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Thread: Wick 4AL vs SM4

  1. #1

    Wick 4AL vs SM4

    Hey folks, I am curious about what the difference is between the regular 4al and the Steven Mead mouthpiece? Is it a big difference?

    Sorry if there's already a thread on here somewhere about this same subject!
    Nicholas
    Shires Q41s
    Alliance DC3/K&G 4+

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Location
    Netherlands
    Posts
    338
    The SM4 has a rounder rim and a more funnel-shaped cup. For me the SM4 gives me a darker, rounder sound whereas the 4AL gives me a more open sound.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Hidden Valley, AZ
    Posts
    1,034
    I tried several SM- series MP's.

    One has to have real tough chops to make them work for you. Hours a day tough chops.

    Nope.

  4. #4
    I used an SM4 several years ago and didn't find that it brought me anything that I didn't already have with my 4AL, so I gravitated back to the 4AL.
    Sterling Virtuoso Euphonium, Denis Wick 4AL

  5. #5
    Here is a video doing a quick comparison of the 4AL and the SM4. FWIW, I agree that the SM is less open sounding, but has a tighter core (those 2 things kinda go together). I had never noticed the SM4 being harder to play.

    https://youtu.be/X3caV2-5ZZA

    Dave Werden (ASCAP)
    Euphonium Soloist, U.S. Coast Guard Band, retired
    Adams Artist (Adams E3)
    Alliance Mouthpiece (DC3)
    YouTube: dwerden
    Facebook: davewerden
    Twitter: davewerden
    Instagram: davewerdeneuphonium

  6. #6
    I don't have any direct experience comparing the 4AL to the SM4, but I did spend a lot of time switching between a 3AL and SM3U. My experience was that the SM3U felt a little smaller on the face, and it also seemed like a more focused, narrow, direct sort of sound than the 3AL. I think that is more or less what Dave describes as an open sound to the 4AL and a tighter core to the SM4.

    I liked the SM3U because I felt that it helped my flexibility and articulation, but I ended up sticking with the 3AL after I did some blind play tests for friends and the result was unanimously in favor of the 3AL.

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