Which trumpet mouthpiece to play

[JLivi]

I’m 100% a trombone player and play a 6 3/4 sized mouthpiece. I recently picked up a trumpet and want to to do an experiment for/with my private students to show them, and prove, that if you work on fundamentals you can improve quickly. Also, I just want to shred on trumpet

Anyway, I’ve had some different points of view on trumpet mouthpiece size. Some people recommended I find a Bach 1 or 1.5C to make it an easy transition from trombone. Others have recommended a 3C or smaller so I can learn the trumpet the correct way. Those people thought by cheating with a 1 sized mouthpiece would teach me bad habits.

What have you done and what would you recommend? I’m assuming there’s a handful of trombone players here that have dabbled with the trumpet. Thanks in advance!

[Redthunder]

Lol, "cheating". That's silly.

Even by starting on a 1, which I've done, is still going to be substantially smaller than anything you're used to on trombone. So I think it probably doesn't matter what you use at this point, so long as it's something you find reasonably comfortable to play for your own purposes. I got my Bach 1 for the same reason, to have something bigger, and I used it to teach for a while. After a few months of consistent teaching on it, I felt comfortable enough with my trumpet chops so that now I can reasonably play on a 7C. Not that that's "better", it's more that 7C's are the most ubiquitous pieces that I find in my schools cases to teach on when I don't have my own trumpet with me.

If I were you I wouldn't think too much about mouthpieces at this point.

[Geordie]

I use the same size trombone ‘piece and am considering doubling. What bore trumpet are you using? I’m thinking in terms of a medium bore horn in my own situation: Blues, soul swing etc.

[Matt K]

The Kelly pieces are actually not bad on trumpet, or at least they aren't starting out through intermediate. I wouldn't necessarily say the same about the trombone ones... I've had students who had them and I've played them and they always seemed quite dull but the 3C I have is quite lively. I tend to prefer lexan rims and they offer a lot more options on trumpet so if they offered a '3G' or similar for us... maybe I'd have a different opinion.

The only maker I've found who does Lexan rims and brass bottoms is Matt Frost. That was a few years ago, that may have changed. I did a decent amount of practicing on that Kelly 3C and later had Matt make me a piece that's currently on loan to a fellow member with a lexan rim.

In the meantime, I picked up a Kanstul copy of a Monette 1.5L or something. I find that medium shallow cups work well for generic playing and I tend to prefer larger throats, which the Monette are like 18 throat (stock Bach are often 27 for comparison). I think I'll probably have that piece threaded to accept the Matt Frost rim when I get the other one back from the forum member. Just not a fan of the brass rim.

Wedge is also doing some interesting stuff and his idea never worked out for me but there are a lot of players who like his stuff and he has a really good return policy. He does delrin and indicated he could make a delrin rim and brass cup but it would be specific to the cup and not threaded or something to that effect because of the way he'd have to mount it. Would have been pricey too so I opted to just try the full delrin pieces.

Fortunately, trumpet stuff is more ubiquitous and cheaper than trombone stuff so it's easy to try just about anything other than the Monette idea now that Kanstul closed up shop. The cheap Monette's are still like $180! Honestly, I'd probably start out just by getting something like a 1C, 3C, 5C, 7C, 10(?)C... Bach, Kelly, or maybe Yamaha equivalent. Give each a shot for a day and then after you settle on the rim play that for awhile and then figure out if the depth is ideal for you. E.g if you settle on a 3C then try a 3 and a 3B. Unfortunately, the Kelly pieces don't have much in the way of various depths but on the other hand, they're $28 each new... so that's not bad.

[JLivi]

I use the same size trombone ‘piece and am considering doubling. What bore trumpet are you using? I’m thinking in terms of a medium bore horn in my own situation: Blues, soul swing etc.

I literally bought the cheapest "name brand" horn I could find. I found a beginner Bach trumpet for $50 on Facebook marketplace. Before I take the plunge into a better horn, I want to make sure I stick with the trumpet for now. But to be honest, if I upgrade, it's going to be a better beginner trumpet. Someone told me that Yamaha YTR 2335 are good. We will see...

[Reedman1]

I'm currently playing a Yamaha 48 on trombone ( waiting for a better 6.5AL sized mouthpiece). I came to trombone from trumpet; when I picked up trombone, I was playing a 3C and sometimes a 1.5C on trumpet. When I go play trumpet these days, I find the 3C a little confining, so I will probably get a 1.5C. That's my 2C... er, 2¢.

[Gary]

I've found that it's not advantageous to try to find a mouthpiece that matches (as well a possible) your trombone mouthpiece and trumpet mouthpiece. I think you should choose one and the other as stand-alone choices.

Use an average sized mouthpiece, which is between a 3-7 Bach, or comparable from other makers. Anything larger or smaller is a specialist mouthpiece, regardless of what you have "heard" or what your friends say. Any real experts there?

Read http://ojtrumpet.net/tpin/Jens_Lindemann_rant.html

A word of qualification, I have played trumpet professionally, as well as having played both trumpet and trombone in North Texas' Lab Bands.

[brtnats]

My main tenor is a Yamaha .508 with roughly a 6 3/4. I play trumpet regularly on a silver plated Yamaha Japan 232S, which is a quality horn marketed as a student instrument in America. I use a Chasons hybrid mouthpiece, which I’ve written about elsewhere here. If you can figure out what you need to do to switch, you’ll be able to do both.

[Doubler]

Although the Bach 7C may be the most ubiquitous trumpet mouthpiece, the 3C, and variations thereof, is arguably the mouthpiece used by many, and perhaps most, successful trumpet players. Unless your facial structure is unusual, the Bach 3C would probably be your best choice IMO.

Keep in mind that the trumpet is a very difficult instrument to learn to play well and that progress is frustratingly slow. If you're up to the challenge, you will get a lot of satisfaction out of playing trombone and trumpet.

[JLivi]

Thanks for all the info everyone! I think I'm going to look for a 3C, so if anyone has one I might be in interested in buying it. I'm also going to reach out to my trumpet friends, because it seems like their addiction to gear is a lot more intense then us trombone players

[walldaja]

Hard to go wrong with a 3C. I moved from that to a Schilke 18, to a Stork 2B, and finally to a Wedge 1.25 where I've stayed. Played the 3C for years. What motivated the moves were improved tone, volume, and response.

[spangy]

I do a bit of doubling. I've found that slightly deeper cups work best for me on trumpet. Currently I play a Curry 3b. Bach C cups are just a little to shallow for me. The deeper cup gives me a better tone. My range is pretty solid up to a high C and D.
I've tried the bigger 1-11/2 cup route thinking the bigger the trumpet piece the closer to a trombone piece. Didn't work at all for me.

[Carolus]

Use a mouthpiece which works well with your trumpet and keeps the partials well in tune without adjusting with the trigger or embouchure. A large one like a 1 to 1.5 size makes the low register easier.