An important MP change

GeorgeB

This is the new DENIS WICKmouthpiece I am using:

This time last year I was diagnosed with AFIB ( irregular heart beat ) and had to start taking a drug that has since affected my trumpet playing in a negative way, basically my endurance and range. I have always used larger mouthpiece IDs in the vicinity of .640 to .650.
A friend of mine, a semi-pro player gifted me with a duplicate of the mp he uses for his lead playing: the Denis Wick 5X. He felt it would help me. I wasn't too sure. Even though I used a 10.5C Bach for 12 years ( 1953-1965 ), when I tried to use it for my comeback in 2016 it just didn't work. The Bach 5C seemed to work best and later when I changed bands I went to a 3C to give me a stronger sound spread. But the larger cups have always hindered my higher range ( anything over a top space A ). And for the past year, thanks to AFIB, My A's are really, really weak. these days.
Anyway, to make a long story shorter, the Denis Wick has been a great help, especially for my endurance, and my range, too. My A's are much stronger . Eventually I hope to work my way up to the F over high C, which I used to do every morning as part of my expanding scale exercises, but am ( or was ) now lucky to get up to a weak High C.

I always thought Denis Wick was big in Cornet mps but I am discovering he makes damn good trumpet mouthpieces, too.

Our band is playing again, so I am looking forward to our 90 minute practice session tomorrow night to test my the Wick 5X even further... and my endurance.

Dr GO

I can see it now:

Denis Wick will make A-fib alright and that's no lie!

GeorgeB

@dr-go

I believe you, Doc. One little fly in the ointment. I have always been good in the lower range, say from G down to F# below the staff. Because of the smaller Wick ID I'm having a little trouble getting clean notes down there. But I have some exercises that should fix that in time.

Dr GO

@georgeb said in An important MP change:

@dr-go

Because of the smaller Wick ID I'm having a little trouble getting clean notes down there. But I have some exercises that should fix that in time.

Perhaps just relaxing the embouchure will achieve this .

GeorgeB

@dr-go
Yes, that is exactly what I must do.

I've been playing larger mouth[pieces for so long that my embouchure is probably a bit confused, and it's probably a memory thing. The more I use the 5X, the sooner it will all come together.

Shifty

@georgeb said in An important MP change:

I always thought Denis Wick was big in Cornet mps but I am discovering he makes damn good trumpet mouthpieces, too.

I've been playing a lot on a Denis Wick 5 on cornet (5B at times, depending on the horn). It took a while to get used to, but the effort is worth it when I want the BBB sound. I also use a Denis Wick on baritone.

It seemed logical to assume that I might like a Denis Wick 5 trumpet piece. It has a pleasant feel, but I find it too shallow and it has absolutely no bite on the inner rim. Of course, who could know what Wick means by "Traditional French cup for jazz and light music players."

I've got a couple dozen trumpet and cornet mouthpieces, and the Wick 5 is the only one that I really can't play due to the rim issue. But I recently got a Curry 6TF that I really like.

How is the inner rim on your 5X?

I'm glad it's working for you.

GeorgeB

@shifty
Hi, shifty, the 5X rim is similar to an ACB 5CS I had been using, only smaller so it is no problem. The rim offers the same support as the ACB 5CS and that is great.

I returned to band practice last night and played about 105 minutes straight. Lots of tough tunes with much above the staff playing as well. I hadn't been able to play that long in a year so the Denis Wick London 5X is sort of a miracle. And I do believe the shallow cup is also helping me get my range back as I played D above high C for the first time in a year. I used a Bach New York 10.5C gold rimmed mp between 1953 and 1965 so have a gold Wick is really nice. My lips don't slip on gold.

George