Back on the Wheel

I do try to avoid the Mouthpiece Wheel of Doom. I know its dangers and pitfalls all too well.

As it stands my desk looks like a church organ with its mouthpieces shooting up in little groups all over. I have at least 4 different Laskeys, a Schilke, an IYM, some Wick, some Giardinelli ... and that's not even considering the Mellophone and Tenor Horn mouthpieces.

I've been pretty happy with my Laskey 80J. I like the shallower cup of the J line, and I like the size of the 80. I'm also getting more and more comfortable with the H200. I've got the internal intonation about licked, and the evenness between notes. The one thing that isn't quite there is the sheer power that I had with the H179. Face it -- this is a smaller horn.

So, I was reading Horn Matters and I ran across an article on heavy mouthpieces, and how it can help in playing louder (for the lack of a better explanation). What the heck -- I have a couple. Let's try.

First was the IYM. I'm still having issues with the rim size, bore size and cup. Then I pulled out the Wick. I gave the Wick a decent shakedown once before, but not on the H200.

Interesting. I can feel it gives more power to the sound. Downside -- high notes take a little more effort. I wish it had a shallower cup.

Maybe it's time to have a Moosewood mouthpiece made. I wish I knew what to ask for, but with the help of John and Mark, I might be able to whittle something out!