[Dixielandjazz] Trumpet Mouthpieces Questions

[Jan Nichols]

Bill

I'm mainly a lurker, with a smokin' "delete key", but your question caught
my attention.  

First off, I'm very surprised that there are any Olds "Pinto" trumpets left
out there!  I was the 
"horn tester" at F.E.Olds when they introduced the Olds "Pinto" and the
F.A. Reynolds "Ranger".  The concept was very interesting:  a "modular"
trumpet for rental purposes.  When a retail store got back a rental trumpet
and the kid had crushed the bell (for example), the store could "bolt-on" a
new bell for less than $50.  On paper the concept was brilliant.  In real
life, it was a production nightmare.  The first cart of 25 instrument that
came into the Final Inspection Room (my domain) was visually very nice. 
The appearance of each instrument was well within the standards of the
Quality Control program.  However, when I put a mouthpiece in the first few
horns, I called the Plant Manager, Don Agard, and told him that we had a
problem!  Because the various parts of the instrument were "bolt-together"
, they leaked somethin' awful!  Of the first 100 instruments that made it
into my area, only two passed the "play test".  It took several weeks to
get the first 200 ready to ship!  Sometimes, old-fashioned solder works
best!

As to the mouthpiece question, it could fill a Doctoral thesis!  Here are
the basics for you.
	
	The Bach mouthpiece line has become the hallmark or measuring stick for
the rest of
	the industry.  The Bach 7C is a ledgend in itself, but you have to know
that there have
	been many 7C's over the years.  It seems that Vincent and Selmer Corp.
(the new 
	owner) have allowed the 7C to wander "all over the lot".  I have a 7C from
Vincent
	Bach's Mount Vernon era that is deeper than a modern day 1C!!!  At one
point the
	C.G.Conn Company (another former employer of mine) wanted to put a "7C" in
each
	new trumpet's case.  In order to determine what a 7C was, we purchased 35,
brand-
	new Bach mouthpieces, cut them in half and proceeded to measure them with
highly 
	sophisticated machiney.  Would you believe, we had 35 different
mouthpieces?  You
	betcha.  Selmer didn't take a lot of trouble in maintaining their
tooling's integrity, ever.
	However, there are some basic rules that will give you a head-start in
finding the 
	impossible.......the mouthpiece of your dreams.

With the V. Bach line, the lower the number, the wider the cup of the
mouthpiece.  This basic-
ally gives you more "reed" (your lip) to vibrate.  A 1C is a wonderful
symphonic mouthpiece, that gives you more than enough sound to play over 60
violins in a symphony orchestra!  The
down side is that it takes some very strong "chops" to handle this
mouthpiece.  The 7C is supposed to be the "middle of the road" mouthpiece. 
I have found that it is the mouthpiece that fits everyone equally badly! 
If you want a beautiful, full sound, try a 5C, or 3C if you want to spend a
lot of time (like Bob Romans) playing long tones to build up a strong
embouchure.

The 10 1/2C is a good mouthpiece for children or women players with very
thin lips.  This is not designed to be sexist, just honest.  They have less
"reed" to vibrate!

The Schilke and Yamaha lines of mouthpiece have their own numbering system.
In conversations with Reynold Schilke, in the early 1980's, he suggested
that we subtract "4" from the number on either Schilke or Yamaha 
mouthpieces and then invert the numbering system.  While this is a very
loose way to look at it, it gives you a yardstick.  The Schilke 20
is the equivalent of the Bach -4C (a true manly-man mouthpiece).  I used
one for several months, until the other trumpet players started complaining
about not being able to be heard over the volume I was generating!  They
give you a great deal of sound.

At this time, I'm using a Conn "Pro-Constellation" 85-A cornet for all my
trad playing.  It has a beautiful, mellow sound, but does not record very
well.  I have had to move from a Bach 1C to a Bach 3C to get enough edge to
get on the microphone.  The down side is that it doesn't get the beautiful
tone of the 1C.  However, it does record very well.

Bottom line, your search for the mouthpiece of your dreams could go on
forever.  Make an informed decision, based on what you want.  Want a bigger
sound?  Move from a 7C to a 3C and wait for 60 days.  You, like every other
trumpeter,  will go through a "honeymoon" with your new mouthpiece.  Like a
good woman, you have to live with a new mouthpiece for a while to know if
it is doing what you want it to do.

Good luck,

Jan Nichols
Old Town Jazz Band
San Jacinto, CA, USA   
	


> [Original Message]
> From: <mensa-1 at webtv.net (william crist)>
> To: <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Date: 7/29/03 8:23:19 PM
> Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Trumpet Mouthpieces Questions
>
> Some dumb questions.
>
> I recently bought on Olds Pinto trumpet
> that came with no mouthpiece.  I am no trumpet player , but wanted to
> try to play a little.  I played trombone for several years , from the
> 40's to the 70's but haven't played in several years.
> I have a Holton mouthpiece that I tried but it seemed to take too much
> air to blow.    I picked up a Bach 3 C which is much easier to blow.
> My question is : what is the differences in the designations on the Bach
> mouthpieces ?  I know they run from 1 to 20 and A thru F. I think the
> numbers designate rim size and the letters cup depth. I want one that
> doesn't take a lot of lung capacity to blow since 50 years of smoking
> have reduced mine.
> I don't want to reach stratospheric notes like Maynard Ferguson, just
> lower to middle range .
> Can anyone recommend a designation that I might be comfortable with.?
> I have several other Cornets and Trumpets , some new and some used,
> including 2 pocket trumpets most of which have generic mouthpieces. If I
> can find a good mouthpiece I might try playing them.  One of the pocket
> trumpets is very easy to blow and has a better feel and tone than the
> other.
>
> TIA
> Bill Crist
>
>
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