B and C cups

[DaveH]

There has been previous discussion about this topic in various ways, however; I would like to pose the question in this way...for those who have played both...as I am giving some thought to experimenting with a B cup.

How would you describe the playing, feeling, and sound differences between the Bach B and C cup, and the backbore difference that these two are supposed to have as well? How do those two variables of cup depth and backbore change operate together? How did the slightly deeper B cup and #7 backbore change things? Did you get a more open feeling? More volume of tone? A sense of playing a bigger mouthpiece?

Particularly the 3B vs the 3C...

[improver]

The B cup is shaped different more v shaped more towards a coronet sound or flugel in a sense. think of the c cup as an all around trumpet sound in the midle of bright and dark. The b cup is a more conical sound softened knocking the edge off,great fo solo or small group work. guys with larger lips benefit from b cups. i wouldnt play lead on a b cup.if you think of a meter and a c cup is in the middle the b cup is more toward the flugel where aa shallow cup is n more toward a brighter sound. the sound quality is the same just darker or mellower. i also thik b cups play more larger boreish open than a c cup.

[Tpt_Guy]

[mattdalton]

I find Tpt_Guy's description of cup shape to line up with the B cup mouthpieces I've seen through the years...varying with maker and generally more bowl shaped.

As far as the difference in sound, my experience is that B-style cups tend to emphasize the lower overtones in the sound more than C cups do.

I can't directly compare the feeling of the two cup styles because the similar sized B and C cup mouthpieces I have played had different backbores. (Changing either the cup shape or the backbore shape will change the sound, of course, and a mouthpiece that works well on one trumpet may not work well on another.) Many years ago I played a Bach 3B underpart on C trumpet and a 3C underpart on Bb trumpet - not because the cups were different but because it worked with those instruments.

HTH
- Matt

[improver]

i would ignore the pettyness on some of these post. To the person who originally asked the question on the Kanstul comparator you can see that the b cup Bach is more v shaped which will give you a more conical(mellow )sound.the c cup is shallower and still produces a balaced sound. its not rocket science. i understood what you were asking.endurance will be tougher on the b cup but it will generally play more open and sound more mellow slightly more coronet sounding.the problem with using b cups for everything is the challenge of brightning up the sound

[DaveH]

I'm thinking about having the B cup as an alternative to some of the slight tonal edginess that I think is inherent in the C cup. I like the bright, brassy tone that seems sort of the natural sound of the C cup, but would like to see if the B cup offered a slightly less bright sound due to the its characteristics of slightly deeper cup and slightly larger backbore. Also, I am thinking that the B cup may blow a little more "open" - a little less resistant with the #7 backbore...

I don't really have an endurance problem, but will no doubt continue with the C cup also, for it does produce a nice, characteristic trumpet sound.

It seems to me that from what I am reading here, I will probably find my hypothesis about it to be true.

Thanks for opinions...

[Tpt_Guy]

[jophst]

I get a very bold poweful sound on the B cups, but sacrifice endurance and some range in the process. I use a B cup for some church masses where all the parts are mid range anyhow and I can get a darker sound also.

For overal playing though, I tend to stay away from them as I find myself working too hard to keep up with the deeper cup.

I just don't practice enough I suppose.
_________________
Bb - Yamaha Xeno 8335RGS
Picc - Yamaha 9830 w/PVA
Flugel - Yamaha Shew 6310Z
Laskey's 68MD,68C,PIC,68F,68DB