WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE "FLUFFY" MOUTHPIECES

evillalobos12 · Regular Member Joined: 03 Feb 2015 Posts: 13

I'm experimenting with different mouthpieces and I use the forum to find out about prospective equipment I could try out, but the term "fluffy" has me completely lost. This is a serious question- I genuinely would like to know what my fellow trumpet players mean when they describe a mouthpiece as "fluffy".
_________________
Ernesto Villalobos Jr.

kehaulani · Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2019 1:16 pm Post subject:

I've seen it here, and only here, and in my half century of being a professional musician, I have never seen that term. Doesn't mean it doesn't exist and it must mean something to somebody, but not to me or anyone I have known.
_________________
"If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn." Bird

Yamaha 8310Z Bobby Shew trumpet
Benge 3X Trumpet
Benge 3X Cornet
Adams F-1 Flghn

Tpt_Guy · Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2019 1:39 pm Post subject:

Here it is from Schilke:

https://www.schilkemusic.com/products/mouthpieces/custom-series/
_________________
-Tom Hall-

"A good teacher protects his pupils from his own influence."
-Bruce Lee

JayKosta · Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2019 1:58 pm Post subject:

That info from Schilke is confusing - I couldn't easily determine what particular mpc is being referred to.
"The mouthpiece affectionately known as the â€œfluffyâ€ has a flugel style cup and trumpet stem with the same rim contour and feel as the other models in this series".

Aside from the Schilke info, if a person describes a mpc as being 'fluffy', I think that is their description of the sound that they produce when using the mpc, and not about the mpc itself.

Jay
_________________
Most Important Note ? - the next one !
KNOW (see) what the next note is BEFORE you have to play it.
PLAY the next note 'on time' and 'in rhythm'.
Oh ya, watch the conductor - they set what is 'on time'.

Tpt_Guy · Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2019 2:17 pm Post subject:

O00Joe · Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2019 2:52 pm Post subject:

I understand "fluffy" to mean a flÃ¼gelhorn type mouthpiece made for trumpet.

IE Curry TF, Reeves C2J, Pickett FLT & FLTM, Schilke Symphony Series F#, Frost TF, Patrick F/T, Hammond XL (uses "fluffy" in description), Austin Custom Brass FX & FT Hybrid, etc. Basically, name your brand and they probably have something "fluffy".

They're meant to get a flÃ¼gel-esque sound and make it easier to play ballads and soft passages, they are ultra deep V-shaped cups and they usually have shorter shanks to compensate for the extreme deepness.

Many makers also make a trumpet-cornet hybrid mouthpiece.

trpthrld · Heavyweight Member Joined: 09 Mar 2007 Posts: 4810

Pretty sure Bob Reeves has a mouthpiece with that sound characteristic.

Steve Dillard / www.horntrader.com might, too.
_________________
Tim Wendt

www.trumpetherald.com/marketplace.php?task=detail&id=146827&s=The-Best-Trumpet-Lead-Pipe-Swab-EVER--

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPWAJqghk24&feature=youtu.be

JayKosta · Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2019 3:16 pm Post subject:

dershem · Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2019 6:26 pm Post subject:

My best guess is that it's either a mouthpiece that gives a 'fluffy' sound (perhaps a sound that is light, diffuse and without any edge), or a mouthpiece that hasn't been cleaned in too long, so there are things growing in it.
I'd avoid both.
_________________
BKA! Mic Gillette was my mentor and friend.
Marcinkiewicz Mic G. trumpet, Custom Marcinkiewicz mpc. (Among others)
Marcinkiewicz Rembrandt flugel, Benge 8Z cornet, King 2B, Bach 36, Benge 190, Getzen 3062... many more. All Marc. mouthpieces.

oddchance · Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2019 6:28 pm Post subject:

I think also the Hammond mouthpiece XL cup has "fluffy" in it's description on their website. Deep, dark flugel-like is my guess. Sorry if this is already redundant.
_________________
70's era King Silver Flair

Trptca · Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2019 7:05 pm Post subject:

The fluffy is also known as the job saver. They are designed to be used on entrances where the idiot with the stick (conductor) wants you to play insanely and unreliably soft. Basically they are designed to mask the sound and articulation so no one can hear you. Very handy to have in the case. Used mostly in the orchestral world.

plp · Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2019 9:45 am Post subject:

I see the term used in reference to a very diffused sound, sort of a flugel sound on trumpet or cornet. The Wick cornet mouthpieces are the most obvious examples, but also have a Warburton BC(British cornet) 8 that coupled with a BC 8* backbore that does the same thing.

In college, being broke, made an adapter out of plumbing tubing to do the same thing with a french horn mouthpiece in a trumpet. It worked, sounded fine for some of the flugel parts where I didn't own a flugel. Only compromise was the tuning slide had to be almost all the way in, played really flat.
_________________
Since all other motives—fame, money, power, even honor—are thrown out the window the moment I pick up that instrument..... I play because I love doing it, even when the results are disappointing. In short, I do it to do it.” Wayne Booth

veery715 · Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2019 10:18 am Post subject:

To me it means a piece which favors the production of an airy sound, such as the one you hear from Dmitri Matheny,
_________________
veery715
Hear me sing!: https://youtu.be/vtJ14MV64WY
Playing trumpet - the healthy way to blow your brains out.

Dale Proctor · Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2019 10:54 am Post subject:

I've always called it "fuzzy", but I guess it's the same thing as fluffy. The sound produced on a Wick no-letter cornet mouthpiece is a good example of this trait.
_________________
"Brass bands are all very well in their place - outdoors and several miles away ." - Sir Thomas Beecham

Seymor B Fudd · Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2019 2:57 am Post subject: