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Thread: Wow! I am playing a BB1!

  1. Wow! I am playing a BB1!

    For many years, (1965 - 1980) I played a Bach 6 1/2AL. Then I swtched to the Wick 4AL after I got my old Boosey & Hawkes Sovereign. I have used a Wick 4AL consistently for the last 28 years, evntually wearing through the gold on my first one. I have since found that the newer 4AL's have a slightly different lip profile that makes them easier for me to play, with one caveat....

    I really do not have a "large" embouchure. With the 26.0mm rim on the 4AL, I find that I don't have the facility or the ability to play pianissimo in the extreme upper range that I would like and thus get tired easily when working on numbers like Pantomime. Also, while I can get a nice sound on a 26.4mm MPC like the SM3 or Alliance E2, they are just too big for me.

    In past years I would switch back to the 6 1/2AL (25.4mm rim) when doing solo work, but I found the sound really grates on me when I tried to use it with my old Sovereign or my new Prestige. I happily use the 6 1/2 (or a 5G 25.5mm) when playing tenor trombone or with one of my smaller bore American baritones.

    Over the last 2 years, I have owned a BB1 (25.5mm rim) and never really used it. I always thought it was kind of a "souped up" Schilke 51D and all "true euphist's" would play a big Wick. Then I started working on a Bach number that requires extreme pianissimo playing in the upper register. I was really struggling with getting clear attacks and holding notes in pitch, despite how hard I worked. After listening to Jamie Lipton last summer I knew one can get a rich sound wiith the BB1. Since the Sterling valve cap modification has significantly darkened the sound of my Prestige anyway, I decided to give the BB1 a serious try.

    Surprise! After over a month of every day use, I am finding I can get a warm, rounded sound, play with better pitch, and the horn is MUCH easier to play in the upper register. Early in the process, my teacher did a blind listening test (without knowing what kind of new MPC I was trying) and could tell little difference until I got below low F. I have since worked on the low range and find that I can warm up my sound by relaxing my embouchure and neck muscles in just the right manner.

    I find the BB1 VERY comfortable for me, and I continue to be surprised by how warm it is given its (for me) relatively small size. I am finding the BB1 to be a good compromise between the large, full Wick sound and the smaller, traditional Ameriican sound of the Bach MPC's. It is easier to play and still darker than the 5G and much warmer and richer sounding than the 6 1/2AL. I would probably not choose to play the BB1 in a brass band, but for solo work, it appears to be a great compromise for me. The biggest significant down side is that I cannot get the same volume level with the BB1 that I can with the Wick.

    So...I guess I surprised myself, but I never thought I would settle on this particular mouthpiece. I still plan to use a Wick 4AL in large ensemble and brass band work, but I am much more confident playing difficult repertoire with the BB1.

    Doug
    Adams E3 0.60 Sterling bell - Prototype top sprung valves
    Concord Band
    Winchendon Winds
    Townsend Military Band

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Indianapolis area
    Posts
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    Wow! I am playing a BB1!

    Originally posted by: daruby


    I have since worked on the low range and find that I can warm up my sound by relaxing my embouchure and neck muscles in just the right manner.

    Doug
    Hi, Doug...
    The line above caught my eye...will you PLEASE tell me how the )*^&^%*&$ you relax your neck?!??!?!? Especially the back of it...my "day job" is riddled with tension (it's in finance...'nuff said!) that I can't get rid of. It makes the back of my neck get wound up tight as a drum.
    FWIW, we are about the same age, but my heart attacks are yet to come

    I had also gotten some interest in the BB1, but it always struck me as a peashooter. Maybe I'll have to revise my thinking based upon your post here.

    I seem to be attracted to the number 2 in mouthpiece selection...I have used a Bach 2, a Black/Alessi 2, and the Alliance E2...maybe it's time to look at something with a "1" in it!!

    So how do I relax my neck?????

    Jim


    PS--the horn in the avatar is a Yama-holton; my other horn (under discussion here) is a Willson 2905.
    Jim Williams N9EJR (love 10 meter CW)
    Formerly Principal Euphonium in a whole
    bunch of groups, now just a schlub.
    Shires Q41, Yamaha 321, 621 Baritone
    Wick 4AL, Wessex 4Y, or whatever I grab.
    Conn 50H trombone, Blue P-bone
    www.soundcloud.com/jweuph

  3. Wow! I am playing a BB1!

    Relax the neck....hmmm...well I do monthly acupuncture and get a biweekly therapeutic massage. Both help! But seriously, I also have been working on consiously loosening a lightening my embouchure, including the muscles on the side of my neck and jaw.

    Doug
    Adams E3 0.60 Sterling bell - Prototype top sprung valves
    Concord Band
    Winchendon Winds
    Townsend Military Band

  4. #4

    Wow! I am playing a BB1!

