Difference between Ultra Series mouthpieces?

[davewerden]

I am guessing that there will be a development of a SM Ultra X PLus at some point...

Ha! It does make one wonder how far they can go with appending words. It's almost as bad as Rick's link to the story of "Dawn" dish soap.

[Simes]

I did know that Steven Mead uses a SM3UX. I am curious as to why you insinuate my opinion is somehow worth less because Steven Mead uses one? I can normally adjust to a mouthpiece within a few minutes, and euphoniums in even less time. I also know two or three people personally that have sold their Ultra Xs in a very short time after buying them, and perhaps their quality is evidenced in the fact that I had to price mine, at less than a month old, at £25 inc postage to even garner interest. Emperor's new clothes is a phrase that springs to mind.

[JTJ]

To be a little cynical, I do wonder if the SM line of mouthpieces changes as Steve develops and refines his style. AFAIK, his progression was 3AL, SM3, SM3U, and now SM3X. And somewhere in there was a brief stint on the Alliance 2 (my favorite). That said, 3AL and SM3 are still great mouthpieces for the euphonium -- even though he left them behind years ago, they may well be perfect for others.

[Simes]

I have returned to my trusty 4AL with an immediate improvement in every department. As an aside, you could buy nearly new Ultra Xs on ebay.co.uk for £18!

[davewerden]

I've returned to my 4AL more times than I can count. It is really a pretty good mouthpiece!

[Simes]

Having played on the 4X pretty intensively for three weeks, going back to the 4AL has made me realise that the things I initially found attractive about the 4X - ease of articulation and ease of moderate high register - are areas I have it within me to improve without recourse to equipment changes. Therefore it is back to the Kopprasch and Vizzutti studies and back to an organised practice routine.

[davewerden]

Simes,

While it is never a bad idea to go back to fundamentals, I find the mouthpiece makes a difference. My Heritage or SM4U do make articulations clearer. They both have a sharper inner rim, and that matches a characteristic described in the Bach mouthpiece manual. I find the mouthpiece is affected by all the common things, like cup depth and diameter, throat size, backbore shape, etc. But I've been surprised that a small difference in the inner rim can change my articulations! To your point, I can work harder on the 4AL and get similar results, so I'm not left out in the cold, articulation-wise.

[booboo]

I've returned to my 4AL more times than I can count. It is really a pretty good mouthpiece!

^^^this all day long. I've been on a long and expensive circular route back to the 4al over more than a decade just to find out what I was doing was fine (did enjoy the alliance dc3 and wick sm 4.5 though)

[Snorlax]

What's the difference between an SM3, an SM3U, an SM3UX, and an SM3UXCQDX/12AX7? About $25 for every additional letter.

PS--two brownie points to anyone who knows what a 12AX7 is.

[John Morgan]

What's the difference between an SM3, an SM3U, an SM3UX, and an SM3UXCQDX/12AX7? About $25 for every additional letter.

PS--two brownie points to anyone who knows what a 12AX7 is.

You're in my wheelhouse now! A 12AX7 is the Army's 12th version of its ubiquitous Attack Helicopter, with eXperimental, 7th generation night vision devices on board. Give me a hard one!

[Snorlax]

John, your 12AX7 is much more elegant than the one I had in mind!...I was thinking more of the old--but still popular--class A amplifier tube that sits in a lot of my old Hammarlund and National ham radio receivers!

[John Morgan]

Ah, Jim, actual vacuum tubes still in service! Nothing wrong with that. I have a Sony receiver that I have used and still use with all of the other components that I have replaced multiple times. Got it before my son was born (1971), and it still works like a charm. I suspect there might be some vacuum tubes inside, but I have never had to look! How is that for reliability!?

[RickF]

(snip)
PS--two brownie points to anyone who knows what a 12AX7 is.

That's a blast from the past for me! We had plenty of these type tubes in the old radars sets in the USAF and the FAA. Amplifier tubes. The 12AX7 had the highest output, 12AT7 had a bit lower output and the 12AU7 had a bit less output than AT's. I imagine it's hard to find these anymore but don't know.

[Simes]

What's the difference between an SM3, an SM3U, an SM3UX, and an SM3UXCQDX/12AX7? About $25 for every additional letter. :

Ha ha! Make sure you get your lafreque plates first and your fancy "bespoke" springs or otherwise you won't feel the benefit of the new mouthpiece. Oh, and it only works on Besson Prestige euphoniums. And the large one at that. But you'll need a travel mute to get used to it.

[jimpjorps]

I got a used 4UX a while back and have been using it off and on for various types of performances -- I've settled it on being my "endless outdoor gig" mouthpiece, because it's a little brighter than some of my other mouthpieces (since I'm usually the sole euph player who'd otherwise disappear under a dozen trumpets) and I don't seem to wear myself out on it too easily. I still prefer my basic Yamaha 48D for anything that requires any kind of finesse or subtle playing, though.