davidquinlan
Member
Soprano Mouthpieces..
I use a Schilke 15a4......
I use a Schilke 15a4......
Soprano mouthpiece's - unlocking the mystery
- Thread starter Matt Griffith
- Start date
sudcornet
Member
As an ex-sop player, perhaps I'm not quite up to speed and current trends, nevertheless, sometimes you've got to give your two pennorth don't you?
I played for quite a while on one of the old sov. sops (with the vertical tuning slide). I found the DW sop mouthpiece too sharp in the rim for my kissable lips, so, swapped to the cornet mp DW5B which has a more comfortable rim and still allowed a "big, round" sound. Looking back, I think it was probably hard work, but, worth it for the sound. Still, we come back to the same statements....technique, breathing and posture. If those three aren't good, then mp choice is a bit pointless(doesn't just apply to sop).
Having reiterated those gems, IMHO, far too many sop players play too much and then wonder why they're knackered. Why on earth would a sop want to join in with the front row below middle C (in Eb) ? Fair enough, help them out with the high stuff, but leave the rest to a 4 man team. Sop players are the "flute part in an orchestra" and only really effective when in their specialist range, so, leave the cornet parts to them and concentrate on the bits you are needed for.
(Rambling now, 'cos I've had some beer)
Sud.
I played for quite a while on one of the old sov. sops (with the vertical tuning slide). I found the DW sop mouthpiece too sharp in the rim for my kissable lips, so, swapped to the cornet mp DW5B which has a more comfortable rim and still allowed a "big, round" sound. Looking back, I think it was probably hard work, but, worth it for the sound. Still, we come back to the same statements....technique, breathing and posture. If those three aren't good, then mp choice is a bit pointless(doesn't just apply to sop).
Having reiterated those gems, IMHO, far too many sop players play too much and then wonder why they're knackered. Why on earth would a sop want to join in with the front row below middle C (in Eb) ? Fair enough, help them out with the high stuff, but leave the rest to a 4 man team. Sop players are the "flute part in an orchestra" and only really effective when in their specialist range, so, leave the cornet parts to them and concentrate on the bits you are needed for.
(Rambling now, 'cos I've had some beer)
Sud.
WhatSharp?
Active Member
sudcornet said:
I still have one of those!, it's my backup instrument, I was given it years ago and it's a crackin' little instrument. The valves were MILES better than my newer sovereign almost as good as the Schilkes.
P.S. Anyone want to buy Sorverign Sop (926 Model I think), in good condition?
I don't play sop. much any more but when I do the Sparx 4C works very well
Check out this link for detailed info ....... www.sparxmusic.com
Cheers,
Ted
Check out this link for detailed info ....... www.sparxmusic.com
Cheers,
Ted
Pythagoras
Active Member
markyboy said:
Have enjoyed reading this topic. Know less about sops than I do about ironing and sewing. Very educational!
I've recently moved to sop with Flixton after not having played it for a few years. Got a wonderful Shilke soprano, but only really had Bb cornet mouthpieces. Started off using a Bach 3C on the sop and it was torture. Sustained high register work just killed your lip.
As I was originally a trumpet player (converted to prefer the cornet some years ago), I had a few trumpet mouthpieces for piccolo or D/Eb work and looked for something akin to a 7E. Spent a morning shopping for mouthpieces and ended up parting with £70 of my hard earned cash for a Warburton. Haven't got the mouthpiece to hand, so can't remember the model no.'s, will find them and post again, but it is a dream to play on. At first I wasn't sure whether I could justify the cost, but after a few rehearsals on it, it was worth every penny.
High register is obtainable (an area of my playing which was always difficult) an comfortable. I don't even think about playing above a G now, unless I'm looking at spending a long time up on top C's. The intonation is a lot better thn I expected, although when I'm getting down to E's and D's at the bottom of the stave, I'm very conscious about the intonation.
I think for a sop player, getting the right mouthpiece is emmensely important as it's a very exposed and usually difficult part and as another player pointed out, you do have to have a lot of balls as it truly is Death or Glory, but it is also IMHO, one of the most rewarding parts in a band.
Or maybe that's just due to sop players being a sandwich short of a picnic!
As I was originally a trumpet player (converted to prefer the cornet some years ago), I had a few trumpet mouthpieces for piccolo or D/Eb work and looked for something akin to a 7E. Spent a morning shopping for mouthpieces and ended up parting with £70 of my hard earned cash for a Warburton. Haven't got the mouthpiece to hand, so can't remember the model no.'s, will find them and post again, but it is a dream to play on. At first I wasn't sure whether I could justify the cost, but after a few rehearsals on it, it was worth every penny.
High register is obtainable (an area of my playing which was always difficult) an comfortable. I don't even think about playing above a G now, unless I'm looking at spending a long time up on top C's. The intonation is a lot better thn I expected, although when I'm getting down to E's and D's at the bottom of the stave, I'm very conscious about the intonation.
I think for a sop player, getting the right mouthpiece is emmensely important as it's a very exposed and usually difficult part and as another player pointed out, you do have to have a lot of balls as it truly is Death or Glory, but it is also IMHO, one of the most rewarding parts in a band.
Or maybe that's just due to sop players being a sandwich short of a picnic!
LU-Brasser
Member
ju33les said:
HOUHOUHOU.... :shock: :wink:
Mike Saville
Member
Just a thought . ... .
Has anyone experimented with a Cornetto (bent black rennaisance/baroque instrument not the ice cream!) type mouthpiece on a Sop? I know you would need to modify the Shank to fit the instrument but it would seem to me that the small sweet sound acheived on these instruments might be what is needed for Sop.
These mouthpieces are very unusual and based on the shape of half an acorn - so they have little if any rim! small backbore, small diameter but relatively deep cup. It would take some getting used to but worth a try . . . .. ?
Has anyone experimented with a Cornetto (bent black rennaisance/baroque instrument not the ice cream!) type mouthpiece on a Sop? I know you would need to modify the Shank to fit the instrument but it would seem to me that the small sweet sound acheived on these instruments might be what is needed for Sop.
These mouthpieces are very unusual and based on the shape of half an acorn - so they have little if any rim! small backbore, small diameter but relatively deep cup. It would take some getting used to but worth a try . . . .. ?
MoominDave
Well-Known Member
Mike Saville said:
I played one of these in an early music group at University - I had to adopt a pretty skewed embouchure to get any success at all (but then, what do you expect when you're primarily a Bass Sackbutt a.k.a. Peter Bale's father's old G Trombone?).
I don't think that those tiny rims (although there are two standard models of Cornett mouthpiece, the other of which has a wider rim) would sit well with the 'pinch and pray' technique - gangrene of the lip due to loss of blood circulation would soon set in.
An intriguing idea, though. Another possible problem, as you note, would be that the Cornett has a rather smaller bore than the Sop - I doubt if the mouthpiece would sit well in one.
Dave
Just to wind up the pair of sarky gets giving me grief lol
The specs on that Warburton are as follows:
Shank - S* (I think - had a pint before rehearsal!)
top bit (OK can't remember technical term lol) - 7S
Remember playing a natural trumpet in Uni that had a very flat mouthpiece, the rim seemed to be massive, but that could be due to my embouchre. Damn hard work, but great for learning lip flexibilities lol.
The specs on that Warburton are as follows:
Shank - S* (I think - had a pint before rehearsal!)
top bit (OK can't remember technical term lol) - 7S
Remember playing a natural trumpet in Uni that had a very flat mouthpiece, the rim seemed to be massive, but that could be due to my embouchre. Damn hard work, but great for learning lip flexibilities lol.