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Thread: Drilling out Mouthpiece Throat

  1. #1

    Drilling out Mouthpiece Throat

    Has anyone here ever drilled out a mouthpiece throat?

    I've gone back and forth between a wick SM4X and alliance DC3. I prefer the alliance rim/cup, but I feel like the wick has a more open throat, and I feel like I can put more air through it.

    Am I just being too nit-picky here?

    To complicate matters, I've got an Adams E3; maybe this is just a matter of AGR adjustment?

    Anyone have any thoughts about this?

    Thanks!
    Mike
    Mike Taylor

    Illinois Brass Band
    Fox Valley Brass Band

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Hidden Valley, AZ
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    1,034
    I did that to an old Besson MP back in high school ('60's). It played better for me & used it for years.

    Lost in a move, oh well.

    Tricky drilling into a tapered brass hole, be careful.

    DG

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Central North Carolina
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    2,369
    I did it once on a Schilke 66 tuba mouthpiece. It was a mistake and loss of money. I simply turned around and bought another one and used it for years. So it was like spending twice as much money for one mouthpiece.

    I would suggest you just go to Doug Elliott, try several of his combinations, and see what the result is. If you end up buying one, you'll have saved yourself a lot of money in butchering perfectly good and fairly expensive mouthpieces, and you'll likely get what you want. Doug won't charge you to try anything -- just shipping, and he'll send you several alternatives to try.

    Honestly, if you don't have a lathe and know how to use it, the chance that you'll end up with something other than junk is purely random. (And actually, the chance that you'll end up with junk even with a lathe is random.) Just having a good enough drill press vise to hold it correctly, align it with the bit, and then suffer from any wandering the bit will do, should give you pause. If you're thinking of doing it by hand, then I have to say you're just crazy. But you may find it worthwhile as a kind of "life experience".

    That's just my opinion -- though keep in mind that I'm normally all about doing all my own modification work to instruments and accessories. But I know my limits (at least often) -- and I sure know the limits of my tools.
    Last edited by ghmerrill; 09-28-2018 at 03:29 PM.
    Gary Merrill
    Wessex EEb Bass tuba (DW 3XL or 2XL)
    Mack Brass Compensating Euph (DE N106, Euph J, J9 euph)
    Amati Oval Euph (DE 104, Euph J, J6 euph)
    1924 Buescher 3-valve Eb tuba (with std US receiver), Kelly 25
    Schiller American Heritage 7B clone bass trombone (DE LB K/K10/112/14 Lexan, Brass Ark MV50R)
    1947 Olds "Standard" trombone (Olds #3)

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    Varese,Italy
    Posts
    385
    Over the years I have modified a dozen mouthpieces, half of which ended up in the trash. I tend to have a clear sound and, to avoid this, I prefer mouthpieces with a deep cup. In this regard I have recently modified, expanding the cup making it deeper and with a V profile, a K&G 3C little shank mouthpiece that I use for baritone. The result was excellent, even if I have to admit, as says ghmerrill, that is due more to chance than my turner-flaring ability. If you are willing to consider sacrificing a mouthpiece that does not satisfy you anyway and that you will never use, you can experiment changes, but almost certainly the result will not be appreciable. Better to rely on mouthpieces already on the market; there are many and it is really difficult, if you have the opportunity to try them, not to find what corresponds to what you want.
    2007 Besson Prestige 2052, 3D+ K&G mouthpiece; JP373 baritone, 4B modified K&G mouthpiece; Bach 42GO trombone, T4C K&G mouthpiece; 1973 Besson New Standard 3 compensated valves, 3D+ K&G modified mouthpiece; Wessex French C tuba, 3D+ K&G modified mouthpiece.

  5. #5
    Thanks everyone for the replies to this. I ended up not following through with a drill out.

    Quote Originally Posted by franz View Post
    Over the years I have modified a dozen mouthpieces, half of which ended up in the trash. I tend to have a clear sound and, to avoid this, I prefer mouthpieces with a deep cup. In this regard I have recently modified, expanding the cup making it deeper and with a V profile, a K&G 3C little shank mouthpiece that I use for baritone. The result was excellent, even if I have to admit, as says ghmerrill, that is due more to chance than my turner-flaring ability. If you are willing to consider sacrificing a mouthpiece that does not satisfy you anyway and that you will never use, you can experiment changes, but almost certainly the result will not be appreciable. Better to rely on mouthpieces already on the market; there are many and it is really difficult, if you have the opportunity to try them, not to find what corresponds to what you want.
    Mike Taylor

    Illinois Brass Band
    Fox Valley Brass Band

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