Alliance DC3 vs. Wick 4AL Results and MORE!

[Ben_Fraser]

Hi Mr. Werden,
I am Ben Fraser. I play large bore tenor trombone, but used to play euphonium back in high school and college. I’m looking at purchasing a new mouthpiece and was considering buying DC Alliance mouthpiece. I have a few questions about this mouthpiece… is the rim a flat rim like Dennis Wick mouthpieces ( I used to play a 4BS on a medium bore trombone) or closer to the rim contour of a Bach mouthpiece, semi-curved? Will the DC Alliance mouthpiece sound different through a trombone than a euphonium, because the DC Alliance is a euphonium mouthpiece? I play on a Bach 4G now and I am not happy with the tone color it produces on my horn…
- Ben Fraser

[davewerden]

Hi Mr. Werden,
I am Ben Fraser. I play large bore tenor trombone, but used to play euphonium back in high school and college. I’m looking at purchasing a new mouthpiece and was considering buying DC Alliance mouthpiece. I have a few questions about this mouthpiece… is the rim a flat rim like Dennis Wick mouthpieces ( I used to play a 4BS on a medium bore trombone) or closer to the rim contour of a Bach mouthpiece, semi-curved? Will the DC Alliance mouthpiece sound different through a trombone than a euphonium, because the DC Alliance is a euphonium mouthpiece? I play on a Bach 4G now and I am not happy with the tone color it produces on my horn…
- Ben Fraser

Welcome to the forum!

It's a somewhat vague area, as I'm sure you know. In general the Alliance rim feels a bit "softer" to me compared to the Wick. I think it might have a slightly more rounded inner rim. To me anyway, the inside rim on the Bach seems a bit sharper.

The 4AL is considered by some to be a "trombone mouthpiece" even thought it was been used by tons of euphonium players over the years, including me. So don't worry about the Alliance being a "euphonium mouthpiece" - you should try it on trombone and see what you think.

I think the DC4 should be up for consideration as well as the DC3. I find the 4 a better balance. The 3 MIGHT get to be a bit too dark on trombone, but I haven't tried it myself yet.

Here is another thread, where I compare the 4AL to the DC4 in a large room (on euphonium):

http://www.dwerden.com/forum/showthr...s-Alliance-DC4

[guidocorona]

Hello Ben, and welcome to the forum!

In case you were interested, the only source I have found for Alliance DC mouthpieces in the US is Dillon Music. See:

https://www.dillonmusic.com/alliance...um-mouthpiece/

Currently, Dillon has 3 units of the DC4 in stock, while all other sizes are out of stock. Price is attractive, just shy of $88 USD.

I am not quite sure if Dillon plans to restock the Alliance DC series or not.

Outside the US, the only source I found is the Alliance Brass web site at:

https://www.alliancebrassltd.com/pro...62121582031250

Regards, Guido