Stomvi UPSOUND review

[lipshurt]

This is not really a “review” just my experience with it so far, which is one week.

First off, out of the box it was really wrong. I could hardly low any air through it. It was something like 10 percent of the airflow of playing a horn. Ten times more resistance than a berp, or any other buzz device I’ve tried, and I’ve made several different ones over the years. This one was $175 bucks so i bought it thinking maybe they had figured something out. Impossible to even get a sound on.
First i took it apart and there is a screen that looks looks like a water flow restrictor. Makes sense, but it was too restrictive. I made a hole in it of 1/8 inch. Still to restrictive, so went larger with the hole. Still too restrictive. Then i just took the screen out, which is simply threaded in.
Works real nice, but it could be just a bit more resistant. It’s quite close to optimal though. I must say that is has had a very pronounced good effect on my sound and response etc. and it feels really good in the hand, and is small enough to go in the case. It’s made really nice and high quality.
Upon looking at the screen, here is what i think might be going on. The screen is attached to a threaded piece of brass, and that whole screen and nut assembly is silver plated. I bet the screen got clogged with silver flakes cuz you simply cant blow any air though that screen. It cant be right in my opinion. Easy fix though. I am going to keep using it
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Mouthpiece Maker
vintage Trumpet design enthusiast
www.meeuwsenmouthpieces.com
www.youtube.com/lipshurt

[astadler]

Having tested it myself, it sounds like yours had some issues that aren’t intentional. I’d have contacted Stomvi myself before drilling in, and I recommend anyone reading this who gets one and has similar issues do the same because I felt the resistance was very close to what I’d get with a trumpet.

For what it’s worth, I don’t own one myself. I tested it out for a review, and felt it was a worthwhile piece for people who buzz daily, but as it’s not really part of my regular routine the price tag was beyond what I would shell out considering my usage.

[Quadstriker]

I use mine daily. Works great for me.

Also a fantastic item to travel with if you can't bring a horn for some reason.

[Divitt Trumpets]

The little sintered screen is a pneumatic exhaust muffler. You can buy them unplated by the dozen on amazon if yours is stuffed up.
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[lipshurt]

Getting three of the filters from amazon tomorrow. In the mean time i found a hole size that seems right. No filter was a bit too open.

I know from making several of these that getting the resistance right is pretty important. If it’s too open or resistant you can get really messed up if you use it a lot. I usually made them out of practice mutes, but fitting a receiver to for instance a shhhh mute. That works pretty good but not as small as the upsound. I made many for people that were basically a mouthpiece receiver with and adjustable size hole, essentially a berp. Those are pretty good too but they drip water on your pants. Having a resonant body like a mute, or the upsound i think is better. In the upper register the resonant body can start to make “slots’ and different size body’s have the slots in different pitches. The shhhh mute has a tube in it and it slots pitches pretty hard in the upper register which i dont like. Just putting a hole or holes in the body eliminates the slots, but then they drip. The upsound drips water. A shhh mute does not drip water. Trade offs.
_________________
Mouthpiece Maker
vintage Trumpet design enthusiast
www.meeuwsenmouthpieces.com
www.youtube.com/lipshurt

[Quadstriker]

[lipshurt]

Got my filter screens from amazon..

They are totally easy to blow air through, so i would say the original one was messed up and clogged. It feels real good to play, and to sustain soft tones in the middle and lower registers.

Nice
_________________
Mouthpiece Maker
vintage Trumpet design enthusiast
www.meeuwsenmouthpieces.com
www.youtube.com/lipshurt

[lipshurt]

So after using the upsound about a week…. It needs to be better

1) it leaks water a lot. After about a minute of buzzing if I set down on my desk the desk has puddles. Or worse, it leaks on your pants if you touch the end to cloth it just pulls water out of the chamber

2) it has “slots” in the upper register that lock the buzz onto certain pitches. I don’t like that. It messes up accuracy on the horn

3) it’s not the right resistance, or at least it’s too much different from a trumpet. I want the buzzer to feel and respond like a horn. The mouthpiece alone is too open. With the upsound even with the unclogged filter it’s too resistant. It’s easier to play aloft in the middle and lower registers than the horn, so it doesn’t translate quite right to the horn.