    For me, neck (and shoulder/upper back) tension is primarily related to posture: ducking my head (and, consequently, hunching my shoulders) to meet the leadpipe produces tension (and constricts the air flow and reduces my lung capacity); raising the horn to my face reduces the tension. Consciously squaring my shoulders prior to raising the horn to playing position ensures that my back and head are properly aligned front-to-back and side-to-side, and reminds me to raise the horn to my face rather than duck my head to meet the horn.

    Dropping my jaw, especially when playing in the upper register, also seems to help relax the neck.

  5. Wow! I am playing a BB1!

    So how do I relax my neck?????


    Try this, Jim. First of all, you have to spend some time every day with the horn in playing position, but not playing anything at all. Check your entire body for tension very carefully, and let let it go wherever you feel it.You need to be especially aware of the fact that you may have played with tension in some parts of your body for so many years that it simply feels normal to you. That's a problem, so pay great attention to it.

    Then play something you play with tension at no tempo at all, and no rhythm at all. Just play it note by note, very slowly. Pay careful attention to the tension, and as soon as you feel it, hold the note you are on and consciously release the tension. Do not go on until the tension is gone. Pay attention not only to your neck, but your whole body. Sympathetic tension can occur in one place because something else is tense, like the neck getting tense because the shoulders are tense.

    Next step is to play the line as whole notes at 60 BPM. Any time you feel the tension, hold the note, release the tension, and go on. Do the same with whole notes at 80 and 100 BPM.

    Then go on to half notes at the same tempo, then quarter notes, and so on, until you have it up to tempo without tension. I do this both to get difficult runs under my fingers and to work on tension free playing. Over time, you will train yourself to play with less and less tension by making awareness and release of tension part of your practice routine.

    Hope this helps. It is a major part of my routine, and it has helped me to be a much less lousy player!

    Ben

    From "I Love Lucy"

    English tutor: "We must eliminate all slang from our speech. There are two words you must never use. One is swell, and the other is lousy."

    Fred Mertz: "Tell us the swell one first!"

  6. #6

    Wow! I am playing a BB1!

    Hey Doug!

    I've also just begun playing on this mouthpiece and it is fantastic in my opinion.

    Are there any noticable cons you have seen in your playing that you can elaborate on?

  7. Wow! I am playing a BB1!

    Well.....hmmmm....after nearly a month of playing the BB1, I guess I would summarize my experience as follows:

    1. The BB1 sounds better to me than any other mouthpiece having a 25.5mm rim (compare with Schilke 51D, Bach 5GS, Wick 5, etc.). It is very comfortable and smooth and the sound, while quite focused, is reasonably dark.

    2. My supposition that it would not be a good choice for brass band turned out to be correct. I tried to use the BB1 in rehearsal with NEBB (I sub for them) and found that my sound "stuck out" too much. The Wick 4AL blended with the ensemble MUCH better than the BB1.

    3.I have not been able to get nearly as dark or rich a low range with the BB1 as with the 4AL.

    I suspect I will stay with the 4AL for most playing, but I very well might use the BB1 for some solo performance where the smaller size helps me sustain an extended high range repertoire.

    Doug
    Adams E3 0.60 Sterling bell - Prototype top sprung valves
    Concord Band
    Winchendon Winds
    Townsend Military Band

  8. #8

    Wow! I am playing a BB1!

    Just a point of interest (maybe). The BB1 is listed as having a 1.02 inch rim or 25.95 mm. So, it's actually about the same size as the the SM4. It's my understanding that the rim is extremely sharp, so it actually feels smaller than a 51D. The BB1 cup is quite a bit deeper than the SM4, but the throat and backbore are a bit tighter. It's been my experience that the BB1 has a darker sound than the SM4, but the SM4 is more open, with a lot less core.

    Mike

  9. #9

    Wow! I am playing a BB1!

    I play a LOUD 20 on a Prestige and after reading much about the BB1 decided to give it a try. It did feel a lot smaller than the 25.95mm and was very comfortable. I also the sound to be very focused and easy to play especially in the upper register (of course it is smaller than the LM). I did find a bit more back pressure than I like. I also had the opportunity to try the Con Hellerberg 5E and was very impressed - very close in feel to the LM with a brighter sound. They were fun to try but made me realize I am not willing to give up my LM as I like the stainless feel and the darker and I think fuller sound.

  10. #10

    Wow! I am playing a BB1!

    Originally posted by: mbrooke

    Just a point of interest (maybe). The BB1 is listed as having a 1.02 inch rim or 25.95 mm. So, it's actually about the same size as the the SM4.
    Out of curiosity, where did you find those specs?

    The charts I've seen, including the mpc comparison chart on this site, list the BB1 as 1.004" (25.50 mm), which would make it a hair smaller than the Schilke 51D (25.55mm/1.005"), and the SM4 as 26.00 mm (1.024"), which would make the SM4 a fair bit larger than the BB1. (The SM4 is also listed as 26.00 mm in the Wick mpc leaflet).

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