Asymmetric vs. symmetric mouthpiece

[manflower]

I play the Harrison Wedge mouthpiece joyfully every day. I am amazed at the extra range and the comfort it delivers. For me, the comfort on a Wedge appears to be two fold. If seems to give my lips a lot more room to move. My flexibility and range have improved noticibly. Also, I just don't seem to have to blow as hard to get the same result, so I guess it is more responsive for me at the tender age of 61. I work with a lot of young players as a private teacher in grade school , MS & High school. I play at every lesson, and this mouthpiece just makes my job a lot easier. I have two Wedges, a 3CC and a Wedge copy of a GR 3M bowl Dr. Dave made for me, which really screams, but lets me go low and fat. The odd thing about the Wedge is I can return to my GR, which I was very happy with, and get very consistent results. The Wedge is the most comfortable mouthpiece I have played. As such it is a non-risk. It is a three piece mouthpiece, so I was very happy to play around with different backbores and get my gap just right over two months of a easy does it, no hassle trial purchase. One of my students, a first trumpet first chair band student with braces echoed Dr. Dave's statement that it was more comfortable with her braces, as well. After a few months, I think the freedom it offers has helped change the way I play, and for that reason I like it a lot.

[trumpet4556]

I have used Wedge mouthpieces for about a year now and have been consistently pleased with their performance. They produce an even sound in all registers and have an ease of playing that I had not achieved on any other mouthpiece. The difference in shape was not difficult for me to get used to. I had played on the same Bach 3C for 15 years before going with the Wedge so I was not inclined to make a change but it really does work well for me.

Shawn Spicer
Orchestra London Canada
University of Western Ontario

[116055]

i am an amateur trumpet player, but a professional musician (violinist). i began the trumpet as an adult in my 30's and i'm now in my 50's. i have 3 harrison wedge mouthpieces that i play every day and enjoy very much. i experienced no difficulty changing to a wedge and noticed improvement right away. the sound is richer to my ear, and any horn seems to blow more evenly throughout. i previously had a problem with lip swelling that kept me going to larger mouthpieces than i really wanted to play. the wedge rim has eliminated that problem, which makes for much better day-to-day consistency. as a professional instrumentalist, i know there are no quick fixes on any instrument. the wedge is not a gimmick that claims to produce miracles. what it will do, once you have found the right one, is give you a solid piece of equipment on which to build a good foundation, or, if you already possess one, enhance the process of developing and maintaing your embouchure. there are many mouthpiece makers to choose from, and if you are an important professional trumpet player, some of them will work with you until you get exactly the mouthpiece you need. dave harrison works with every customer like their mouthpiece is the most important one he ever made. he does not want to sell you a copy of a mouthpiece that he made for a famous artist...he wants to make a mouthpiece that works for you. he is truly generous with his time and knowledge, and you owe it to yourself to get in touch with him.

[trumpet56]

I have used Wedge mouthpieces for over a year now and I must say that they have completely revolutionised my playing.The consistency of my sound core and overtones have improved. The sound is much larger and focussed with better projection. I can use the same top and backbore on all my horns from pic to Bb. The security in the dynamic range from pianissimo to double forte has improved, with the consistency and color in the sound remaining the same. And also all the mundane things like flexibility and a few new notes above double high C have been welcome as well. Everything that Dave says about them I have proved personally beyond a doubt to be true. As a professional orchestral trumpet player and University teacher, everybody who I personally know who have trialled the Wedge have also demonstrated significant improvements in their playing. What can I say? Thanks Dave!

[Ackermans Music]

I use a custom Wedge. The mp eliminated my lip swelling issues and doubled my endurance. Range also increased.

[HillBilly Joe]

I am a wedgehead myself. I came back from a 5 year layoff and was thrust into lead rock playing (4 hour face breaking sets). I tried a few different pieces (Schilke 15a4a, 14a4a) that were fine, but lacked a certain something, and then I stumbled upon the Wedge website. The trial was low risk, so I figured what the heck! Well, a year later, I am STILL using my Wedge EXCLUSIVELY, and I use a Wedge flugel mouthpiece for wedding and private party gigs where a flugel is called for. If I could stop spending money on new horns, I could afford to tinker around with MORE Wedge tops to go with my Wedge backbore. I find myself wondering how anyone still plays on conventional mouthpieces with the Wedge out there. My lead piece (Wedge 7EC) is versatile enough to play ANY style of music - it has such a beautiful lower and moddle register. The thing is the best, and I recommend it to anyone who is open minded enough to get past the fact that it doesn't say Bach or Schilke on it. You won't regret it.
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Joe V
Yamaha 8335 LA Gen II
ACB Doubler Flugelhorn
Manchester Brass Pocket Trumpet
GR 62Z**, ACB TAZF

[tommy t.]

Lot a people joinning TH today.

Maybe it has something to do with James Joyce,

Tommy T.
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Actually, I hate music. I just do this for the money.

[klaus_o]

I have been using Harrison Wedge mouthpieces for 9 months now. I have different setups for by Bb, C, Flugel, Cornet and picc horns. I have been playing for over 40 years and have used many different conventional mouthpieces prior to the Wedge. I mostly play in church's and community concert & brass bands.

Without a doubt the Wedge has made a huge impact on my playing on a number of aspects. My range, intonation flexibility, core sound, endurance and tonguing have greatly improved. The greatest impact has been on the comfort side. Conventional mouthpieces always caused my TMJ to flare up often resulting in taking days off. I now am able to practice everyday with minimal pain. Over the years, I have developed a facial dystonia at around a high A above the staff. Since using the Wedge the intensity and frequency of the dystonia has reduced considerably. It is very doubtful I will ever go back to a conventional mouthpiece.

I really enjoy the ability to change tops or back bores to change either the playing characteristics or the sound. The wedge has enabled me to fluently switch between horns during a church service with minimal negative impact on my playing.

Over the last number of month Dr Dave & Liz have been incredibly wonderful to deal with. This has been the most positive experience I have had working with a mouthpiece manufacturer. Thank you Dr Dave & Liz!
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Klaus_O

[Doug Zabor]

After ITG 2009 and trying and buying a Wedge for flugelhorn, over the year I've added cornet, replaced my B-flat Bach Megatone, my C Bach Megatone, my (how many I can't count) piccolo mouthpieces with 4 sizes of Wegde and have found the right combination for long playing, high pieces, solo, ensemble. Turning them sideway add temporary range, and the tone and intonation throughout the range is more dependable than symmetric and I do own and have tried again the assymetric but don't get the what the Wedge offers.
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B-flat, C trumpet player, Flugelhorn, B-flat, E-fat cornet, piccolo player in ensemble, swing-band, solo, descants church and communittee groups

[carlsson]

Where to start?, I used to play on bach 3c and 3e for over 12 years ago, I put the horn away for over 10 years and I picked it up again. Now almost 18 months after picking my horn up again I'm the happy user of Wedge mpc's, and I have a few.
When you're a comeback player you really want to get back in shape after all those years off. I'm no different.
After a long search on web I found The Wedge. Dr.Dave is like no other. When it comes to serve you as a customer, Dave does it like no other.
You now you're being treated first class.
After my comeback I've searched for The Trumpet and mpc, driving me on a safari that my bank account have felt. . I've found my mpc's, now I'm just looking for that horn too.

It started with some mails back and forth, and I end up trying Dave's version of the bach 3. I went for the 3CSST25hbb and 3FSTT25RTT. I was very pleased with this setup and it improved my tone, endurance and increased my range. For my flugel Dave made me a gold top 3FLXC, now that's a good flugelpiece, I know you're not supposed to "scream" on a flugel, but putting in a few notes on the top with this piece without breaking the tone's great. Dave also made me a gold plated 3B w/#24 throat bb for my cornet, this piece delivers too.

I made Dave make me 2 custom pieces just for fun, the first one a scan of a Monette, nice, but it didn't work too well for me, but the other a gold plated 3F heavy bb with a #19 throat was a very good match we named it MF-19

Even though my trumpet safari's not over yet, I'm at least done with the mpc's. And I recommend both Dave and his mpc's to everyone, his trial program is a win win deal.

I'm an unofficial "endorsing" artist for Wedge mpc's.
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A Venner
Yamaha YTR 8310Zll '20
Yamaha YTR 8335LA '14
Holton MF ST301 '70-ish
Holton MF ST302
Holton MF ST305
Connstellation 38b '56
Yamaha YFH 631 '15
Yamaha YTR 232 `74
Getzen Valve Trombone
Mpcs: Wedge 3B,3C,3F,3FLXC,MF19

[davidkoch]

Okay. I never really knew much of anything about wedge mouthpieces, but I just looked them up, and they look very... different.

I've seen/heard a lot of stuff from people that like them, and I'm guessing there's a lot of them joining today. (Or maybe one person that makes a lot of accounts..) [That was not meant as a flame or anything, just my skeptical side.]

I'd be interested in knowing why it doesn't work for those it doesn't work for.
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Hi, my name is David and I'm a trumpetaholic.

[gabrieljazz]

Hi Horndogs,

I am from Denver, but live in Vancouver. I just created an account, although I follow many of the threads here....

Good stuff.. the Brotherhood of Breath!

Let me chime in if you will....

Been playing 45 years, professionally full time since age 14, started at age 8.

Started on Bach 7, moved to 10 1/2 for school years. When I started 'pounding it out' night after night I clued in to mouthpiece dynamics. Went smaller, but not peashooter style cuz I play jazz and want a good sound.

Spent years on Marcinkiewicz (Shew, Vizzutti, Tyzik), Jet Tone (Studio B), Schilke (13 A4 and 14 A4), and then for a long time, a stock Mendez 2, which really is a nice 'piece. Although I have a rack of a hundred or more 'pieces on a bobbin rack, the above ones were the main ones, never less than 3 years per 'term'....

So, at some point a few years ago I was feeling like I needed a different sound or was working too hard to get the sound I was getting. I ran across the Wedge by chance, the creator of it lives in my city. We hooked up to give it a whirl.

The Wedge looked odd but man was it comfortable, and I took to it right away. It felt like a well fitting pair of sneakers instead of the 'sloppy shoes' I was wearing. Dr Dave created something with a similar resistance to what I was using, a similar volume of cup, etc, and I have been using the Wedge for over 3 years now. Actually I had him make me a deeper one, more of a C cup than B or A cup, and it blows just as easily and my sound is FULL! I never thought I could have gone to a deeper cup, but I feel like I have a new lease on life. Over the years, I was defaulting to the flugel (which I also have a Wedge for) because the trumpet was too hard, too shrill, too pitchy, too tiring... I dunno. Anyway, I feel like I took vitamins and I love playing my trumpet (an XStream) now WAY MORE. My latest CD has way more open trumpet on it because I got my mojo back.

If you recognize the above models and want to wade into the water, any of these will suit you. http://www.wedgemouthpiece.com/gabriel

http://www.readyshare.com/Users/gmh@sassabrass-com/UploadMails/!!!_Gabriel_Takes_Flight6_15_2010_55120_PM.htm

[n4435rc]

I have been using the Wedge on my Bb and flugle horn for the last 18 months. That would be just short of 1/3rd of my trumpet playing career! I picked up the trumpet at 56 and am 61 now. I have worked hard to learn to play and read music and am playing in church and other community groups. Before the Wedge I was always changing mpc's. Once I get the right size Wedge, which Dr. Dave was excellent at helping me with, I have not had any desires to make any changes. I love the stainless steel top. You couldn't ask for a smoother well shaped rim to make articulation easy. The shape works well for me. Swelling is not much of a problem for me at all. I like my tone control too, at first it seemed a little on the bright side, but that didn't last very long. I would say it is very responsive to what you want it to do.
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RUDY
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Bach Strad LT180S43 -- Wedge 1.25BC SST
F. Besson Brevete' Flugelhorn -- Wedge 1.25

[flexibleflyer]

I am a 55 yr old "come-back" trumpet player -- after a 4 year layoff. I have played since I was 10 years old. Not a pro, but serious about getting away from sectional work and standing alone in a small group.

For my entire career I have struggled with achieving the kind of comfort I would like with a mouth piece. I have tried numerous pieces over the years, always improving a bit but never quite happy.

I immediately responded well to the Wedge -- and Dave has been just fabulous to work with. For a year now I have made various changes, but not in a random way. Dave's advice is just so smart and on target that every time we talk I gain new insight and every decision I have made has improved the outcome I was looking for. I am almost deliriously happy with the mouthpiece I now use. I have been able to achieve a sound I really love. I love the feel of the gold plating. My flexibility over three octaves is now at the level I had given up hope of achieving previously. I always figured there was just something about my facial structure that precluded what I wanted to achieve. Most importantly, I am able to grow and improve in areas I had struggled with previously -- especially flexibility.

I'm not a recording artist, but now I have the confidence to step out and try some small combo work that I was afraid to try before. For the first time I have the confidence and assurance that my embrochure will deliver when I'm standing there alone and taking risks.

[INTJ]

The Assymetric worked for me at first, but wound up causing me lots of problems. The Wedge has been a perfect fit. I get the playability ofnthe smlelr diamter with the tone of the larger diameter. There is also no issue going from a Wedge to a conventional.
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Harrels VPS Summit
Wild Thing
Flip Oakes C
Flip Oakes Flugel

Harrelson 5mm MP

[NickD]

I use the Wedge mouthpieces a great deal. In fact, on MOST of my gigs, I'll use a Wedge 3CC-St-25 for legit and mellow jazz and a Wedge 5FC-ST-25 for lead playing.

I love them! They give me pinpoint control and flexibility.

