Griego Bousfield 3V

[harrisonreed]

I just ordered a Bousfield V3 from Griego. I'll do a video review of it alongside the Alessi 1C and 1A after I receive it and figure out what I can use it for.

I am a really big fan of Griego Sound Innovations and I'm hoping that the bousfield might be a cross between what I liked about the radical Lindberg mouthpiece designs and what I love about the Alessi 1 series. We'll see!

[Mv2541]

When I was using a 1C as a daily driver I got an O3 to compare and I thought it was much smaller all around than I expected. The rim felt different and maybe closer to a 105 than 106, but that could be the shape. I really thought the 1C was pretty shallow especially compared to Greg's stuff; if they made a small shank Bousfield 3 it would probably be a killer alto piece. Looking forward to hearing what you (and others) think.

[Dwoger]

Would love to hear your thought on it. Just received mine today and only had a chance to play a few notes so far.

[harrisonreed]

Cool, let us know what you think, as well. Mine hasn't arrived yet

[harrisonreed]

Well.... it's everything I didn't like about the 2CL and sized the same as an alessi 1C. The sound is actually quite good, and crystal clear, but that rim is not comfortable. It would be interesting to try one that had been CNCed with an alessi rim. No video, not worth it.

Could just be that I've just really gotten used to the 1C rim shape.

[jph]

Well.... it's everything I didn't like about the 2CL and sized the same as an alessi 1C. The sound is actually quite good, and crystal clear, but that rim is not comfortable. It would be interesting to try one that had been CNCed with an alessi rim. No video, not worth it.

Could just be that I've just really gotten used to the 1C rim shape.

Harrison, Do you think it's primarily the inner rim bite, or the curvature on the rim facing...or both?

[Matt K]

Harrison, FWIW I have a 5CL that I had threaded for Doug's XT rims if you wanted to try that. I think you have an Elliott rim if I'm not mistaken?

[harrisonreed]

The rim shape feels like it curves below the highest point on the rim almost immediately, meaning that the highest point on the rim is very close to the inner edge. I don't know what else to really say about it. I like a lot about how it plays and sounds. But I think the rim contour is a bit too crazy for me.

[harrisonreed]

Harrison, FWIW I have a 5CL that I had threaded for Doug's XT rims if you wanted to try that. I think you have an Elliott rim if I'm not mistaken?

Thanks Matt, but I think I'm good with mouthpiece experiments for a while. Did it work OK for you?

Speaking of Doug, I tried some stuff for my 36H at ATW and realized that the alto S shank doesn't play nice with my 36H. I now have a B cup and normal alto shank, and the difference is incredible.

[Matt K]

Harrison, FWIW I have a 5CL that I had threaded for Doug's XT rims if you wanted to try that. I think you have an Elliott rim if I'm not mistaken?

Thanks Matt, but I think I'm good with mouthpiece experiments for a while. Did it work OK for you?

Speaking of Doug, I tried some stuff for my 36H at ATW and realized that the alto S shank doesn't play nice with my 36H. I now have a B cup and normal alto shank, and the difference is incredible.

Depends on what one means by 'work'! I was actually abou tto write somethng else but t dawns on me that just acquired a Conn X leadpipe for my 525/547 slide which it might work really well in. I'll have to dig it out and giv eit a shot. Problem is that the piece is really shallow... too shallow for me. I'm a bright player and I seldom play soloistic stuff and if I *did* there's a good chance I'd pull out the small shank leadpipe and use that on that slide with something slightly larger. My main goto at the moment is an XT E cup; I think Doug recently made changes to it though it might just be ones larger than it. Too many options! I also have a really nice Shires 6.5AL that sort of fills that niche. The backbore is really tight on it; that was my go-to for most of my playing when I was using a 547 slide on that bell section. I tend to prefer that over the Linderg which is sort of the opposite --- seems like it has a very open backbore and a very shallow cup.

That all said, if I liked the rim profile I can see why one would really like them; it's quite easy to play with a wide degree of flexibility but it's almost too flexible for me!

Hopefully that rambling was helpful

[jph]

The rim shape feels like it curves below the highest point on the rim almost immediately, meaning that the highest point on the rim is very close to the inner edge. I don't know what else to really say about it. I like a lot about how it plays and sounds. But I think the rim contour is a bit too crazy for me.

Wow. That IS a high-riding rim. Hard to fathom what it was trying to to accomplish, i.e. what need was being targeted.

[harrisonreed]

I might have to revisit this one again ...

been playing the 3V all week ...