So I went and made a new one. This is at least my 5th try at making a buzzer that feels right. This time I used a similar filter to the upsound. The upsound uses a 1/4 inch pneumatic line exhaust filter. When I got new ones I order both 1/4 and 3/8 inch. The 3/8 inch is much less resistant than the 1/4. I made a coupler to simply put the filter on the end of a mouthpiece. Guess what? It doesn’t leak water even after about 20 minutes. Must be that the chamber condenses water and with no chamber it doesn’t condense. When I decided I basically liked it, I made a better looking one.

Also the resistance is right. Going fro buzzer to horn feels right. Makes the horn sound great without messing up accuracy. Add t least not so far:)

It looks like this:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/l4bo5k5abo6o4zw/IMG_0220.HEIC?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ep7kfcm2gw6dr1s/IMG_0221.HEIC?dl=0

Cost a couple bucks and ten minutes of work to make. I will update in a few days how I like after a while…..
_________________
Mouthpiece Maker
vintage Trumpet design enthusiast
www.meeuwsenmouthpieces.com
www.youtube.com/lipshurt

[Divitt Trumpets]

I redesigned and made a buzzing tool called the buzzkill. It had an adjustable resistance nozzle. I don't think they are available anymore, but it consisted of a threaded receiver with the air filter, and outer delrin chamber to hold, and then the adjustable resistance screw.
I might have a few lying around in my shop somewhere if you want photos, or want to have one to try.
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[lipshurt]

Hi Mr. Divitt thanks for chiming in here:)

I think the aihose filter are going to be a bust. I buzzed for about 20 minutes today in my office, and the filter got totally clogged apparently with moisture between the screen layers. Blowing hard into the filter blows no water out of it, but then again blowing hard almost passes no air through the filter.

I made and used some buzzers that had adjustable airflow but they were mainly just mouthpiece receiver size, like a berp. OK except hard to hold.

I also made a bunch using mutes by fitting a receiver to the end of the mute, and then putting small holes in the body to let air out. The size and shape of the body made a dif. If there were holes, it leaked. If there was a tube like a Shhhhh mute it would not leak, or at least not all over you pants… you can dump out the water from the small end. With a shhhh mute all you need to do is glue a bach rubber valve cap bumper onto the ring of the small end, and it’s a pretty darn good buzzer. Only prob with that is the resonant slots are pretty pronounced. Nice to hold though. Especially when i made a brass receiver that screws over the end of the shhhhhh mute.

I/m just trying to get the ultimate buzzer with perfect response in all registers and no slotting. I’ll make a million dollars:)
_________________
Mouthpiece Maker
vintage Trumpet design enthusiast
www.meeuwsenmouthpieces.com
www.youtube.com/lipshurt

[lipshurt]

Hi Mr. Divitt thanks for chiming in here:)

I think the aihose filter are going to be a bust. I buzzed for about 20 minutes today in my office, and the filter got totally clogged apparently with moisture between the screen layers. Blowing hard into the filter blows no water out of it, but then again blowing hard almost passes no air through the filter.

I made and used some buzzers that had adjustable airflow but they were mainly just mouthpiece receiver size, like a berp. OK except hard to hold.

I also made a bunch using mutes by fitting a receiver to the end of the mute, and then putting small holes in the body to let air out. The size and shape of the body made a dif. If there were holes, it leaked. If there was a tube like a Shhhhh mute it would not leak, or at least not all over you pants… you can dump out the water from the small end. With a shhhh mute all you need to do is glue a bach rubber valve cap bumper onto the ring of the small end, and it’s a pretty darn good buzzer. Only prob with that is the resonant slots are pretty pronounced. Nice to hold though. Especially when i made a brass receiver that screws over the end of the shhhhhh mute.

I/m just trying to get the ultimate buzzer with perfect response in all registers and no slotting. I’ll make a million dollars:)
_________________
Mouthpiece Maker
vintage Trumpet design enthusiast
www.meeuwsenmouthpieces.com
www.youtube.com/lipshurt

[thesplitmeister]

I’ve been reading this thread with interest, I tried an UpSound the other day that a colleague had and I’m very tempted to purchase. It’s a big investment for such a seemingly simple item but I immediately noticed a blooming of my sound and more resonance and an unlocking of slots that led to a nice connection of registers. The negative was that I struggled with tuning after using it but I’m linking that with the opening of slots and hoping that will just need some time to get used to it. Reading the reviews here though I’m a little worried that maybe the reliability of the manufacture isn’t consistent. My colleague is a Stomvi artist and so maybe he had one of the better models, I think I’ll have to wait to invest until there’s more feedback about them. Thanks for your reviews and thoughts above they’ve been very helpful!