AR Resonance Mouthpieces

[Rusty]

Anyone here playing these mouthpieces? I think I saw they had a stall at the convention recently so there might be some more opinions out there about them.

There was also a fairly comprehensive thread on TTF, most of which made it into the archives.

[mrdeacon]

Alex Iles and some of the other studio cats and LA are big fans of them. I've only heard good things about them!

[lmalewic]

Luke Malewicz here from Chicago. I’m one of the maybe two AR dealers (and artists) around the US. I’ve been meaning to post something about AR mouthpieces here but have not had any time. We had a large thread on the old Forum.

There are a lot of people using the pieces. We started out in Chicago and there are probably 20 cats here using the small bore jazz pieces. It’s hard to be on a big band gig and not see at least 2 or 3 heh.

As far as outside of the Midwest Alan Kaplan and Alex Iles are using them out east among others. There’s a few in NYC, one with Frank Cohen with the Arturo O’farrill Orchestra and Ray Mason who does most of the high end pop and tv work. A couple of the guys in the Airmen of Note have one (Jeff Martin and Kevin Cerovich) as wel as Victor Barranco from the Army Blues.

Antonio makes a full set for small bore (4 down to a 12 size) and a full set for large tenor and bass trombone. If you have any questions please feel free to send me an email at chicagojazztrombone at gmail dot com. All the best.

[SwissTbone]

Anybody using them for large bore and bass trombone?

[lmalewic]

Alan Kaplan has his own Bass Trombone and Large Tenor models and Alex Iles is using a Large Tenor piece.

[BHolleyBrass]

I'm on one of these for large tenor now: ML GR1 72.

Luke is fantastic to work with. I was looking for something more efficient and stable and we found it quickly. The measurements are tough to decipher if you're looking at manufacturer's specs, but there are enough options to get it right. My DE and Parker rims are listed as N104 (1.04") and the first one Luke sent was the AR "L" top. The rim shape of the L top felt a little big, but the next size smaller (ML) feels perfect.

Without getting into my medical issues here, I'll just say that efficiency is a necessity. I switched from a "big" Edwards T-350E to a Shires Ralph Sauer (dual bore LW slide) a few years ago and have been jumping around with different mouthpieces and leadpipes trying to find the right combination.

Don't hesitate to contact Luke if you're on the fence. Phenomenal pieces!

[TromboneMonkey]

Just played my Bronze 24.8 60 top with an Alan Kaplan S 60 43 backbore in a rehearsal and had six players compliment my projection and sound. They didn't know I had switched pieces. These mouthpieces are distinct and remarkable behind and in front of the bell.

[DaveAshley]

I've been on AR Resonance for almost a year now. I've been using the 25.10/60 standard cup, and I also have a 25.10/60 V+ cup. I use the standard for basically everything, but would probably use the V+ if I were playing 2nd or 3rd in a loud big band, or a similar volume level.
I've loved the clarity of sound, response, and everything about my AR! When I was home (from my ship gig - bandleader in a ballroom dance band) this summer, I compared it to all my other mouthpieces (60+ of various makers from NY Bach to Purviance to custom, etc etc), and nothing beat it out. I left ALL the others at home. No contest!
I got the 43 and 46 backbores, but almost never use the 46. It just doesn't work for me so well. In fact, I may sell it in the near future (if anybody wants it, let me know!). I had been using the standard 43 for the better part of the last year. I got an AK (Alan Kaplan) 43 backbore this summer, but initially didn't think it worked for me. On a whim, I switched to it a couple of weeks ago, and have really enjoyed the openness and even quicker response. Flexibility is better for me the AK, while the standard 43 gives quite a solid feel in the partials, maybe too much so most of the time. I will definitely use it in some situations, though. Intonation is quite different on them, as the AK seats lower. The standard is unusually long, placing the rim further from the receiver. Since the switch to AK43, I've pulled the tuning slide out on my Martin Urbie Green (.500) by almost a half an inch, whereas with the standard backbore, I actually thought of having my tuning slide cut down.
NOW, for the fun part! -- The past 6 weeks or so, I consulted with Luke Malewicz and Antonio (AR himself) on my own custom AR mouthpiece. I will get it (them!) when my ship is in Southampton on Thursday. I got two tops in his new material option, bronze - One in a lightweight blank and one in the standard. I was born and live in Kentucky, and he gladly engraved the shape of Kentucky into it with my name in script and a star for Lexington, my city. I never felt fully adjusted to the 25.10 standard rim, so I had Antonio make a flatter rim with a slightly sharper inner edge, more like the Schilke 47 I played for 17 years before the switch. Both tops will have the standard cup, as I think it's just fantastic - shallow to the eye, but super efficient! I also ordered an AK 40 backbore to kind of "reign in" the blow and breadth of overtones just a tad. I am more than confident that I'll spend the rest of my career on these! Having the lightweight and standard tops will be nice for switching around on my 18 (!) trombones. It'll be interesting to feel and hear the difference!

