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Thread: Mouthpiece Question: "What's going to work where?"

  1. Mouthpiece Question: "What's going to work where?"

    So I'm getting an unusual instrument made and I'm told it will take a "small shank, medium bore" Trombone mouthpiece.
    What makes a Euph mouthpiece good for trombone, and vice versa?
    Or more broadly, what pushes a mouthpiece toward one type of instrument in this similar pitch range?

    Found this:
    http://www.dwerden.com/Mouthpieces/t...enor&compare=0

    ...and for instance the Denis Wick 4AY says "well suited for Euphonium" and the Schilke 51D/52D are "especially suited to Euphonium".
    Which makes sense: when I had a Euph, I played a 51D.

    ...but the Bach 22C and 22D are noted as "good choice for bass trumpet".

    Is it largely down to cup depth?

    Thanks
    S

  2. I tried bass trombone mouthpieces on euphonium, and it worked, but it was rough. It seems like the difference is cup depth and probably the backbore. I don't have any experience with a "euphonium mouthpiece that is good for trombone", although some people talk about the Wick 4A line. It probably depends on the trombone and the player, and what limitations you're willing to put up with.

    As a trombonist, "medium bore" can mean a couple of different things. If you're in the US it means .525 bore. If you're in UK, it means 508. "Small shank" means a small tenor mouthpiece, like a standard 7C. 22C and D are very small mouthpieces, on the trombone scale.

    I play Doug Elliot mouthpieces on trombone, and SM3u on euph. Doug has different lines for trombone (st, lt, xt, sb, mb and lb) and euphonium (euph). It has been a recent discovery for me that after talking to a lot of people and kissing a lot of frogs, euph and tbone mouthpieces aren't interchangeable. It's like putting wheels on your car that don't really fit. It kinda works, but when you need it to work right, you want the right thing. I'm by no means an expert, but a former semi-pro, and active amateur. I still struggle with keeping my chops sorted between bone and euph (and bass bone and tuba, just to confuse things a bit more). I think having the correct mouthpiece is the best place for a doubler to start.

    Check out Doug Elliot's site. http://www.dougelliottmouthpieces.com/seriesrim.html
    and mouthpiece comparison chart http://www.dougelliottmouthpieces.com/mpccomp.html
    Last edited by hyperbolica; 06-15-2021 at 05:57 PM.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    Summerfield, Florida Sturgis, SD (summers)
    Posts
    1,868
    In my experience over many years, I found very few mouthpieces that seemed to work for both euphonium and trombone. One that comes to mind that seems to work on both instruments is the Wick 4AL. And much to my surprise, when I bought an Adams trombone, I tried it out with my euphonium mouthpiece (only one I had at the time), which is a Warburton Demondrae Thurman signature model. Viola, the Demondrae worked perfectly "for me" in the Adams trombone. I now play a gold plated Demondrae mp with my Adams euphonium (have for several years) and a silver plated Demondrae mp with my Adams trombone. And the trombone sounds like a trombone with that mp.
    John Morgan
    The U.S. Army Band (Pershing's Own) 1971-1976
    Adams E3 Custom Series Euphonium, 1956 B&H Imperial Euphonium,
    1973 F. E. Olds & Son Studio Model T-31 Baritone
    Adams TB1 Tenor Trombone, Yamaha YBL-822G Bass Trombone
    Year Round Except Summer:
    Kingdom of the Sun (KOS) Concert Band, Ocala, FL (Euphonium)
    KOS Brass Quintet (Trombone, Euphonium)
    Summer Only:
    Rapid City Municipal Band, Rapid City, SD (Euphonium)
    Rapid City New Horizons Band (Euphonium)

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