounds brighter when the slide is all the way in, so you can pull the extension just for certain passages if you want. Go figure. I would be curious to try that Marcinkiewicz Coppola model trumpet, I'm leaning towards the large-bore horns these days. LOUD IS GOOD. Tom.

Nicholas Dyson · Posted: Mon Jan 27, 2003 4:23 pm Post subject:

I've used Joe's mouthpieces since I was in high school. To the earlier poster wondering about switching from an E10 to an E14..... the E14 is tiny tiny! It'll make your horn sound like an absolute lazer. You and your roommate will come to blows, for sure! I would go in steps....

On the con side, a friend of mine bought a C trumpet from Joe around 1995 that was quite possibly the WORST C trumpet I ever had the misfortune to play. He sold it 4 months after he bought it to a high school kid for $500 because he couldn't ethically take more for such a junker, and being in a smallish town, everyone had heard. The kid ended up running over the thing with his car(completely to his dismay and quite accidentally), but everyone is out of their misery now as far as I'm concerned.

I played one a friend had (I don't know which, but it was the cool shephards crook lookin thing) and it was really nice. Like velvet. Smooth valves, smooth slides and workmanship, smooth sound.
_________________
Nicholas Dyson
Ottawa, Canada

booradley5 · Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2003 7:27 am Post subject:

Nicholas,

I agree with your thoughts on the E14. I had one in High School when I was going through my "I want to be like Maynard" phase. (Then again, do we ever really get out of that phase?) It was really easy to hit piercing double g's with that mouthpiece and combined with my XL bore Benge, well, I can just say that the saxophone section in front of me always made the freshman sit directly in front on me. Ouch. I sold that MP in college, now much to my dismay, when I decided I wanted to be serious. As for your experience with the Marcinkiewicz C horn, I really have no idea why that one was really crappy. Perhaps it got slapped out of alignment somewhere along the line? I think the one you tried out later was one of their Rembrandt horns. There was a Rembrandt C horn up on eBay not too long ago, but it was taken down quick when the guy decided it wasn't such a good idea to get rid of it. The opening bid was for 1,500...even if it had gone to 2,000, it would have been a deal as it was basically brand new and they run about $3,300 from Joe directly. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=16214&item=2501871946&rd=1

Back to mouthpieces, though. I recently did a little experiment comparing my Yammy Bobby Shew to my Marcinkiewicz. Overall, they are comparable horns, lighterweight, smaller bore (the shew being smaller, of course), etc... but when I put on a shallow cup MP onto the Marc. horn, it still holds a fatter tone than does the Yammy, especially in the low register. On the other hand, with a deeper cup, I can't slot worth anything above high D or E on the Marc., but the Yamaha just keeps on slotting (almost) perfectly in tune all the way on up until I turn redfaced and lightheaded. btw- I was comparing a Bach 1 1/2 C to an E10 and a Schilke 14a4a.

Dustin

trickg · Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2003 5:56 pm Post subject:

Is there anyone here that uses a Marcinkiewicz mouthpiece for legit playing? Most of the people that I hear about that play on them use them in a lead capacity.

I've been playing on a #2/7B (originally a plain Model No 2) since 1990, a #3 prior to that. I haven't been playing it as much lately though because my playing requirements demand that I use something smaller. My impression of these mouthpieces is this:

They are easy to play, but for legit, they are a little thin and bright, and although the round rim is veeeerry comfortable, I've never had great endurance while playing them.

Here's a question. The original #2 I have (which I stupidly opened up to a 25 throat from it's original size, now I don't like it) simply said "Model No 2" When I went to replace it, I was told that that particular designator didn't exist any more, but that the "*2/7B" was the same thing. Are they the same? If not, can I still get a "Model No 2"?

Another question. If I play successfully on a *2/7B, what would be a good Marcinkiewicz mouthpiece to go to for lead?

Thanks in advance for any info that you guys pass my way.

_________________
Patrick Gleason

email me at: trickg1@hotmail.com

[ This Message was edited by: trickg on 2003-01-29 20:58 ]

Bob Cross · Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2003 6:25 pm Post subject:

Pat -
I am a lurker here, but I can answer your "*2/7B" question (with my first post).
I recently tested mouthpieces and surprisingly liked and bought a *2/7B. When I checked the
website to learn more, I had the same question you pose.

I phoned Marcinkiewicz and was told that "2" and "*2/7B" are the same - just new tooling putting the stamp on the mp.
The "/7B" is simply an indication that it roughly compares to a Bach 7B. (It felt larger than a "7" to me) The "*" means nothing -
it is a space filler. Their tooling uses two spaces for the model number, and the "*" equates to "0".
Here is a web page which partially expains their system: http://home.teleport.com/~mmpco/mpcat/mpcat67.htm

I am currently trying out some Warburtons that I like even better than the 7B. Once you get the rim you like, you can get the blow you like by changing backbores. Great idea. Interestingly, Warburton uses the "*" designation to
indicate a special backbore. Email me if you are interested in my 7B.
Bob

Bob Cross · Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2003 6:26 pm Post subject:

Pat -
I am a lurker here, but I can answer your "*2/7B" question (with my first post).
I recently tested mouthpieces and surprisingly liked and bought a *2/7B. When I checked the
website to learn more, I had the same question you pose.

I phoned Marcinkiewicz and was told that "2" and "*2/7B" are the same - just new tooling putting the stamp on the mp.
The "/7B" is simply an indication that it roughly compares to a Bach 7B. (It felt larger than a "7" to me) The "*" means nothing -
it is a space filler. Their tooling uses two spaces for the model number, and the "*" equates to "0".
Here is a web page which partially expains their system: http://home.teleport.com/~mmpco/mpcat/mpcat67.htm

I am currently trying out some Warburtons that I like even better than the 7B. Once you get the rim you like, you can get the blow you like by changing backbores. Great idea. Interestingly, Warburton uses the "*" designation to
indicate a special backbore. Email me if you are interested in my 7B.
Bob

trickg · Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2003 6:35 pm Post subject:

Bob, thanks for the reply. I was once "fitted" for a Warburton mouthpiece and never really liked it very much. I didn't really care for the feel of the rim.

As for the No 2/*2/7B, they never really played quite the same (although very close) and there were some slight visual differences. And you are right about it feeling bigger. I think that it is much closer in size to a 2 or 3C than a 7B, but that might just be because of the contour of the cup and rim. I believe that they use more of a "V" cup than do other makers.

It's odd. I've never really felt like it was quite right for me, but at the same time, I've had a hard time finding something that sounds better that feels as good and is as easy to play. Any suggestions anyone?
_________________
Patrick Gleason
- Jupiter 1600i, ACB 3C, Warburton 4SVW/Titmus RT2
- Brasspire Unicorn C
- ACB Doubler

"95% of the average 'weekend warrior's' problems will be solved by an additional 30 minutes of insightful practice." - PLP

SummerSong · Regular Member Joined: 15 May 2002 Posts: 79

Patrick,
I use a Marcinkiewicz mouthpiece for legit playing, but all my work is really as a soloist. I use a stock 14 with a Yamaha Heavywall C trumpet. (Although I'm looking for a lighter weight C now). I played a Marcinkiewicz Rembrandt C464 C shepherd crook Trumpet recently and, while I enjoyed the playing experience, I felt it lacked the projection needed for solo work.
Dave

[ This Message was edited by: SummerSong on 2003-01-30 06:32 ]