Euphonium Mouthpieces, which do you use?

Seedhouse

Seedhouse

Active Member
Hello, I was just wondering about which Euph mouthpieces people use.
I use an SM4 and an SM5. (mainly SM5 at the mo)
I find the SM mouthpieces to be very good to use, allowing me to play much easier than some of the other mouthpieces i've tried, and I like the comfort of using them and also the depth of the lower register.
I'm now just looking forward to getting my Prestige in May, and then i'll be a very happy person! :D
 
MoominDave

MoominDave

Well-Known Member
I haven't given the SM range a fair trial yet but found recently that the Wick 3AL I'd played on since the age of 13 or so was manifestly inferior (IMO of course) to the Bach 2G that I use for gentler Bass Trombone stuff. I think the important difference is in the rims - the Bach has a narrower, sharper edge to it, which gives less support, but oodles more flexibility with consequent ease of tone and articulation. Whenever I've tried using a VB mouthpiece with a Euph before I've been worried about producing too Trombony a sound, but it doesn't seem to feel that way anymore.

Dave
 
A

Anonymous

Member
Please pardon a mere trombonist on this thread but it is funny Dave. (Hi Dave.) I've switched to an SM5 on my trombone. I guess I must hope not to sound too euph-like then
 
MoominDave

MoominDave

Well-Known Member
Hi Colin. Like I said, I haven't tried out the SM range, although I did play Bass Trom with an SM3 at a rehearsal helping out Swindon Pegasus a few years ago after I'd left my mouthpiece at home. The effect was muchos barkos, particularly in the lower register. However, it seemed far more suited to the Trombone than the 3AL (*). Perhaps the conclusion we can infer from this is that the SM range is simply better all round than the AL range.


Dave

(*) I had a fun experience last autumn playing at an orchestral concert in Cambridge, doing Tenor Trom for 'Cockaigne' with the 3AL. V. hard work, but those high Trombone tunes sailed over everything else... I felt a bit better about the state of my lip when I learnt that Joe Alessi (1st Trom with the New York Phil (I think that's right)) practises for 6 hours a day to maintain his lip on a Bach 3G...
 
C

carlwoodman

Member
Euphonium mouthpieces

2 of my friends (both now have a Prestige euphoniums) play on Bach 1 1/2G's. Beats me how they do it because 1 1/2G's have no rim to speak of!
 
MoominDave

MoominDave

Well-Known Member
I used to have lessons on Euph from a Bass Trombonist who once made me do a session on a 1 1/2G. I must have been 15 or so, and couldn't handle it at all in the high register. The difference between then and now is that my embouchure has become stronger - the wide rim that supports less strong chops actually inhibits the player with more developed lip control, in my experience. For me, a 1 1/2G would be a bit bigger than was necessary, but Grant Charleston (1st Euph for us and for the RAF Central Band) told me that he used to play on a 1 1/4G, and an American chap called Henry Howey who contacted me after downloading some of the (free) quintet arrangements on my web-site (plug, plug...) told me that, when he played in the US Marines band, he played on an Eb Bass mouthpiece to match the volume of the Trumpets, which didn't sound like an ideal recipe for harmonious music-making, but horses for courses, I suppose. Are your friends military musicians with plenty of practise time?

Dave[/code]
 
MoominDave

MoominDave

Well-Known Member
Aha - looking at your profile, I suspect that these are ISB-type Euphonium players, who (I'd imagine) put in an awful lot of practise time...

Dave
 
Maestro

Maestro

Active Member
Having been a euph player (?) for more years than I dare mention, and having tried most mouthpieces, the one for me is a Giardinelli 1G.
It's so comfortable and seems easier to get a fuller sound, especially handy when doing the odd orchestral job.
 
Despot

Despot

Member
I started on a Denis Wick 4AL, and after listening to "advice", over time I have gathered a collection including Wicks, VBachs and a SM5.

What do I play now?

My trusty 4AL! :lol:
 
JohnnyEuph

JohnnyEuph

Member
I recommend The Joseph-Klier (JK), exclusive mouthpiece.
I'm no virtuoso or anything but I find extra weight of it and the contoured rim extremely comfortable, and you can get a really full sound even when you're tazzing the arse off Ravenswood, (or something equally as meaty!), I use a 4 AL on my euph, having moved off a DW SM4. The difference (to me anyway), was instantly noticeable, especially for lip stuff and dynamics, and as well as being more comfortable, my tone seemed to improve. And you get German engineering!

As for 'pros' that use this mouthpiece... Michael Dodd at Grimey uses a clear one.

'The Smith'
2nd Euph, Pennine Brass
 
Mike Saville

Mike Saville

Member
Having read the thread I would urge anyone who has had a bad experience with a Wick mouthpece in the past to revisit them.

I personally know the guy who now makes these mouthpieces for Denis and I know he has spent a lot of time (& money on new equipment) reviewing the range to improve plating and consistency in all the mouthpieces.
 
B

blue euph

Member
I use the SM 4 and SM3. I find the SM3 has too fat of a sound for the large ensembles which I was in and can be extemely tiring if you doing you are playing a lot of marches for or playing constantly mid register and up. The 3 is nice if you are playing tuba parts as written on euph. which I did last year for a Brass Quintet (and fooled people thinking that I was playing tuba :) . I mainly use my 4 for solo and large ensemble. I wish that they made a 3.5 for the medium shank euphs but til then, I will keep alternating between the 3 and the 4.

Now, if I can find a mouthpiece similar to feel as the SM3 for my Bach 42 trombone. For my trombone, I'm using Brian Bowman BB1 which I used to use on a previous euphonium.
 
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