Not really a "mouthpiece safari" but the need for a "saving grace" type of mouthpiece...

ButchA

You got a deal!! Your Bach 10¾CW mouthpiece came in the mail today! I quickly made a demo video playing it along with my Bach 3C, playing the standard tune "Happy Wanderer".

I will PM you with the final details...

Edit... Sorry about the goof-up and timing issue at the very end of the video. I was trying to merge in an image of the album cover from the jazz rock band "Chase", and also insert a sample audio track from their song "So Many People", and as you can tell, it started way too soon. Oops...

GeorgeB

@ButchA
Hey, buddy, good to see you found a possible solution. I still use my old 1953 gold rim Bach 10.5C now and then, and I have a Bach 10.5CW, the W is for wide and it has that great cushion rim like the larger one you now have. I used to use mine for band work until I found the Wedge, which also has an amazingly comfortable rim.

Rapier232

@ButchA said in Not really a "mouthpiece safari" but the need for a "saving grace" type of mouthpiece...:

Thanks, everyone!

One more question: Does anyone have experience with Denis Wick mouthpieces?

I have a Trumpet 5x. Wick. Very uncomfortable. And yet I can happily play on the 4M or 5 on cornet.

One not on your list that is worth a look is the Smith Watkins Mike Lovatt mouthpiece range. The Lead and Studio versions are very comfortable to play for long periods. You can get 3 different weight boosters too, that screw fit. If you don’t know of Mike Lovatt, check him out on YouTube. Awesome player and much in demand as a lead player for films, shows and orchestra. Flies to the US to play for Seth McFarland and Michael Buble regularly.

Kehaulani

Just as an observation, and not addressing in any other parameters but sound, I think your sound on the 10 3/4 is tinnier

GeorgeB

@Kehaulani said in Not really a "mouthpiece safari" but the need for a "saving grace" type of mouthpiece...:

Just as an observation, and not addressing in any other parameters but sound, I think your sound on the 10 3/4 is tinnier

I too noticed a difference between it and the 3C he played first. I find my sound is tinnier, too when I switch from my Wedge 65MD ( a bit larger than the Bach 3C ) to either of my Bach 10C mouthpieces. I attribute that to the smaller size cups.

Kehaulani

It's my understanding that a smaller mouthpiece enhances the higher overtones. But that doesn't necessarily change quality of the tone. Back in the 60s, I knew a number of first-call L.A. studio players who used, by today's standards, much smaller mouthpieces, yet they sounded pretty good.

ButchA

Thanks.... It was the very first time I played a small cup MP, in that video. I was unsure and a little hesitant (as seen in the beginning when I put it to my lips).

I will try it more and more and see how well it plays. The main thing is that I don't strain, and I don't get that temporary indentation on my upper lip from too much pressure.

This post is deleted!

Kehaulani

It's my understanding that Bach mpcs. have gotten larger over the years. A 3C from years ago is smaller than today's. Trent Austin (ACB) has a 3C that's his take on a MV mpc. that he got from Arturo. It's smaller than conventional, current mpcs. It's a superb mpc. which you might want to give a try.

You need to check before you order, but I think they have a seven-day return policy.

GeorgeB

I don't doubt for a minute that you can get a good sound with a small mouthpiece. I played a Bach 10.5C exclusively between 1953 and 1965 and was told quite often that I had a good tone. The Wedge I play now is a bit larger than the Bach 3C, and its cup shape is somewhere between a C and V shape. This has really opened up sound for me with little effort. I only use the smaller 10.5C to extend my endurance when I do a lot above the staff, but I know I could get a pretty nice warm sound from it if, as Franklin said, I put time and effort into it. I think that would happen for Butch, too if he really likes the mouthpiece.

ButchA

@GeorgeB ,

Thanks... Endurance is my biggest thing right now. I feel like I just don't have the chops that I used to. Right now, an easy experiment with a different diameter rim (along with the massive, wide rim shape), might prove to be a good answer.

What's funny is I don't care for the ubiquitous Bach 7C that everyone and their brother has played. The rim itself feels too narrow, like a french horn mouthpiece or something. The whole size, depth, diameter, of the 7C just turns me off.

So far I like the comfort and ease of playing with the 10¾CW mouthpiece. Once I fiddle around with it some more and get used to it, I am quite sure I will have no problems. The other option is to really consider the Wedge MP, but I don't understand how it works, how it gets all assembled, etc...

Kehaulani

Butch, I don't mean this disingenuously, but how much practicing to you do and what do you practice?

ButchA

Honest? Seriously... Uh...

I practice only a few days a week, and only for maybe a 1/2 hour at max. I hate to say it, especially on a great trumpet forum like this, but I am more of a rock guitarist than anything.

