Large tenor pieces

[JamesSp]

Hi all,

I've been a bass trombone specialist for many years, I've only ever worked professionally in trombone playing bass.
Recently, I had a lighter schedule, so I signed up to a tenor trombone audition for fun and to have something new to work on. I hadn't played any tenor for probably well over a decade, but worked hard and got a much better result at the audition that I was expecting. As a result, I've been booked for some semi regular work on tenor.

I found in my preparation for the audition the only way I could get any sort of acceptable consistency in my playing was to use my normal bass slide and a bach 1 1/2G mouthpiece, which is much smaller than what i usually play on bass. Range/sound wasn't really a major issue but it was hard work from an endurance perspective getting though things like bolero in the context of an audition round. I put in a lot of effort trying to use actual designed tenor pieces but as hard as I tried I couldn't get a sound I was happy with and it just simply wasn't as good overall as when I played the 1 1/2.

Now that it looks like I will actually be doing some more tenor seriously, is there any easily accessible mouthpiece that has a 1 1/2G rim but smaller dimensions inside the cup? I feel that's the sort of design I should experiment with but im not sure if any standard makers do something like that.
I'm hoping not to sink a large amount of money going the custom route if I can avoid it (especially if I dont know if I would even like it) so if anyone is aware of a semi standard design like I've described I'd love to be pointed in the right direction.

Just for context, I tried the whole line of the big alessi signature griegos (the 1 size line its called?) and some big rim/shallow cup JK design already when I was preparing for the audition, but none of those were what I was looking for, mainly feel I just can't fit enough parts of my face in the rim that I need to use.

[WilliamLang]

It's not a 1 1/2, but the Long Island Brass 675 lines have a gigantic feeling rim with some interesting inner shapes. I use a Chimera 675 for large orchestral work - has a wider feel than the large Alessi mouthpieces and is around 2G size iirc, and is built somewhat for doublers.

[Kdanielsen]

I have a Grego Alessi 1D with a bach 1 1/2g rim I’d sell. Sounds like the perfect fit. PM me if you’re interested!

[JamesSp]

I have a Grego Alessi 1D with a bach 1 1/2g rim I’d sell. Sounds like the perfect fit. PM me if you’re interested!

Sent you a pm

[Posaunus]

You say you don't want to go the "custom route" - but Doug Elliott's "custom" system addresses exactly the problem you are facing. He can match for you any rim size with a variety of cup depths, for a reasonable price. (Comparable pricing to Griego, I would guess.)

There are so many better mouthpieces than Bachs for many of us.

Do yourself a favor and contact Doug for a consultation. You will get from him more than the right mouthpiece.

[JamesSp]

You say you don't want to go the "custom route" - but Doug Elliott's "custom" system addresses exactly the problem you are facing. He can match for you any rim size with a variety of cup depths, for a reasonable price. (Comparable pricing to Griego, I would guess.)

There are so many better mouthpieces than Bachs for many of us.

Do yourself a favor and contact Doug for a consultation. You will get from him more than the right mouthpiece.

Thanks, yes I hear you. Seeing as I don't know how my contract for tenor playing will go, I'm just unsure if I want to sink big money into it. As I said in the initial post, I was surprised at the result I got, I had honestly just gone in with the goal of not making an idiot of myself on tenor. I can make the majority of stuff I have to play work on the 1 1/2 I've been using, I'm just seeing if anyone has knowledge of a cost effective option that might be more tenor appropriate long term if in fact I get booked for more work on tenor. If it starts looking like a regular thing with more serious opportunities coming in than what i have coming up, I'm more than happy to invest in a new purpose made custom mouthpiece that meets my needs. But for now, I'm not sure if I just had a lucky break or not so only looking for base level things to try out.

[Posaunus]

ONE of the problems with Bach mouthpieces is that the larger the rim diameter, the deeper and more voluminous the cup. This is what's causing you grief, and exactly what Doug Elliott's system can address. So easy to get from him a larger rim and a smaller, shallower cup. Trust us - many have been there.