Mouthpieces Mouthpiece Pads

fourears · Jun 14, 2008

Does anyone know roughly in terms of hours how long a 0.8mm thick rubber mouthpiece patch would last.

dooce · Jun 14, 2008

I gnawed my way through my last one in, at a rough guess, 30-odd hours. Just got to the stage where I am finding disgusting little black bits in my mouth after a session and thinking, Oh my God, my teeth are rotting!!

I guess it depends on how you play though. I am playing pretty much flat-out with my band all the time, and find myself chomping pretty hard on the piece.

losaavedra · Jun 14, 2008

I briefly tried rubber pads but didn't get on with them. This thread ...

http://www.breakfastroom.co.uk/index.cgi?fid=01&topic_id=1206565444

... describes what I finally did as a more permanent fix to my mp chewing problems. There are some links to pics at the end.

fourears · Jun 14, 2008

If you don't mind cutting your own patches out of a sheet you might be interested in this link.
http://e-magnetsuk.com/magnets/flexible_rubber_magnets/adhesive_backed_magnetic_rubber_sheet.aspx
I called the company to ask about it and it seems perfect for mouthpiece patches though the patches are magnetic and I forgot to ask what proportion and kind of metal the rubber contains.

Including the UK postage costs I worked out that you can get 1000 patches out of the larger sheet which works out at about 2.5p per patch or the smaller sheet will give you 80 patches at about 15p per patch.

sparrow · Jun 14, 2008

How sharp are your teeth, my Preciousssssssss?

jersey_mike · Jun 14, 2008

It all depends on your playing style and what you're doing at the time. I've gone a couple months on the same patch while focusing on ballads and tone while going through one a week playing more uptempo rock/blues. I'm sure that's not a good thing on my part.

thomsax · Jun 15, 2008

BG's 0.8mm thick rubber mouthpiece patch just lasted a couple of hours for me. I now use the BG's 0,4 mm thin clear instead. I use two (2x 0,4 mm) instead of one 0,8 mm black, too soft for me. This solution lasts a lot longer for me. Beside sparing my teeth and mpc, I get a more open sound with mpc-patch becuase I have to open the mouth a little bit more.

Thomas

Linky Lee · Jun 15, 2008

I've had a patch on my alto mouthpiece for over 3 months. One of the thin black ones. Play it almost every day and for long periods of time. Barely a scratch.

It all depends upon your playing. I went for a good few months of not using patches at all. It marked the mouthpieces but didn't dent them. I quite like the thin patches though at the moment.

Linky Lee · Jun 15, 2008

I've had a patch on my alto mouthpiece for over 3 months. One of the thin black ones. Play it almost every day and for long periods of time. Barely a scratch.

It all depends upon your playing. I went for a good few months of not using patches at all. It marked the mouthpieces but didn't dent them. I quite like the thin patches though at the moment.

losaavedra · Jun 24, 2008

If I hadn't made up the metal 'patches' mentioned earlier I was going to try either chopping up an old cycle inner tube or using tube repair patches. The latter have edges which reduce to nothing which I think I would've preferred.

Thaumaturge · Jun 24, 2008

If anyone is experimenting with alternative materials always make sure they are safe beforehand. Some rubbers and adhesives can be toxic.

Colin

fourears · Jun 24, 2008

Thaumaturge wrote:
If anyone is experimenting with alternative materials always make sure they are safe beforehand. Some rubbers and adhesives can be toxic.

Colin

What kind of rubber is likely to be toxic ? I must admit the safety aspect had occurred to me which is why I haven't followed up on the link I gave earlier and I should have mentioned it.

I haven't had time to checkout the advertised "Vehicle grade magnetic rubber with high performance adhesive backing" but I was more concerned about the implied metal content rather than the rubber. I wouldn't have thought the adhesive would be a problem being a peel off type which is probably the same as that used for mouthpiece pads but there again my knowledge of chemistry is limited.

Any further info on possible toxins in rubber would be useful!

TomMapfumo · Jun 24, 2008

For me it has to be the 0.4mm clear pads as the 0.8mm are too easy to
puncture, even though I use a fairly relaxed embouchure and a fairly broad mouthpiece. I have not tried doubling up on the 0.4mm pads, so may give that a go.

Kind regards
Tom

TomMapfumo · Jun 27, 2008

In fact BG now produce 0.9mm clear pads, which I've just ordered.

Kind regards
Tom

koumou · Jun 28, 2008

My front teeth got chiped over the years and they became very sharp. When I started playing the sax 6 months ago, I went through a new patch every 2 weeks. On a resent visit to the dentist I had him file them smooth. Problem solved!