I started trumpet in 4th grade at around age 10 or 11, and also picked up a guitar around the same time. Both instruments competed with each other, and still do to this day.

Kehaulani

There's no shame in having a sense of priorities that are you-specific (illegalities or other bad conduct, notwithstanding). But I ask the question, and I appreciate your candor, but I don't think a mouthpiece chase is going to do you much benefit. If you want more significant enhancement of your playing, you need to practice more and do it more smartly.

djeffers78

I’m not a mouthpiece guru or anything like that or even a good amateur but I do play in a few bands and play more than one brass instrument
I’ve played a 10 1/2c and a Schilke 14A4 and a so called cushion rim mouthpiece.
I found that endurance is easier on a bigger diameter/cup dimension and a more open throat. I think really good breathing and relaxing go way further in endurance and range than any shape or size mouthpiece.
Another thing I’ve been guilty of the sops up energy and kills range is holding back. Really blow and be heard. Your trumpet is not as loud in front of it 4 yards out as it is to you behind the bell 19”-20”.
Kinda like playing a guitar gig. You gotta move your amp away from you to really hear yourself but you can’t move your horn so.....
You gotta relax and breathe and blow

ButchA

Here's another video that I just made with my 3 mouthpieces. All I am doing is a basic Bb scale, double octave, up to the "high C". I am no expert, but you can clearly hear a difference between the mouthpieces.

I am also doing the scale one handed, to avoid any type of pressure or anything with the mouthpiece(s) against my embouchure.

Edit: My own personal opinion: The most easiest, most comfortable mouthpiece, was the Bach 10¾CW. I felt like I had no pressure, no straining, no anything, to do the double Bb scale to the "high C".

In review:
Bach 10¾CW - arguably the easiest MP to play both low and high without any straining.
Bach 3C - a fantastic MP with a full sound, but after the high A, I start straining.
Curry 3M. - a really amazing, custom, MP that is (according to Mark Curry) in between a 3C and a 3D. I went right up to the high C with minimal straining.

ACB

@Kehaulani I didn't get the mpc from Arturo. You are thinking of Warburton. Ours was a culmination of 4 different Bach MV 3C's that I scanned, duplicated, and started combining parameters to create the one we sell. I play this mpc and it's our #1 selling piece in the ACB line. Cheers!

Kehaulani

@ACB So it's a combined parameters with your touch to it. Well, I don't usually lean towards Bach 3Cs but have got to say that this is a hell of a mouthpiece.

ROWUK

@ButchA said in Not really a "mouthpiece safari" but the need for a "saving grace" type of mouthpiece...:

In review:
Bach 10¾CW - arguably the easiest MP to play both low and high without any straining.
Bach 3C - a fantastic MP with a full sound, but after the high A, I start straining.
Curry 3M. - a really amazing, custom, MP that is (according to Mark Curry) in between a 3C and a 3D. I went right up to the high C with minimal straining.

In my world, no direct mouthpiece comparison has any meaning at all. We need to acclimate and that takes time. I have played mouthpieces (like the 14A4A) that were 15 minutes of bliss then caved because my lips bottomed out. I certainly could have solved that problem, but at what cost? Only a couple of months can tell!

We are the sum of what we repeatedly do. Regular and intelligent practice helps us create reliable playing targets. Mouthpiece searches - especially for those without well trained embouchures are a crap shoot!

I recommend picking ONE MOUTHPIECE and sticking with it for a couple of months. At that time, if you have been taking notes, you should be able to come up with the next step (stick with the mouthpiece or change).

As far as your comparison, it sounds like it was done in a small room. When trying to fill up larger playing venues, small mouthpieces can be a lot of work.

Please do not confuse what works for strong players with recommendations for weaker players.

GeorgeB

Hey, Butch, I totally agree with Rowuk. You really have to play a mouth piece for a few months to find out if it is really the one. In my case the Bach 10.5C, was my main mouthpiece for 12 years in my younger days ( 1953 to 1965 when I stopped playing). Fifty + years later ( 2016 ) I made a comeback and found the smaller piece did not work for me. After trying several different makes and sizes I settled for a Bach 3C for the first year, a Bach 5C the second year, and a Wedge 65MD for the past year or so. I liked them all, but each of the first two caused me some minor problems ( primarily with endurance and pressure ) that disappeared entirely when I started playing the Wedge. I would not be playing in the band I am with today if I wasn't playing the Wedge.
In my opinion the Bach 10.75CW seemed to be the easiest of the three for you to play the 2 octave scale. Why not give IT a really good tryout for a few months and then see how things are going.