All for now. I'll report back soon!

[SwissTbone]

Ok, i am really thinking about buying one for my bass trombone. I mainly play british style brass band, that means LOUD. Bass trombone often plays a very prominent role in most pieces, but in some ranges it is really hard work to compete with 10 cornets and 4 tubas.

So I am.basically looking for a piece that makes that part of my playing more efficient.

Thoughts from the experts?

[Jgittleson]

Ok, i am really thinking about buying one for my bass trombone. I mainly play british style brass band, that means LOUD. Bass trombone often plays a very prominent role in most pieces, but in some ranges it is really hard work to compete with 10 cornets and 4 tubas.

So I am.basically looking for a piece that makes that part of my playing more efficient.

Thoughts from the experts?

I just purchased his BVL bass mouthpiece, with the larger throat, thin rim, in phosphorus bronze, and gold plated. Once id comes i would be happy to probmvide my take on it. Currently I'm on a greg black 1g medium, and I'm very eager to try the new gear out. I've only heard excellent things about them.

[SwissTbone]

Ok, i am really thinking about buying one for my bass trombone. I mainly play british style brass band, that means LOUD. Bass trombone often plays a very prominent role in most pieces, but in some ranges it is really hard work to compete with 10 cornets and 4 tubas.

So I am.basically looking for a piece that makes that part of my playing more efficient.

Thoughts from the experts?

I just purchased his BVL bass mouthpiece, with the larger throat, thin rim, in phosphorus bronze, and gold plated. Once id comes i would be happy to probmvide my take on it. Currently I'm on a greg black 1g medium, and I'm very eager to try the new gear out. I've only heard excellent things about them.

Cool! Let me know your impressions!

[johntarr]

I have a V+65 for my .525 bore horn, a V+60 for the .500 and I’m using the standard cup with a smaller shank for my alto. First off, they are great mouth pieces and being able to switch the shanks is wonderful to dial in the ease, sound and characteristics. I highly recommend them!

Now, I’m wondering what the bronze material does in terms of sound and ease. Anybody have any experience with those?

[TromboneMonkey]

Now, I’m wondering what the bronze material does in terms of sound and ease. Anybody have any experience with those?

Mine is bronze. It produces about 20% more volume for the same amount of effort, for me. The sound has a more "ringing" quality to it. I've played it in both jazz and pop situations and have had compliments from other players about my sound and projection. I've done some mellow ballad stuff on it too, successfully.

Overall I think it's an upgrade-- I have not experienced any downsides to it.

[johntarr]

Now, I’m wondering what the bronze material does in terms of sound and ease. Anybody have any experience with those?

Mine is bronze. It produces about 20% more volume for the same amount of effort, for me. The sound has a more "ringing" quality to it. I've played it in both jazz and pop situations and have had compliments from other players about my sound and projection. I've done some mellow ballad stuff on it too, successfully.

Overall I think it's an upgrade-- I have not experienced any downsides to it.

Thanks for the input! My guess is that if the metal is harder, more of the vibration goes into the horn and less gets absorbed by the material. If that’s only a plus, which seems logical to me, why isn’t everyone using a heavy cup mouthpiece? Could it be that the brass still absorbs more, even if thicker, than the bronze?

[DaveAshley]

I recently got my order from Antonio.

MIND. BLOWN!

As mentioned above, I got them in silver plated bronze -- 25.25 with flatter rim and sharper inner edge like a Schilke 47. One standard weight top and a light weight top.

On my Martin Urbie Green with Butler carbon fiber slide, the lightweight is definitely the winner. It's snappy, centered, yet resonant and warm at the same time. It's more "live" than what I had been playing, but never ugly. I can really crank on it, or play the softest prettiest ballad stuff! The partials are smooth, solid, predictable, and secure all at the same time. The lightweight is definitely easier to color and manipulate than the regular weight, though I'll surely use both in different situations.

Just unbelievable! What else can I say? I'm just thrilled.

[johntarr]

I recently got my order from Antonio.

MIND. BLOWN!

As mentioned above, I got them in silver plated bronze -- 25.25 with flatter rim and sharper inner edge like a Schilke 47. One standard weight top and a light weight top.

