Mouthpieces R&B Mouthpieces

[Jules]

I've been playing honking R&B for a while now and always steered myself, have been steered toward using low baffle, small chamber mouthpieces (My current weapon of choice is the world's most bettered dukoff D9).
Now I've been listening to a lot of the older blues guys of recent- Illinois Jacquet, Earl Bostic etc and really getting into their tone.Am I right in thinking that the these guys were actually not using what would nowadays be classified as 'rock & roll' mouthpieces? Listening to them and looking at assorted archive pictures would I be right in thinking that their 'old school' R&B tone was normally achieved using big chamber ebonite mouthpieces and just playing really loudly and aggressively to get the edge to their sound?
Pete, perhaps with your excperience of the likes of Fats Dominos band you might be able to shed some light on this.

 

[Pete Thomas]

That's right, you can get a lot of edge in their yourself, especially with a growl. I don't know what mouthpiece Bostic used, but I vagely remember pictures of a white mouthpiecec which would probably be a Brilhart - would have had a baffle I think.

What I do know is that lee Allen sounded the same whether he was playing a Berg 120/3 or a stock Selmer D.

 

[Jules]

I had a feeling this was the case... Lee Allen didn't really use a Berg 120/3 did he? Over 3s are very mellow indeed.
Ok- so the obvious candidate for a big toned, big chamber ebonite which you can really push to make it scream would be a Berg Larsen, methinks, any other ideas on something that's got that sort of character? Otto Links have a great basic tone but i've never really managed to get much of an aggressive 'bite' out of one....

 

[Pete Thomas]

I meant to say 120/0

 

[mfox]

louis jordan used a brilhart.. now he is mr R&B for alto
for tenor check out bull Moose Jackson.. don't know what he played but its the dirtiest sound iv'e heard

 

[Jules]

mfox wrote:
louis jordan used a brilhart.. now he is mr R&B for alto
for tenor check out bull Moose Jackson.. don't know what he played but its the dirtiest sound iv'e heard

Ah, interesting- Bull Mosse Jackson, he'd passed me by- great name too! cheers for that tip.

 

[robaldo]

I recently got a duckbill metal brilhart for my alto and it is loud, reedy, raucous and filthy! If that's what you're after then give one of them a try!

 

[Bobby G]

Is that a new one, Robaldo? I've been using a stainless steel Brilhart, purportedly a Levelaire, which has a duckbill and it is also loud reedy raucous and filthy, although I can get a nice mellowed-out sound too, without it becoming indistinct-sounding.

Good, ain't they

Cheers, Bob

 

[Jules]

Bob Green wrote:
Is that a new one, Robaldo? I've been using a stainless steel Brilhart, purportedly a Levelaire, which has a duckbill and it is also loud reedy raucous and filthy, although I can get a nice mellowed-out sound too, without it becoming indistinct-sounding.

Good, ain't they

Cheers, Bob

I've got one of these beasts too- the most extreme baffle ever put on a mouthpiece methinks. They're really good for anything percussive- King Curtis, Sanborn, yakety stuff etc.
They're still in production, by the way- by Beechler, under the name ARB.