[Dixielandjazz] Mouthpieces (was: Louis Armstrong mouthpiece)

[John McClernan]

Allan,
I'll stick with instruments made in the USA. I have yet to see/play/repair a brass instrument made in China that is worth buying. 

Though I have not played one of those plastic trombones, I HAVE played virtually every plastic sousaphone (and tubas when they used to make them) ever produced. None of them measured up to the brass ones. Plastic just doesn't vibrate and resonate like brass.  Maybe it's acceptable on a clarinet or an oboe or a piccolo, but I'm from Missouri when it comes to "plastic brass".
My 2¢.
Cheers,
John


On Feb 22, 2012, at 10:06 AM, Allan Brown wrote:

Dear Bob,

I don't know anything about trombones, or trombone mouthpieces so am unable to offer you any useful advice, however your post reminded me about something I've been meaning to ask the trombone players on this list. Sorry, if I'm hijacking your thread - hopefully both enquiries can be dealt with.

I was recently at a Dub/ Reggae gig and saw one of the horn section playing a plastic trombone. I enquired about it and it turns out it was a PBone!

http://www.pbone.co.uk/

I don't know if the subject has been discussed on here before, or whether anyone has tried one out, but to me at least, it sounded indistinguishable from the other more traditional metal trombone being played alongside it in the horn section. I've done a little bit of googling on the subject and it seems demand has completely outstripped supply. It sounds like they're a little rough at the beginning, in terms of the slide moving smoothly, but are soon ground down and seem to play very well.

I'd be interested to hear from anyone who may have played one. Certainly seems like a great development for making the trombone affordable for beginners.

Back to mouthpieces - I've just bought a new mouthpiece for my clarinet and I can't believe what a difference it's made. There was nothing wrong, technically, with the last one but for some reason it just didn't seem to suit my embouchure. I didn't appreciate the difference a mouthpiece can make!

So, Bob, I'd encourage you to buy a plastic mouthpiece and experiment with changing it's shape. You've got nothing to lose and if it works for you everything to gain. 

All the best,

Allan Brown
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