Wick 4AL vs SM4

[UglyGrayDuck]

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!

[TheJH]

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.

[highpitch]

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.

[Pat]

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.

[davewerden]

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

[aroberts781]

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.