Curry 8.5VC Cornet: Time to Go Bigger?

ajwan

I wish it were possible to audition mouthpieces; but that is generally inappropriate.

Having said this, after spending a small fortune on mouthpieces over several years, I flip between the Curry 8.5VC and Denis Wick 4B depending on the setting. I find on the Curry, the higher ranges (above the F on the staff) to be more easily achievable than the Denis Wick, and is somewhat brighter at all registers. The Denis Wick is noticeably darker/mellower than the Curry and I feel the Denis Wick is more nimble in faster passages; possibly because Can anyone relate? I can say that the inner rim on the Curry is more to my liking. I think the one on the Denis is a bit too rounded for my tastes. But then it might explain why I'm a bit more nimble on the Denis.

Would it be advantageous for me to move to a larger Curry VC, say, a 5VC (16.7 mm)? It would seem like quite a leap from the 8.5VC (16.23 mm). But maybe I would gain most of the tonality and nimbleness of the Denis Wick, but on a rim that is more comfortable to me?

Also, what would I gain if I moved to a BBC?

Cheers,
Andrew

Besson Sovereign BE928-G2
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Besson Sovereign BE928 (Germany)

JonathanM · Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2020 12:04 pm Post subject:

I have both the 8.5 VC and BBC. I've enjoyed the VC tremendously and only recently picked up the BBC. The BBC has a deeper cup and a larger drill size. I don't see much diff, but I hear it.

As far as going to a larger size, it's my purely personal opinion, but I imagine a larger percentage of part time players use mouthpieces too large for their mouths and their needs. Then they wonder why their range, tone, endurance, and enjoyment suffer. But again, that's my personal opinion.

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Jonathan Milam
Trumpets: 18043B, 18043*, 18043 Sterling Silver +, 18037 SterlingSilver+, Benge 4x, Olds: '34 Symphony, '47 Super, '52 Recording
Flugle: Strad 182
Puje: American Belle
Cornet: Olds Recording & Super

ajwan · Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2020 12:09 pm Post subject:

JonathanM · Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2020 1:32 pm Post subject:

The numbers are tricky; I believe the BBC piece has the bigger size drill, and hole. It's not a huge difference, by my eye it is hard to tell. The cup is shaped differently, too. I'll be home in a few days and will check again.
For me, and we're all different, I've always got kind of a breathy tone out of my vintage cornet piece. I get a fuller, more powerful tone out of the BBC, as I recall.
I'm no pro (that's for sure), but I just did a Youtube review of these two pieces and a few others. If you hit the 'WWW' link under my signature, and check out my last few Youtube vids, you can check the sound out for yourself. With headphones or good speakers, you'll be able to tell the subtle differences better. I don't often play cornet, and it shows in that vid, but it may still give you some idea of sound. You might search Youtube for others demoiing these mouthpieces too.

_________________
Jonathan Milam
Trumpets: 18043B, 18043*, 18043 Sterling Silver +, 18037 SterlingSilver+, Benge 4x, Olds: '34 Symphony, '47 Super, '52 Recording
Flugle: Strad 182
Puje: American Belle
Cornet: Olds Recording & Super

ajwan · Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2020 2:35 pm Post subject:

Amateur's Amateur · Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2020 5:34 pm Post subject:

JonathanM · Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2020 6:22 pm Post subject:

Amateur, the drill size of the VC is an 18, per the Curry site, right? What is the drill size of the BBC?
_________________
Jonathan Milam
Trumpets: 18043B, 18043*, 18043 Sterling Silver +, 18037 SterlingSilver+, Benge 4x, Olds: '34 Symphony, '47 Super, '52 Recording
Flugle: Strad 182
Puje: American Belle
Cornet: Olds Recording & Super

Amateur's Amateur · Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2020 7:13 pm Post subject:

21

ajwan · Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2020 9:27 am Post subject:

GordonH · Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2020 2:50 am Post subject:

I had both of these. I bought them when I was playing on the Horntrader rims exclusively and the 8.5 Curry was similar sized but with less bite. I found the VC was easier to play in the lower register, but I was playing on quite a tight cornet so that might be down to the larger throat size.
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Bb - Scherzer 8218W, Schilke S22, Bach 43, Selmer 19A Balanced
Pic - Weril
Flugel - Courtois 154
Cornet - Geneva Heritage, Conn 28A
Mouthpieces - Monette 1-5 rims and similar.

Licensed Radio Amateur - GM4SVM

Richard III · Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2020 11:26 am Post subject:

I'm going to add a caution to moving to a larger diameter of VC. The alpha angle of the VC rim is higher than the BBC or really most modern mouthpieces. And probably most vintage mouthpieces. I don't know why he did that. It may not matter in the 8.5 range, but I'm betting it will in the larger diameters.

Just so you know, I've had pretty much all Curry mouthpieces from sizes 3 to 8.5 over the years. I can't play on the VC mouthpiece because of the angle. It works for a short time, but my lip intrusion into the cup causes my lips to hit a the angle of the rim and stop vibrating. Only happens on that mouthpiece and others with a higher alpha. I also notice it is worse as I get larger in diameter. I believe that is due to the angle the lips meet the rim when forming a normal embouchure.

I don't like the BBC mouthpiece. To me it always feels stuffy. But then I actually like the Wick no letter. So there you go.
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Richard

King 1130 Flugabone
King 12C mouthpiece

JonathanM · Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2020 5:13 pm Post subject:

Great topic!!

Gordon and Richard both make some good points.

I stand corrected on a point above (and I'm so embarassed, I hoped this thread would slowly fade away...But it hasn't.

).

The Curry VC, and I use the 8.5, with its larger drill size, produces somewhat of a 'breathy' tone. I think Mark actually uses this term at his website. Quite accurate. In a recent Youtube video where I use the VC, a guy asked (just last week), 'Does anyone besides me wonder if that cornet is leaking air somewhere?' Well, I think that's a bit overstated, but anyway.

The BBC has (I believe) a deeper cup, but a smaller drill size for the backbore, so it produces a very nice, robust sound. I've also got his TC and DC. I like the DC (Deep C mouthpiece, I think it stands for) quite well, not so much his TC (which I also had [and didn't care too much for]) in a trumpet piece. But the BBC and VC...Ah, I love them both. The BBC for its robust, full sound and the VC for it's slightly breathier appeal. Between the two, I'm quite impressed. If you hit the WWW logo at the bottom of my area, it'll take you to my Youtube page. I've got a couple videos up; one where I use the VC, BBC, TC, DC and a couple other cornet mouthpieces, it's titled "Five Deep, Dark Cornet Mouthpieces". I think I use at least the BBC and VC in a more recent vid called "Vintage King Super 20 SilverSonic Cornet" as well. Hope this is a help to you. I'm not a great player - but I did sleep in a Holiday Inn Express a few nights ago. (Old joke from a great old commercial, sorry!)
_________________
Jonathan Milam
Trumpets: 18043B, 18043*, 18043 Sterling Silver +, 18037 SterlingSilver+, Benge 4x, Olds: '34 Symphony, '47 Super, '52 Recording
Flugle: Strad 182
Puje: American Belle
Cornet: Olds Recording & Super