On my Martin Urbie Green with Butler carbon fiber slide, the lightweight is definitely the winner. It's snappy, centered, yet resonant and warm at the same time. It's more "live" than what I had been playing, but never ugly. I can really crank on it, or play the softest prettiest ballad stuff! The partials are smooth, solid, predictable, and secure all at the same time. The lightweight is definitely easier to color and manipulate than the regular weight, though I'll surely use both in different situations.

Just unbelievable! What else can I say? I'm just thrilled.

Are you using bronze bottoms or the brass ones?

[DaveAshley]

He doesn't make bronze backbores -- too difficult an alloy to work with.

Just played three 45 min sets on it tonight. Just keeps getting better and better. Incredible.

Big band tomorrow -- can't wait!

[TromboneMonkey]

Yeah I can't believe how much easier the bronze is than the brass top. I was A-Bing his brass top with other pieces and picking out pros and cons, when I got the bronze top I can't even compare it with other pieces fairly. It's so much easier to play.

[DaveAshley]

I can never go back to regular brass or any other material. This is everything I've ever hoped for in a mouthpiece all rolled into one. AMEN!

[TheSheriff]

------

I fell in love with my AR Resonance 24.8/60/43/10.5..............For six weeks. Then all of a sudden it stopped working for me, and I have no idea why. It was the longest honeymoon period I've ever had with any piece of trombone gear. Living close to Luke I was able to try other components thinking that that was the problem, but no.

I went back to my custom pieces made by Karl Hammond. Such is life. Though I must say I think AR pieces are outstanding and if they work for you then have at it.

======

[Jgittleson]

Ill take the tine to write a proper review later, and make a video, but its the best mouthpiece i have ever played!

[Jgittleson]

[SwissTbone]

Ill take the tine to write a proper review later, and make a video, but its the best mouthpiece i have ever played!

Looking forward to your review!

[Bach5G]

What size would be most similar to a Bach 5G?

[harrisonreed]

I too want to read your review

[Jgittleson]

Alright here we go.

This mouthpiece wasnt at all what i had expected. I had anticipated just another 1gish mouthpiece with a slight twist like all manufacturers do. What i received was something very different. First off, the quality is fantastic, as it should be for the premium price. It came with an absolutely beautiful mouthpiece pouch, which I'd figure is worth $30 to $40 alone.

Lets start with the dimensions. While i ordered the narrow rim ( I strongly believe this was a good choice), the rim is slightly wider than my greg black. It sits on my mouth comfortably, and took zero adjustment. This is where the similarities end. The cup/backbore are of an entirely different design, as Antonio will tell you straight away. He took the rules of making a good mouthpiece and opted to ignove them, started fresh with no preconceptions. In my opinion, this is how he came up with a superior design.

The cup, while by any definition is still large, is of an entirely different shape, and is much smaller than on my greg black. To round off the differences, the backbore is also marginally smaller. I was told the reason for this is to add control for the player. After playing it, i cannot disagree.

Range

Well, in short, i can get more, easier. I can technically play the same notes on my end ranges on my black, but up top they have a whispy defocused sound, and down low they lack a core as well. Also, please keep in mind this is on one of my horns, which is more sensitive to the mouthpieces used than a bass or tenor in my experience. You can hear for yourself in my video, the high Db could rip a tree in half, and the pedal F will shake the dirt of its roots. I have never belted out pedal tones that strong on any kind of horn, ever.

Overall dexterity

This is also a major win for the AR. Up top, i can play with ~85% of the ability of a 2cl, which is tiny in comparison. Down low, its marginally cleaner than my black. This is saying something. I can comfortably play Czardas on it, which i cannot do on my black, not even close. Even the high D's pop out nicely.

Overall this is one of the best purchases i have ever made. This product, for me at least, allows me to advance myself as a player, both in my sound concept and technical ability. I only regret not getting one sooner!

[blast]

You pretty much sound the same as on the Lindberg.

Chris

[Jgittleson]

You pretty much sound the same as on the Lindberg.

Chris

The high range is similar, sure, but the low stuff is better than anything ive ever played on. It would impossible for you to compare that, since i never put up a video with pedal tones of the lindberg.

[johntarr]

I started playing the AR mouthpieces about a year ago. First I tried the regular cup with 46, 43 and 40 shanks. Then I also tried the V+ model which I feel is more flexible in color and variety.

My current setup is to use a V+ 25.1 cup with a 65/46 shank on my Rath R3F, which I like very much. I would actually like to use a larger cup but my jaw is very narrow (should have been corrected) so the smaller cup seals better for me.

