Hi, I restarted playing at the beginning of the year after a 20 year break, have bought a new (to me) sovereign 928 cornet, and initially was using a new Denis Wick mouthpiece, but found and am presently using my old mouthpiece, a KosiKup which I have had since I was about 12 (i'm now 60). My question is is there any reason I shouldn't use this mouthpiece,? it's comfortable, I'm having trouble in the upper register, but think that may just be the length of time I stopped playing for. My only concern is that obviously there has been changes in instruments over the years, but has mouthpiece technology changed, and would I be better trying some more modern mouthpieces. What are everybody's thoughts?
Advice I've heard (and go by) is that primarily choose the mouthpiece for comfort and tone. If your KosiKup does this fine (and it sounds like it does), focus your attention and energy on practising and improving. It's all too easy to fall into the vicious trap of searching for the elusive perfect mouthpiece.
If the KosiKup works for you then I suggest that you use it and don't worry whether anything else might work better for a while. Has mouthpiece technology changed? Well I suspect so as Mr Wick has had quite an imput into what's available to and considered good by players. However that doesn't mean that the classics of past years are now useless - they surely must play as well as they ever did - but rather that other worthwhile pieces are now available too. By chance I picked up an old mouthpiece matched to an instrument now in store. I'm told it was a KosiKup and if I could buy a new one like it I would, it played just great and really matched the instrument that I used it on.
As long as you're not exposing your chops to raw (unplated) brass I wouldn't worry about it - go with what gives best results.
Thanks for your thoughts, agree totally about searching for the perfect mouthpiece, just after such a long break, didn't want to be it harder by using unsuitable equipment
Thank you, when I bought it they were a very well respected mouthpiece, no idea why they went out of business
No you're right, there isn't, just me overthinking things again! Mind you it does seem to have run out of good notes and its nowhere near as good at getting into the upper register as it used to be!
From what I can track down on the 'net, it appears that the KosiKup was originally made by Hawkes and Son, and continued in production after Hawkes & Son merged with Boosey's - then being engraved 'Boosey & Hawkes'. KosiKups still do crop up from time to time on E-bay - condition varying from well-battered to clean, smooth and shiny.
