mouthpiece bite
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I have a mouthpiece I like but it has a sharp bite. I'd like to round it off a bit. Has anyone tried this? What might be the best approach?
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@_mark_
I wouldn't try it myself. But if you have the equipment and know what you are doing then that is different. But soften it too much and the next G you play may slide up to a C.I'm sure there are experts who can do this for you at a price, but it may be just cheaper to find a new one that will be kinder to your chops.
I play one of Trent Austin's mouthpieces, an ACB3CS that's changed my life. It replaces first a Bach 5C that was too sharp and cost me a few injuries after playing tough and long concerts. After that a Wedge helped but in the end it was the ACB3CS that was the answer, Some times I barely
feel it on my chops. No more injuries and no more having to skip a day of playing while trying to recover from a long and tough concert. -
If you round off the inner edge, you may not like it any more. Your attacks will probably become less secure and the cup will feel significantly wider than it did before.
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I have one friend who loves to tinker with mouthpieces but, of course, he doesn't have a machine lathe or the right tools to do a professional job. He always buys a certain type of older mouthpiece whenever he can find one. (Always the same basic model.) Then he chucks them up in a big drill, clamps it down to the workbench, and then goes after it with drill bits to open up the throat a little and various grades of emery cloth to change the rim or whatever.
I do not recommend this. Among other things, he winds up taking off most of the silver plating leaving a raw brass mouthpiece. He will get one that he thinks is perfect for a while, but after a few weeks he's on to a new experiment. If he ever did find the perfect configuration, he could never replicate it.
Just buy used mouthpieces online and try different ones. It's fairly cheap that way and if you ever find the perfect one, you can buy more.
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Reading this just validates my decision to get 5 mm mouthpieces by Harrelson. They have 5 modular parts that include the rim, cup, throat, back bore, that screw into the main base. Each kit comes with several choices of these components so you can mix and match.
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well, thanks. I thought so. I asked after a painful session, but knew I didn't want to dig in and mess it up. I'll just try different mouthpieces as the budget permits.
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So, what mouthpiece is giving you the pain?
