Kurun & Gilbert (K&G) Mouthpieces

[EuphoJon]

Okay, I will ask the dumb question. I have seen you use the word "patch" twice lately. "The tone wasn't a patch on the larger DWs....." What the heck does that mean? Is this a British thing or have I just had my head in the sand for 70 years? Help??!!

Sorry, Dean's correct. I tend to say "isn't a patch on" when the difference is so great that im comfortable that it goes beyond my personal opinion and almost becomes a statement of fact.

[daruby]

David Thornton played a Wick 4AL for years. He now plays the K&G 3.5D.

[superted]

My experience is that K&G inner rims are sharper than Wick 4AL.

My previous euph Sovereign 966, the lead pipe is not at a very good angle and caused the bottom half of the rim to dig into the flesh just below my lower lip.

Every mouthpiece I've had no issues with this design flaw, except:
Doug Elliott Lexan Rim (103) - I suspect the Lexan gripped too much and after long periods of playing I feel like there is a friction blister / rope burn where the "digging" takes place.
K&G: I feel the corner of the inner rim is sharp and my lip literally splits/cut where the digging takes place.

I loved how the K&Gs play but I just couldn't play them without blood. (3.5 was too big for me, 4 was perfect).

Had the privilege of sitting next to David Thornton for a week, what a beautiful, monsterously big sound like I've never heard before. It's definitely not the equipment because I bought the same mouthpiece and couldn't get even close to emulating the sound!

I think if you were on 4al and wanted help in the upper register than go with a 4. If high range was not a problem go for a 3.5.
The wick is right between the two K&G sizes.

[DutchEupho]

If anyone is intrested in a K&G 3D:

http://www.dwerden.com/forum/showthr...d#.WPnbI_mLSUk

[daruby]

Just a word re: K&G,

Dave Thornton played a Wick 4AL when I met him in 2008 (so did Dave Childs at that time). Dave Thornton now plays the K&G 3.5.

[johnmckevitt]

Can anyone tell me the differences between a Bach 2G and a K&G 3D.
I know from the K&G site the rims are the same size. The rims seems a little wider than the 2G.
It looks fairly rounded. How do the cup depths , throat and Back bore differ.
I am currently playing a Mt Vernon Bach 2G and I find it bright at times.
How do the playing caracteristics differ?
THanks in advance for allowing me to pick your minds
John McKeviitt

[EuphoJon]

Can anyone tell me the differences between a Bach 2G and a K&G 3D.
I know from the K&G site the rims are the same size. The rims seems a little wider than the 2G.
It looks fairly rounded. How do the cup depths , throat and Back bore differ.
I am currently playing a Mt Vernon Bach 2G and I find it bright at times.
How do the playing caracteristics differ?
THanks in advance for allowing me to pick your minds
John McKeviitt

Can't offer any opinion on those particular mouthpieces but I switched from a Bach 5g to a K&G 5D (if I was matching the diameters I should of got a 5.5D) I wouldn't say that the K&G differs much in terms of brightness but you get a more interesting and bigger sound (im not an expert but i'd describe it as more overtones - would some people describe the difference as darker, I'm not sure?). The comparison I would make is that I get a similar sound to what i get on a DW SM4 (original) but on a much smaller (diameter wise) mouthpiece.
In terms of playing, I find it similar to the 5g in terms of slotting and flexibility (i have a DC5 that I used to use and the slotting and flexibility on that mouthpiece is much better but the sounds not as "interesting")

[johnmckevitt]

Thanks,EJ

[ChristianeSparkle]

To avoid hijacking the other thread, figured I should ask her.

From what I've read from Frans and a few others, the mouthpiece chart isn't that reliable, is it?

Also, anyone tested the different plating on the mouthpiece? I was offered rose gold, gold and silver for the same price, and I am curious how different they are. i've read that they shouldn't change much of your tone and intonation, but the seller, who is a euph player himself, mentioned that the rose gold plated one sounds sweeter?

[franz]

For the measurements they are comparable to DW ( if you use a DW4 go with K&G4), don't use the tables on their site, they are smaller than a measure or two. For the sound I would say that there are no differences between gold, rose gold and silver: I prefer gold because it feels smoother on the lips.

[ChristianeSparkle]

I am curious to know, if a gold plated mouthpiece is inserted into the leadpipe, the gold plate at the shank will slowly be stripped away like the silver plated one, right?

Would it eventually be stripped away fully? There's no way of preventing that, right? Thank you!

[Low Brass Chap]

In my experience with them, the gold does slowly strip off in lines that run around the circumference of the shank. However, the time this takes is gonna depend on the quality of the plating. My previous euphonium instructor's mouthpiece (gold plated Wick 4AL) still has almost all of the plating intact at the shank despite many years of use, and I'm not sure if it will ever fully come off.

As for preventing it, I assume using a gold polishing cloth after playing could slow little bits of wear from any corrosive materials that could have come in contact with the shank or the mouthpiece in general.

[davewerden]

The receiver is going to wear the plating off the mouthpiece eventually. Silver will last longer but will still wear out. But I've never cared much about that because it doesn't show while you are playing. The benefit of gold plating, for me anyway, is that is feels smoother on the chops; it almost certainly does not offer an advantage in how it fits into the receiver.

[daruby]

Actually, a gold plated mouthpiece will wear slightly better than a silver plated mouthpiece. The reason is that all gold plated mouthpieces get their gold plating on top of the silver plate. Raw brass will tend to leave "dots" through the silver plating, so soft copper is usually used first, then the silver gets layered on top. The gold plating is then done on top of the silver.

If your receiver and your mouthpiece shank don't fit properly, then expect the mouthpiece to get down to raw brass pretty quickly anyway.

Doug

[franz]

I am curious to know, if a gold plated mouthpiece is inserted into the leadpipe, the gold plate at the shank will slowly be stripped away like the silver plated one, right?

Would it eventually be stripped away fully? There's no way of preventing that, right? Thank you!

The deposited layer of gold is very thin and with time will be to go away.This photo is of two mouthpieces, one for euphonium and one for baritone that I have been using for about 3 years: the contact point is barely visibile.