TromboneChat

So I recently bought a Griego Bousfield Alto mouthpiece. I think it is fantastic, on my alto but also on my bass trumpet. However, one weird thing: insertion depth in the alto is about half the normal, roughly 1.25 cm (1/2”).
I play a Conn 36H. I have not noticed this issue before on Laskey and Bach pieces.
I also put it in the 36H of a colleague, and it went in quite normally in his. I believe my alto is an older one, maybe they changed the leadpipe? Anyway, any advice on what to do? I guess I could have it turned down but that would alter its properties perhaps?

Hi, I can't give specific answer to your question but I tried my regular tenor mouthpiece in many many Bach 42 slide, and engagement in the leadpipe is always different. I'm talking about slides with soldered leadpipes. So if your leadpipe isn't removable and you don't see any signs of work by tech, it's probably just inconsistency of the factory.

I had one of the first Conn 36H altos. It had a Conn 7C that was unique in lining up all the partials, although I don't like playing that size mouthpiece. I used a regular Bach 4C and dealt with the partial misalignment. The 4C went in just a little less than 1 inch; not a big difference.

I'm not sure whether you need to have the mouthpiece shank turned down or the leadpipe reamed out. I'm not an expert in this.

The Conn 36H and 34H Altos have mouthpiece receiver that is designed for a slightly smaller taper than the standard small shank. They can still play pretty well with a standard shank, but they are better with a shank that fits. I don't have a Conn alto anymore, but when I did I played a Greg Black mouthpiece where Greg turned down the shank a little bit.

Jim Scott

1/2" depth seems excessively narrow on the leadpipe side of things for the 36H. Something might be wrong with your leadpipe. The difference should be like an eighth of an inch, not a half. You say you like it though...

Yes, I like it very much when practicing. Endurance is great on this piece. However I find it lacks some presence in sound when played in the orchestra. I suspect this could be due to the shallow insertion depth..?