Griego Brian Bowman Mouthpiece sizes?

[D.M]

Does anyone have any information on the size of the Griego BB mouthpieces? There doesn’t seem to be any specs listed on there website, and I’m very intrigued as to what the sizes are.

[spkissane]

If they are the same as the older DEG ones, the measurements are on Dave's chart here: Euphonium Mouthpiece Guide (dwerden.com)

I'm not sure if this has been answered in the forum or not before, but does anyone know why they originally stopped producing these wildly popular mouthpieces?

[guidocorona]

I seem to recall that DEG might have gone dormant.... If this were correct, it might explain having passed the BB baton to Griego.... BTW, DEG as well as Griego, seem to be both affiliated to Getzen... Hence the BB series production is still staying well inside the family.

BTW, I have not tried BB mouthpieces yet.... I am only familiar with SM4U, DC4, and 4AL.... Hence here's my own question: what are the tonal and playing characteristics of BB1?

Regards, G.

[JakeGuilbo]

Looks like Griego had been making them for DEG and now just sell them themselves
Brian Bowman Mouthpieces : Griego (griegomouthpieces.com)

[dsurkin]

I seem to recall that DEG might have gone dormant.... If this were correct, it might explain having passed the BB baton to Griego.... BTW, DEG as well as Griego, seem to be both affiliated to Getzen... Hence the BB series production is still staying well inside the family.

BTW, I have not tried BB mouthpieces yet.... I am only familiar with SM4U, DC4, and 4AL.... Hence here's my own question: what are the tonal and playing characteristics of BB1?

Regards, G.

I use the BB1, and have tried Kadja and SM4U. The BB1 rim size is about 1.01 inches, similar to a Schilke 51D. The mouthpiece itself has a fair amount of mass, a deep cup and an open backbore. I find that the slightly smaller rim size makes the high range easier for me, and the shape of cup and backbore give me a solid core. The low range has a deep sound and the high range has a singing quality.

My teacher, Rob Stattel, was a student of Brian Bowman. Rob uses a medium shank BB1 with a Willson 2900 euphonium and like many students before me, I follow my teacher's example.

[guidocorona]

Thank you Dean for characterizing the tonal and playing qualities of BB1.... How would you contrast tonal and playing characteristics of SM4U against your favorite BB1?

Regards, Guido

[D.M]

[I use the BB1, and have tried Kadja and SM4U. The BB1 rim size is about 1.01 inches, similar to a Schilke 51D. The mouthpiece itself has a fair amount of mass, a deep cup and an open backbore. I find that the slightly smaller rim size makes the high range easier for me, and the shape of cup and backbore give me a solid core. The low range has a deep sound and the high range has a singing quality.] How would you describe the rim? I'm currently playing on a Schilke 51D and Denis Wick SM5 (Schilke for marching baritone, and Denis Wick for concert euphonium). I like the rim of the Schilke (to me it seems for comfortable), but I like the way I sound on the Wick. My lesson teacher says that I he likes the way I sound on the Wick too, but I'm not a big fan of the rim, to me it seems more "flat".

In short, I'm looking for a mouthpiece that has the characteristics of the Steven Mead, but with a more comfortable "rounder" rim, which is why I am asking questions about the Brian Bowman.

[dsurkin]

Thank you Dean for characterizing the tonal and playing qualities of BB1.... How would you contrast tonal and playing characteristics of SM4U against your favorite BB1?

Regards, Guido

Guido: For me (and players with less fleshy lips may get a different result), I felt that the BB1 had more volume inside the mouthpiece. My tone had stronger lower harmonics, which made my sound appear bigger. It was as if I changed horns from an American baritone to a British euphonium, if that makes sense.

[dsurkin]

[snip]
How would you describe the rim? I'm currently playing on a Schilke 51D and Denis Wick SM5 (Schilke for marching baritone, and Denis Wick for concert euphonium). I like the rim of the Schilke (to me it seems for comfortable), but I like the way I sound on the Wick. My lesson teacher says that I he likes the way I sound on the Wick too, but I'm not a big fan of the rim, to me it seems more "flat".

In short, I'm looking for a mouthpiece that has the characteristics of the Steven Mead, but with a more comfortable "rounder" rim, which is why I am asking questions about the Brian Bowman.

I find the BB1 rim to be quite comfortable, and (for me, at least) when compared to the SM, I have a more secure high range and my compensating range is no longer tending sharp.

[guidocorona]

Thank you Dean for all the excellent information... Most enlightening!

Regards, Guido

[JTJ]

[I use the BB1, and have tried Kadja and SM4U. The BB1 rim size is about 1.01 inches, similar to a Schilke 51D. The mouthpiece itself has a fair amount of mass, a deep cup and an open backbore. I find that the slightly smaller rim size makes the high range easier for me, and the shape of cup and backbore give me a solid core. The low range has a deep sound and the high range has a singing quality.] How would you describe the rim? I'm currently playing on a Schilke 51D and Denis Wick SM5 (Schilke for marching baritone, and Denis Wick for concert euphonium). I like the rim of the Schilke (to me it seems for comfortable), but I like the way I sound on the Wick. My lesson teacher says that I he likes the way I sound on the Wick too, but I'm not a big fan of the rim, to me it seems more "flat".

In short, I'm looking for a mouthpiece that has the characteristics of the Steven Mead, but with a more comfortable "rounder" rim, which is why I am asking questions about the Brian Bowman.

Hi D.M. -- I don't think the BB1 will be at all what you want if you are looking for something like the Mead mouthpieces. I would look at the Alliance DC (David Childs) series first before I tried the Bowman, which is in a different mouthpiece universe than the SMs.

John

[D.M]

Thank you for your information Mr. John. I'm not a very knowledgeable in the mouthpiece world, so thank you for the clarification. So what would you say are the characteristics of the mouthpiece compared to the SMs? Also, what makes the BB1 and SM series different.

Also, I hope I am not annoying anyone with these types of questions, I really like information like this and learning from it.

[mbrooke]

[I use the BB1, and have tried Kadja and SM4U. The BB1 rim size is about 1.01 inches, similar to a Schilke 51D. The mouthpiece itself has a fair amount of mass, a deep cup and an open backbore. I find that the slightly smaller rim size makes the high range easier for me, and the shape of cup and backbore give me a solid core. The low range has a deep sound and the high range has a singing quality.] How would you describe the rim? I'm currently playing on a Schilke 51D and Denis Wick SM5 (Schilke for marching baritone, and Denis Wick for concert euphonium). I like the rim of the Schilke (to me it seems for comfortable), but I like the way I sound on the Wick. My lesson teacher says that I he likes the way I sound on the Wick too, but I'm not a big fan of the rim, to me it seems more "flat".

In short, I'm looking for a mouthpiece that has the characteristics of the Steven Mead, but with a more comfortable "rounder" rim, which is why I am asking questions about the Brian Bowman.

Hi D.M.

You say that the BB1 gives you a good high and low range with a singing quality. So what do you like better about the SM4U?

I have used a 51D, BB1 and various Wicks in the past. Out of the three, I prefer the 51D sound, but they are all close in sound. The Wicks are more open, but for me that is not necessarily a good thing. The 51D gives me a more core but with a smoother sound. I find that the BB1 has a very sharp rim which made it uncomfortable and also feel smaller that its 1.02 size. The 51D is smaller than the 51D at about 1.00 size, but the rim is not so sharp.

Mike

[D.M]

Hi Mr. Mike, I was actually trying to quote dsurkin, but I don't know how to, so I put what he said in the brackets.