I also use the Lynch asymmetrics. I tend to use them mostly on rock gigs and big band gigs where I have to approach things in a more brutal fashion. IN the right context, they do exactly what I expect them to do.

The Wedges are a more flexible mouthpiece for me. I play about 85% of the time on the Wedges. I feel I get a much more controlled and smooth sound with them.

FWIIW...

Nick
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Nick Drozdoff - Getzen Endorsing Artist
http://www.nickdrozdoff.com
http://www.getzen.com/
http://www.youtube.com/nickdrozdoff
https://www.facebook.com/nickdrozdoffandthevariabledpostulateensemble
https://soundcloud.com/nick-drozdoff

[Jimmer]

I have been playing on the Wedge mpc's for quite some time now. I do buzz on a conventional mpc for my warm-up but once I go to the horn it's all the Wedge. I have a good all-round piece, a flugelhorn piece, and a lead piece.

Dr. Dave is absolutely amazing. I would suggest at least trying a Wedge. He has no problem if you say the Wedge isn't for you. He truly is wanting to help your playing and not just to make a "sale". I am going through some health issues that are affecting my playing and Dave has worked with me as we had to make some changes to adapt. He is always checking in with me and will work with me as much as it's needed. Being a player himself (and a Doctor) he understands many things about brass playing and it shows in the Wedge.

Even if I wasn't an Endorsing Artist I would suggest you try one. Really, you have nothing to lose.

Check out the site......http://www.wedgemouthpiece.com/index.html
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Jim Murray
www.jim-murray.ca

[garrett901]

Welcome all you newbies!!!

Good advice here, bad advice here and even some sarcasm and an occasional insult... A very wise person once told me to; take it all in, digest it, and haul out the trash...
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Jeff Garrett
Playing "G" Soprano Bugle, Freelancers Alumni/Mini Corps
NorCal Horn Line Instructor/Musical Arranger
Kanstul G Soprano (Powerbore Bell)
Yamaha YTR-739T
Xtream XZ w/ XXX backbore GREAT MP!!!
http://freelancers-alumni.org

[patdublc]

I play Wedge mouthpieces exclusively on all of my horns in all keys and including cornet and flugel. And, I can probably say that I've done that longer than anyone except Dr. Dave because I bought and still have the very first Wedge mouthpiece that he ever sold. I even use a Wedge when I mess around on french horn and trombone.
I was on a mouthpiece safari when I met Dr. Dave, but I was also very skeptical of the latest gimic. I got over that very quickly. The comfort of the Wedge shape was the first positive. The next big factor was a significant improvement in endurance. I was surprised when I took the piece to a gig and felt stronger at the end of the show than at the beginning.
My sound also improved - especially in the lower register. And, my range got better too; not so much in adding a lot of range, but in making notes that I could already play more reliable and consistent.

I have worked the Wedge exhibit table at several shows alone or with Dr. Dave or Neil Delson. It's been very interesting to see the response of the many skeptics. Many look at it and cut their eyes before moving on without really giving it a try. But, the really interesting ones are those that Dr. Dave calls "Wedge Responders". They are the ones the play one note and you see their eyes light up because there is an immediate and dramatic improvement in their sound. It's fun to work with somebody who is really excited about a new piece equipment that they know is going to help them.

I can't offer any solid explanation as to why it works so dramatically well for some and not others. We're all different in the shape and setup of our oral cavity and embouchure. If you look at the people using Wedges, the range from top level pros to comebackers who haven't played for 30 years.
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Pat Shaner
Play Wedge Mouthpieces by Dr. Dave exclusively.
Experiment with LOTS of horn makes and models.

[George Brockus]

For years I searched among Bach sizes, never finding true satisfaction with 3C, 3CW, 7C, 7CW, 10.5C, 10.5CW, various megatones. Nothing worked to my satisfaction. Then I found Wedge. I ordered 3CC, Dr. Dave suggested 3BC for my cornet. I have switched from 3CC to 3BC for both, and have also tried 3AC, 5BC and 7BC. His Flugel mouthpiece on a trumpet backbore is a kick. I like more depth in my mouthpieces. I have finally found comfort and satisfaction, mostly with the 3BC. My thanks to Dr. Dave.
Lawler Model B, Lawler C7, Lawler PS1, Lawler T, Lawler TLCT (.464 bore)
Zeus Olympus (.470 bore), Wild Thiing cornet (.470 bore)
Getzen copper bell cornet (beautiful), Yamaha short lightweight cornet

I have COPD, very short winded. The extra large bores seem to help me out. I guess I'm a medical conundrum.
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Started in 1940s, stoppped in 1950s, comebacker in 1980s. Paart timer since.