K+G 4D+ First Impressions...

[CousinJack]

Sorry to tease but I will let you all know tomorrow! Just came back from four days hill walking and mountain climbing in Wales having had it shipped from Thomann whilst I was away. My experiment, reverting back to the 4AL a few months ago, made me consider the K+G range. The weight is distributed a similar way, but these are designed specifically for euphonium. If it feels much the same I would consider that a success, as I've very much been enjoying my 4AL!

[iMav]

I've got a K&G 3D I haven't spent too much time with. (currently bouncing between my SM4U and PT-7C)

[SamMcHenry00]

Will love to see your impressions! I’ve been on a K&G 4D for a few months now and have loved my sound on it. It just feels a little small (as others on the forum have warned), so I’ll be moving up to a 3.5D+ soon. Interested to see how the Masters Range compares to the standard as well.

[UglyGrayDuck]

Sam, were you coming from a 4 size mouthpieces from other brands/26mm rim?

[SamMcHenry00]

Sam, were you coming from a 4 size mouthpieces from other brands/26mm rim?

In a very roundabout way yes haha. My daily driver before this was a Warburton Brandon Jones that I eventually felt to have too large of a rim diameter and too large of a throat for me. I switched between several used 26 mm sized pieces (Bach, Wick, Schilke, and Stork) before biting the bullet and buying a K&G, something I had wanted to do for several months.

[CousinJack]

So I have done a short play on it (and maybe tired myself out before band later oops). I was intending to go back and forth on the 4AL and 4D+ on some studies to compare but once I put the 4D+ in I didn't want to take it out.

The feeling of playing was very similar in the middle dynamics and middle range (and indeed it sounded quite similar), but I felt the mouthpiece could take a lot more in the loud stuff. It needed less support in the high stuff (perhaps, a bit like the SM4X, it fought back a little bit when really going for it) and the quiet stuff had such a lovely warm and round sound. The articulation was so easy, which I guess is the point of the masters range! I could do with the backbore being a bit wider maybe, and perhaps I will consider switching to the 3.5D+ in a year or so, but for the time being I'm pretty certain I've found my mouthpiece!

I've got band later, and the possibility to switch from a York Eminence to a recently tracked down German Besson of either Sovereign or Prestige variety, so could well be all change in my equipment a lot sooner than I realised

[franz]

I came across the K&G mouthpieces 6 or 7 years ago and have been hooked ever since. I get to try something different every once in a while, but so far K&G wins big. I usually play on the 3D+ on euphonium and French C tuba and on the T4B-C on trombone. Too bad the master series ( marked +) for trombone is limited to size 4.5, too small for me. I love K&G mouthpieces!

[CousinJack]

After band a couple of nights ago I confirm it works on my new band instrument also, which is a German Sovereign with a trigger. What I felt initially at home (and on the York) about preservation of tone when pushing or projecting is true there also, which means I found a lot of security in the solo passages I was covering for an absent principle euph

[CousinJack]

I came across the K&G mouthpieces 6 or 7 years ago and have been hooked ever since. I get to try something different every once in a while, but so far K&G wins big. I usually play on the 3D+ on euphonium and French C tuba and on the T4B-C on trombone. Too bad the master series ( marked +) for trombone is limited to size 4.5, too small for me. I love K&G mouthpieces!

Design seems to work well for me! Seems to be somewhere between a Bach and a Wick in cup depth and weight distribution. Rim feels like a Wick rim (ie quite flat) which I guess bucks the modern trend of rounded rims but I don't mind as I've always played on a flatter rim

[lele]

Buongiorno Franz un'informazione, ho sempre suonato l'eufonio e il trombone con bocchini alliance wa72/6 molto comodi con tazza da 25,40 mm, e un bore di 7,40 mm, ho sentito parlare molto bene dei K&g tanto che vorrei provarne qualcuno per l'eufonio con la misura della tazza non piu' grande di 25,40 mm ma ho sentito he le misure di questi bocchini sono piu' piccole rispetto alla realta' quindi ero indeciso se prendere un 5o un 5,5 d, mi puo' consigliare quale dei due sarebbe piu' vicino come misure all' Alliance grazie mille Lele.

Edit to translate: Hello Franz, one piece of information, I have always played the euphonium and the trombone with very comfortable alliance wa72/6 mouthpieces with a 25.40 mm cup, and a 7.40 mm bore, I have heard very good things about K&G so much that I would like try some for the euphonium with the cup size no bigger than 25.40 mm but I heard that the sizes of these mouthpieces are smaller than the real thing so I was undecided whether to get a 5 or a 5.5 d, Can you advise me which of the two would be closest to the Alliance in terms of measures, thanks a lot Lele.

[franz]

Buongiorno Franz un'informazione, ho sempre suonato l'eufonio e il trombone con bocchini alliance wa72/6 molto comodi con tazza da 25,40 mm, e un bore di 7,40 mm, ho sentito parlare molto bene dei K&g tanto che vorrei provarne qualcuno per l'eufonio con la misura della tazza non piu' grande di 25,40 mm ma ho sentito he le misure di questi bocchini sono piu' piccole rispetto alla realta' quindi ero indeciso se prendere un 5o un 5,5 d, mi puo' consigliare quale dei due sarebbe piu' vicino come misure all' Alliance grazie mille Lele.

The measurement of the internal diameter of the mouthpieces, being made on a radius, is an approximate value. Also the rim radius differs on the various models, resulting in identical internal diameters feeling different, in a practical sense, on the lips. To give you an example, I recently purchased a Warburton Demondrae mouthpiece which has a stated diameter of 26.1mm which, on the practical side, I feel similar (the rim is wider and more rounded than the K&G) to the 3D with a nominal diameter of 26. ,7mm. So, after this premise, I don't have an answer to your question, as I have no experience with the mouthpieces in question, especially since the mouthpiece indicated on the comparison table on the K&G website for a diameter of 25.4mm is the 6D. Personally I would opt for the 5D, the Alliance mouthpieces, if I remember correctly, have a rather rounded edge, and the sensation could be similar to the one I experienced on the Demondrae.

[lele]

Perfetto grazie mille lo provero e le farò sapere!!!!