Wooden Mouthpieces

[1Cor13:4]

I've seen some posts mentioning wooden euphonium mouthpieces, but haven't found any places that sell them.

I'm interested in the idea. What are people's thoughts on them? Has anyone found a good vendor for them?

[highpitch]

I vote for Lignum Vitae!

(but that would be a DIY)

Dennis

[bbocaner]

http://www.jcsherman.net/rogers-serpent-mouthpieces

[John Morgan]

http://www.jcsherman.net/rogers-serpent-mouthpieces

Barry,

Have you tried one of these or heard one played on a euphonium or trombone? I am curious.

John

[bbocaner]

I don't believe I have one of JC's anymore, but I used to -- and I have some other wooden mouthpieces I use on serpent. On euphonium it's a little softer and less focused, maybe a little buzzy. It's mostly the shape and not the material.

[John Morgan]

Thanks, Barry. I sent a message to JC and got a reply back. I did not realize that the mouthpieces (at least the ones he makes) don't really have a taper on them, and that you have to wrap the shank with thread or floss to fit your particular horn. I am interested, though, in trying one of these mouthpieces to see what kind of effect I can get on my euphonium (now that doesn't sound like me at all).

I also might be interested in obtaining a serpent, because as I always say, you can never have too many instruments.

[bbocaner]

I suggest a waxed linen thread like they'd use to sew leather. There's a diagram on the Berger serpents page that shows how to wrap it. https://serpents.ch/sample-page/mundstueck/?lang=en

As far as a serpent, the early music shop in the UK makes a fiberglass model which isn't bad. https://earlymusicshop.com/collectio...rly-music-shop The biggest issues with it are 1. it's heavy compared to a wood one and 2. some of the notes focus too well which makes it kind of uneven with the notes that have poor focus. A wood serpent is going to be more evenly flexible. That said, serpent is all in the embouchure and you get just a little bit of help from the instrument! If you wanted to get a really nice instrument, I suggest Pierre Ribo http://www.serpent-ribo.com/?lang=en . I visited Pierre in Brussels last year and he is THE NICEST guy you could imagine and his instruments are fantastic.