I’ve been using the same size cup in the 60 size, both regular and V+ for my Rath R10, the regular for lead playing and the V+ for everything else.

Now I’m using the regular cup with a smaller shank for my new Rath alto and really enjoy that set up. Tony said the shank might feel stuffy but it doesn’t feel that way at all. Using a more open shank made the intonation a bit squirrelly.

Recently I got bronze cups for the V+ 65 and the regular 60 cups and like how they project and make a bit easier to play. My sense is that I feel the horn vibrating more in my hand. Being able to use the same rim size and vary the blow with the shanks has been great for me.

I can recommend these mouthpieces fully if you can find the right combination.

[lmalewic]

Hello everyone,
I’m glad that the pieces are still getting a good reception. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to send me an email at w w w . l m a l e w I c (at) g m a i l . c o m. Antonio is making some fantastic stuff and now with the addition of bronze there are quite a few options to choose from.

[spangy]

I've been on an AR for a couple of months now. Its a 25.1/60 with a 46 backbore. I wish I had found this years ago. Absolutely the best mouthpiece I've played. And boy I've tried a lot of pieces.

[lmalewic]

Hello Everyone,
I have set up a website with information about AR Mouthpieces. You can check out all of the different options we offer from sizes to materials and the prices for everything.

http://www.lukaszmalewicz.com/arresonancemouthpieces/

Please let me know if you have any further questions.

[sweavertrb]

Luke is fantastic to work with. He was a big help in selecting my components. I chose the 24.8 rim, standard cup and 43 and 46 backbores, thinking that I'd use the 43 for lead playing and the 46 for combos/everything else. I'm pretty much using the 43 stem for most everything now. I'd been playing a Bob Reeves modified Bach 7C and a Brass Ark-Bob Reeves 11C with a more open throat. Both really good pieces and I wasn't really searching for a replacement.

I struggle to put my thoughts on the AR into words. The first one that pops into my head is "amazing". It's more open and the attacks pop. The sound can be either pure or earthy. It is marvelously flexible and both the high and low registers speak with ease. I've never found a piece that does all of that and I also had over 60 pieces at one point. Initially, I was afraid that the more open feel would lead to reduced endurance on demanding big band lead gigs, but that isn't an issue.

I want to thank Luke and Tony for their work in getting me such a special mouthpiece.

[johntarr]

Has anyone tried the V- cup? As I understood from Luke, it is designed for high playing. I’m wondering if that’s an option for alto.

[johntarr]

Yesterday I received a C- cup in bronze for my alto. I have the same rim size but it is much shallower that the normal C cup I had been using. Using the shallow cup has made the attacks much clearer and secure and the sound is fine and bright. This may not work in an orchestra but my sound concept for the alto is to be between a trumpet and trombone, and not sound similar to a tenor.

I’m also using a smaller shank, 10 instead of 10.5 and feel this works better than the standard shanks.

Just reporting my discovery.

[SwissTbone]

Recently I got to play in a very bad hall that I unfortunately know very well. It is basically a dead room. No reverb at all. The sounds simply drop off your bell.

At least it was that way before I had my AR mouthpiece in bronze. This time I had a great time. The room is still sh..it. But I was clearly able to hear my sound bouncing back from the walls. Something I never heard from anybody else in this room and that without trying to blow the walls down.

[chasanov]

One of my doctoral students came into a lesson with an AR mouthpiece a few weeks ago. I was absolutely floored by the difference in focus/core and color.

Yesterday I traveled to the Chicago area and tried them for myself. Luke Malewicz guided me through the process.
I am amazed and blown away by the response, color, flexibility of these beautifully made mouthpieces.
I walked out with one for my tenor and one for my alto. All I can say is Antonio Rapacciuolo, the designer, is a genius!

The website is:
https://www.arresonance.com/

[heinzgries]

One of my doctoral students came into a lesson with an AR mouthpiece a few weeks ago. I was absolutely floored by the difference in focus/core and color.

Yesterday I traveled to the Chicago area and tried them for myself. Luke Malewicz guided me through the process.
I am amazed and blown away by the response, color, flexibility of these beautifully made mouthpieces.
I walked out with one for my tenor and one for my alto. All I can say is Antonio Rapacciuolo, the designer, is a genius!

The website is:
https://www.arresonance.com/

which spec. has your alto mouthpiece?

[chasanov]

Alto mouthpiece:
24.80 60 Bronze
60M shank

[lmalewic]

Hello All,
I will be at ITF this coming week with a bunch of AR pieces so if you are in Muncie please come by the booth, say hi, and check out what we have. Looking forward to seeing some of you there!