Boring mouthpiece

loweredsixth · Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2019 11:03 am Post subject: Boring mouthpiece

Hey all. I just wanted to share a recent development with my mouthpiece choices. I've been playing trumpet for 34 years. I would consider myself a "jazz soloist" (i.e. solo chair in big band and small group stuff).

From 5th grade through high school, I didn't think much about mouthpieces at all. I played some version of a 7C during those years.

In college (1992) there was definitely a belief among many of the players that larger diameter/deeper cup was better. I guess it was a kind of macho thing. So, I gradually progressed in that direction until I was regularly playing a Warburton 2XD (or D, I can't remember) by year three. The funny thing is that my trumpet professor, the amazing cornetist/trumpeter Ritchie Clendenin, who I greatly admire plays on at Bach 7BW (deeper cup for cornet)(or Warburton equivalent).

Anyway, I stuck with large mouthpieces for a long time. In hindsight I was working waaaay to hard just to keep up with other musicians. I've gone through Bach 1C, 1-1/4C, 2, 2C, Stork 2B, Monette B1-1, etc. I really enjoyed telling (really bragging) other trumpet players what I was playing on. I'm embarrassed by that now because in reality nobody cares what equipment you play on.

At age 44, I've come to find great success and comfort going back to 5-7 sized pieces. I recently lost 30 pounds, and really noticed a difference in rim profile preferences. I've always used narrow width rims, but now they are uncomfortable. Well, I've been playing on a regular, off-the-shelf Yamaha 13C4 and it's just great. A younger me would have considered something like this size a boring mouthpiece...nothing to brag about. But, now I just want functionality, and the 13C4 is wonderful.
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epoustoufle · Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2019 9:30 am Post subject:

That's a great story! Sounds familiar too... except I started on a 1.5C no-name so not much room to grow. Bunch of years later, wide diameters and sharp rims, I'm secretly tootling on a beat up old Schilke 14. Boring as hell

Brassnose · Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2019 11:44 am Post subject:

I can relate to that ... the Klier mp in my signature is not "an identical mp like I used to play", it is THE actual mp I started on trumpet in 1980. It came with my Blessing Scholastic trumpet and after a safari of ca. 20 years and ca. 5-6 other mps I recently returned to my good ol' Klier and it works just fine (actually much better than others with a much higher price tag).
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2019 Martin Schmidt eXcellence
1992 Bach 43GH/43
1989 Kühnl & Hoyer Model 15 flugel
1980/2023 Custom Blessing Scholastic C 😎
1977 Conn 6B
1951 Buescher 400 Lightweight
AR Resonance, Frate, Klier

Ed Kennedy · Heavyweight Member Joined: 15 Jan 2005 Posts: 3187

Ed Kennedy · Heavyweight Member Joined: 15 Jan 2005 Posts: 3187

And I thought this was going to be about "boring" out throats and backbores.

iiipopes · Heavyweight Member Joined: 29 Jun 2015 Posts: 555

Yes, I also play a "boring" mouthpiece: Bach 3C, since the late '70's when I was in high school, the same mouthpiece until recently. The only difference is that a few years ago I purchased a custom 3C with the slightly smaller #76 backbore to help me with my breath support. The only "boring" I did on it was to slightly loosen the throat a thou or two to the Curry-spec "wobbly #27," which has helped balance everything very well for my playing.
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King Super 20 Trumpet; Sov 921 Cornet
Bach cornet modded to be a 181L clone
Couesnon Flugelhorn and C trumpet