TromboneChat

Anyone have any input on these guys? Looking to get a really old King 28 mouthpiece and maybe one more gold plated.

For gold plating, I'd recommend Doug Elliott on here. I'm not sure if he still does just plating work, but his reputation (deserved, and I will vouch) is thick, long-lasting gold plating.

I can't say anything about their plating. But... I bought a B&S tuba from them recently and they were great to deal with!

Its several, indeed many, years back I had a couple of rims gold plated and the plating was a bit thin and wore off in next to no time, but the service was great, nice people. Alas had I of been writing this a month or two back, the very best gold plating I have personally had done was done by... Kanstul. Maybe the gold plating kit is part of what Mike Corrigan has purchased and the gold plating will start to churn out from him soon?

They had a gold plated 5G in stock and in my hands a few days later. I've also bought from them occasionally over the last 20 years or so. No complaints.

I've heard good things about John Stork's plating work. I had him do some work for me some years ago, and it was done very well and at a good price. In that case, I had those mouthpieces silver plated, but I've heard that his gold plating is very good as well.

Jim Scott

I’d really like the plating to last. So it sounds like Mouthpiece Express isn’t my answer.

FWIW, I have bought pieces from them in the past, that were plated by them, and the gold plating was thick and lasted as long as I had the mouthpiece for.

Mouthpiece Express is my absolute go-to for either gold-plated or plain mouthpieces. I have found the gold-plated ones to be of outstanding quality. I can order a gold-plated mouthpiece from them on a Monday and have it by Wednesday! Their name says it all.

Why do you gold plate a mouthpiece?

Does the plating go on over the existing silver plating or does it go on instead of sliver plating?

If the former, does the "thickening" of the mouthpiece (two platings instead of one) change the response of the mouthpiece?

If the later, does it only change the feel and/or look?

Gold plating goes over a barrier layer. Otherwise the gold will dissolve into the brass over time. In electronics we use a barrier layer of nickel, but it seems mouthpieces have gold over silver.

Note that a gold plate thickness is about 1/10th of the thickness of a silver plate: typically 20 microinches of gold over 100 to 200 microinches of silver. he effect of the gold thickness is negligible.

Mouthpiece Express has always gone out of their way to treat me well.

PaulT wrote: ↑Wed May 29, 2019 8:27 pm Why do you gold plate a mouthpiece?

Does the plating go on over the existing silver plating or does it go on instead of sliver plating?

If the former, does the "thickening" of the mouthpiece (two platings instead of one) change the response of the mouthpiece?

If the later, does it only change the feel and/or look?

Some have stated on various sites that a gold-plated mouthpiece feels a bit more slippery on their chops and enables them to make adjustments on-the-fly easier. I personally have no perceived difference that way between any of my silver vs gold-plated mouthpieces. I get gold-plated mouthpieces because I like the look of them, nothing more. It's a somewhat pricey look, but worth it to me.

Others have stated an allergy to the more common plating, so they go for either a gold-plated mouthpiece or a Lexan-covered mouthpiece.

TimBrown wrote: ↑Thu May 30, 2019 5:58 am

PaulT wrote: ↑Wed May 29, 2019 8:27 pm Why do you gold plate a mouthpiece?

Does the plating go on over the existing silver plating or does it go on instead of sliver plating?

If the former, does the "thickening" of the mouthpiece (two platings instead of one) change the response of the mouthpiece?

If the later, does it only change the feel and/or look?

Some have stated on various sites that a gold-plated mouthpiece feels a bit more slippery on their chops and enables them to make adjustments on-the-fly easier. I personally have no perceived difference that way between any of my silver vs gold-plated mouthpieces. I get gold-plated mouthpieces because I like the look of them, nothing more. It's a somewhat pricey look, but worth it to me.

Others have stated an allergy to the more common plating, so they go for either a gold-plated mouthpiece or a Lexan-covered mouthpiece.

I have found gold plating to be more comfortable on the face during longer periods of playing.

Specialk3700 wrote: ↑Thu May 30, 2019 12:21 pm I have found gold plating to be more comfortable on the face during longer periods of playing.

Yes. I have seen that assertion expressed as well. Hard to argue against that with which someone feels comfortable!

The only caution I would make to the OP (or anyone) is to be pretty certain gold-plating is the way you want to go before making the purchase. After all, it does add considerably to the cost of the mouthpiece. It's probably a good idea to try out a similarly-sized mouthpiece used first if at all possible! Even then, I have a whole cabinet full of gold-plated mouthpieces that I was totally sure I would like, lol!

But if music is or will be a firmly established long-term hobby or profession, then a cabinet full of mouthpieces is nothing over the course of 40 years! None of mine are for sale, but I'll probably donate them and a bunch of trombones to my local school district some distant day. So if you think you have over-bought, think how happy they will make a child some day! Good luck using that excuse as a rationalization on a spouse though!!!

While this thread isn't about gold-plating per se - it's one of the primary reasons why players might buy from Mouthpiece Express. One further caveat; they will not accept a return of a "special order" mouthpiece unless you can prove they made a mistake on the order!

Stork Mouthpieces in Vermont also does excellent gold plating. I have used Mouthpiece Express and their work is excellent, BUT if you want to re-plate an older mouthpiece, or plate something you already have, Stork's turn around time is better - 1 week. Mouthpiece express charges more for quick turn around, but still is not as fast as Stork!

Stork's plating is excellent!

“But if music is or will be a firmly established long-term hobby or profession, then a cabinet full of mouthpieces is nothing over the course of 40 years!“

No shame having a mpc collection. I like having a few for each of my horns and I like changing them up from time to time.

I just had some plating work done at Warburton`s . Excellent

I just got a mouthpiece back from Stork's today, freshly gold plated. They did a great job at a very good price. Turnaround was about a month, including shipping to Canada, and that was just after they returned from a vacation, so they probably had some other orders waiting for them.

I will definitely use them again, and would recommend them to others.

Jim Scott

Bringing this thread back to ask some questions.

Several years ago I had a rim gold plated by Mouthpiece Express. The quality was fine and felt very nice, but it was quite thin and some heavy ( though visually pleasing ) tarnish has developed under the gold. Stork seems to charge the same amount for plating a rim which is around half of Doug’s price. My gold DE rim has been played daily for about six years and looks the same as it did when I bought it.

My question is if anyone has an on hand comparison between a gold DE rim and a Stork plated piece.

One of my Yamaha Nils 'pieces was MouthpieceExpress, with their gold rim. Several years of rock band gigging later it's holding up fine. I love it. It makes me feel special. Recommended!

I have purchased several gold plated mouthpieces from Mouthpiece Express over the years. They have all held up quite well.

Have a gold plated piece on order from them right now. Great people to work with and great response time.

So it seems that if i buy a mpc from mouthpieceexpress the gold plating will be excellent. If i send them.a mpc to be goldplated it'll e a crap shoot?

I have a couple of mpcs that need to be resurfaced (dings, deep scratchs, pitting from age) and mouthpieceexpress doesn't seem like a choice for that service. Would stork and warburton be better? I've also heard dougs plating is awesome.

Real problem with damaged mouthpieces, the finished product is only as good as what you started with. The only way to get dings out is to remove enough of the surrounding material to make a continuous level surface. Unfortunately, bad dings (especially where your lips contact) almost require re machining of the mouthpiece.

The prep work / starting finish determines the final product. The plating process won't hide imperfections--it may highlight them.

See if you can find an old school jeweler with a gold plating unit.
I use to know one. He passed away.
He would do the best plating job ever with a 4 to 8 hour turn around time.