Greg Black Pieces

[2bOrNot2b]

Hi all,

I’ve been playing on a Greg Black 5G (regular weight) for almost a year now, but I’m still having some difficulty in the extreme high register. I.e. excerpts like Bolero or Strauss. I enjoy the sound I get on this mouthpiece, it’s comfortable, but as I said before, my range is affected in comparison with a mp like a DE LT101, G, G8 that I own. I was thinking of switching to a 5GSD. Any advice or opinions are welcomed.

Thanks.

[Rusty]

Is there anything you particularly don’t like about the DE setup? If that is better in the upper register maybe just use that. Otherwise a slightly shallower or tighter throat GB piece might work well, such as a 5gs or similar.

[Matt K]

I had a Greg Black 5G threaded for Doug's rims (one of the pieces that I purchased like that, I didn't have it threaded). Doug indicated that that particular one was about as deep as his "H" cup. You have to take into consideration that a mouthpiece may not be able to give you all things at once and that maybe the reason you like the sound of the 5G is that it has a pretty deep cup and the reason you like the Elliott is because it has a shallower cup. You *might* be able to get a compromise between the two of them with a GSD or GS underpart but you also might find exactly the same thing.

Incidentally, I do have a Shires 5GS threaded for Doug's rims that I'd be willing to sell if you wanted to try it. If I got it back in the same condition I'd also take a return on it.

Side note as well, I've done a lot of experimenting with various underparts (but keeping rims constant). With the rare exception being a case where Doug doesn't make something comparable off the shelf, I always end up going back to something of Doug's. There's just so many stock items that fit together that it makes doing that last x% so much easier (and in the long run cheaper) than any of the alternatives. The only exceptions I've found are material that isn't offered, and even then I don't use the pieces in those materials OR something that's a bit off the beaten path... for example, I have a Shires 6.5AL in large shank (threaded for his rims) that I really like... but it's basically a small shank mouthpiece with a thick shank. Doug could totally make it, I just didn't ask. In hindsight, I'd probably have been better served by an XTE/E(???) where the ??? was just something custom. Or maybe even an E8...

In your case, If the G cup isn't getting you the sound and the 5G is limiting high range, I'd probably at least try Doug's XT G+. It's a really good compromise between a 5G and his "G" cup depth. A 9 or 10 shank might also go towards getting the sound without reducing range too. His return policy and how quick he often is to get parts out would lend me to that action first.