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Mouthpieces Would you be happy...

Ivan

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... assuming it played well, to buy this new, 'finished' mouthpiece for £300? Note the parallel machining marks right to the tip and in the other direction the semi-circular gouges and more parallel grooves into the chamber

I know looks ought to be irrelevant but no matter the playability I'd struggle to think the manufacturer had anything but contempt for their customer putting this out for sale

Or am I missing the point. Am I to admire the computer precision. Is this the industry standard?

I don't have this 'piece, the photo is on a suppliers website I happened upon
pict09.JPG
 
If there was a satisfactory scientific reason why the lines are where they are and it sounded and played great................





I still wouldn't be able to afford it so.. no I wouldn't buy it.
 
Given that other expensive mouthpieces have a smooth(ed) bore I'd say the scientific basis of this one is laziness or cost reduction
 
No, not even if it had a big name high priced maker like Theo Wanne on it - I don't spend that sort of money on a mouthpiece - and I expect something hand finished for a lot less than that price...
 
Basically, a mp is a mp. They don't usually wear out, especially if they are metal. They don't come with bluetooth or bigger screens or more memory. So, you have to come up with some form of "USP" to get folk to part with the cash. Or mebbe it just sounds like no other mp of the face of the planet.
 
My alto mouthpiece is older than I am. It should see me out but may need some work for the next user. I suppose any mp that is used for a century will wear out.

I was lucky to find my alto mp early on. It's a vintage brass silver plate and nothing I've tried before or since comes close to it's sound or ease of play for me.

Looking for a tenor mp has taken a few twists and turns and I'm still looking and researching. The shape and height of the baffle, the shape and size of the chamber, the thickness of the rails and chamber walls, the length and shape of the curve of the lay and the angle and thickness of the leading edge of the table are just some of the things that can affect the sound and playability.

There's lots of choice on the market, from tried and tested early 20th century vintage pieces to the latest innovations in material and shapes .

It seems the only way to get a perfect fit for our individual and unique chops is to have an off the shelf piece, custom hand finished to our own specification and the finest of these seem to have an attention to fine detail and smooth polished internals.

If however, somebody comes up with a radical, ugly, rough looking piece that performs well and delivers a reliable unique sound, it will no doubt command a high price and there will be a longish queue of performance artistes and wealthy amateurs, with racing pulses and sweaty hands proffering credit cards to get their chops on one.

Could this be the one?
 
Some mp brands have this kind of line work.Some Theo Wanne models do.Sugal mps have thicker type lines from the tip.The round machine work inside is nothing that bad.I've seen some hand finished chambers looking rather ruff.Jen Price who makes Vigilante mps does a kind of ruff rifle buffle leading into the chamber.A mp does not have to be perfectly smooth inside.If it plays well and suits you thats what counts.
 
Mouthpiece makers are always looking for something different to make us part with our cash,as davey has said its been done before,Sugal mpc's had deeper grooves,i don't know whether it makes any difference,not seen this piece before where was it manufactured,is it a well known maker?
I personally wouldn't spend this amount of money on a new mpc but would if i wanted one wait for them to come onto the secondhand market at half the price.
 
Some mp brands have this kind of line work.Some Theo Wanne models do.Sugal mps have thicker type lines from the tip.The round machine work inside is nothing that bad.I've seen some hand finished chambers looking rather ruff.Jen Price who makes Vigilante mps does a kind of ruff rifle buffle leading into the chamber.A mp does not have to be perfectly smooth inside.If it plays well and suits you thats what counts.

Thanks Davey

I've never spent time inspecting high cost mouthpieces in the flesh so I wondered whether this example was a bad'un or whether it was an acceptable variant and from what you say it's probably OK

That's my curiosity satisfied, ta
 
... assuming it played well, to buy this new, 'finished' mouthpiece for £300? Note the parallel machining marks right to the tip and in the other direction the semi-circular gouges and more parallel grooves into the chamber

I know looks ought to be irrelevant but no matter the playability I'd struggle to think the manufacturer had anything but contempt for their customer putting this out for sale

Or am I missing the point. Am I to admire the computer precision. Is this the industry standard?

I don't have this 'piece, the photo is on a suppliers website I happened upon
pict09.JPG
Thats an unfinished blank....probably slipped through the net, but certainly needs hand finishing, best to take it back and see what they say.
 
US of A, Claude Lakey Apollo, http://www.doctorsax.biz/Lakey_Apollo_Tenor_Aluminum_8Star.htm

I use same make in rubber with smooooooth innards

Is this a new finish as i thought their aluminium apollo range was black or is it just the picture,there is an alto 5 on on Ebay at a 3rd of the new price.
Have played the brass version down at Howarths last time i was in London,never noticed the gooves,it was good but nothing special.
 
... assuming it played well, to buy this new, 'finished' mouthpiece for £300? Note the parallel machining marks right to the tip and in the other direction the semi-circular gouges and more parallel grooves into the chamber

I know looks ought to be irrelevant but no matter the playability I'd struggle to think the manufacturer had anything but contempt for their customer putting this out for sale

Or am I missing the point. Am I to admire the computer precision. Is this the industry standard?

I don't have this 'piece, the photo is on a suppliers website I happened upon
pict09.JPG

Machined using a bullnose cutter in a n/c mill, standard finish, may be a slight bit of chatter not as bad as it looks,definately not been hand finished.

Teebones retired fitter/turner:old:
 
have you ever seen an original Dave Guardaala- the ones that go for about a grand? File marks asymmetric baffles, dog rough finish to a lot of them.......
 
have you ever seen an original Dave Guardaala- the ones that go for about a grand? File marks asymmetric baffles, dog rough finish to a lot of them.......

That say's it all
 
The blurb seems to make a virtue of the machined finish and the fact that the machining gives a consistency. Alluminium plated with nickel. Seems more like a motorcycle part than a instrumental piece. Nickel would be a no no for my tender lips so that would rule out the aluminium version. If it keeps the price down there's still the option of having it hand finished.

Wouldn't it be a shame if you took a machine finished piece, that played well and went to the expense of having it hand finished only to find it either made no difference or made it worse. Of course it's only too expensive if you don't have the money. I don't. It's way out of my league



I agree with Davey. If it plays , it plays and that is all that counts in the end.
 
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