[BurckhardtS]

I'm interested to try it if you lose interest....

[Burgerbob]

Obviously you just need a 5G and an 88H.

[Retrobone]

I'd like to add a thought about the Bousfield V3. I bought one a short while ago but it's not Griego. There seems to be two sources for this design. The engraving looks similar but I can see the "V3" has been added later. I got two rubber rings with it haven't tried these. Maybe there is some EU/US rights thing going on... Anyone know anything about that?
Anyway I'm a huge admirer of Ian Bousfield and had the privelege to hear him rehearse and perform a recital last week, which was amazing, as well as observing him teach some of my students. Great learning experience for me as well. We spoke a little about the mouthpiece. It's basically an attempt to marry a much wider rim onto a 6.5 AL style cup, with a modified throat for airflow. I think it succeeds! But it's also taking me a while to get used to the rim width and shape. For me it's not too sharp and with the high point close to inner edge the width feels more compact than the 1.06" specification would suggest. It's not a standard rim shape, but it seems to offer me some help.
Advantages for me, easy articulation in low register but the shallow cup gives brilliance in high register. This is the easiest I've ever played the Zarathustra excerpts! The sound is full but bright. Reminded me of Schilke 52 in many ways. IB sounds fabulous on it of course and he's doing almost exclusively solo playing. It's different... I'm giving it another try. My face can get used to it and it's a real tenorey sound.

[harrisonreed]

Obviously you just need a 5G and an 88H.

I think you've posted a pic of your mouthpiece collection before, haha! I only own 5 mouthpieces ...

3 large bore, 1 small bore, and 1 alto.

I'm not as much of a mouthpiece freak as my posts might suggest!

[harrisonreed]

I'd like to add a thought about the Bousfield V3. I bought one a short while ago but it's not Griego. There seems to be two sources for this design. The engraving looks similar but I can see the "V3" has been added later. I got two rubber rings with it haven't tried these. Maybe there is some EU/US rights thing going on... Anyone know anything about that?

I thought the Warwick design was over with and he was going through Griego only. The cup and backbore on the Griego version has been changed from the old S series with the O-rings.

If someone added "3V" onto an S series ... that sounds not right to me.

Yeah, I have been enjoying playing it this week so far. It takes a lighter approach than the super stable 1C. Vibrato and lip trills are much easier....but of course that means the easy slotting and stability is gone.

Seems to be no issue to switch back to a 1C for ensemble playing though, so no problem.

It is actually remarkably similar to the Lindberg 4CL (it's been YEARS since I had mine, so maybe it's just my memory of it), but with a much wider cup that works better for me. I'm going to still be on the fence. We'll see if I'm still as excited to get back on my horn first thing in the morning a month from now as I am this week.

[Retrobone]

I thought the Warwick design was over with and he was going through Griego only. The cup and backbore on the Griego version has been changed from the old S series with the O-rings.

If someone added "3V" onto an S series ... that sounds not right to me.

It certainly doesn't! I'm going to investigate... I suspect there's something fishy going on.

Tim

<Edit: Fixed quote - B. Guttman>

[Savio]

The rim shape feels like it curves below the highest point on the rim almost immediately, meaning that the highest point on the rim is very close to the inner edge. I don't know what else to really say about it. I like a lot about how it plays and sounds. But I think the rim contour is a bit too crazy for me.

Thats the kind of rim I like. Either that or a flat rim shape. Not to thick. Thick or very rounded rim shape makes my articulations restricted. Stange but both legato up to staccato and everything between, feels better with a sharper edge and flat rim.
Leif

[mrdeacon]

The rim shape feels like it curves below the highest point on the rim almost immediately, meaning that the highest point on the rim is very close to the inner edge. I don't know what else to really say about it. I like a lot about how it plays and sounds. But I think the rim contour is a bit too crazy for me.

Thats the kind of rim I like. Either that or a flat rim shape. Not to thick. Thick or very rounded rim shape makes my articulations restricted. Stange but both legato up to staccato and everything between, feels better with a sharper edge and flat rim.
Leif

I used to think the same thing about a "very" rounded rim till a got a Mount Vernon 2G with a "very" rounded rim. I found the articulations to actually feel just as good if not better when the roundness was accentuated like that.

[Bart]

It certainly doesn't! I'm going to investigate... I suspect there's something fishy going on.

FWIW: In our catalogue from GEWA (the Dutch distributor for these mouthpieces) there are three series of the Ian Bousfield mouthpieces. The S-series is still available (and in stock at the distributor) and recently the V- and O-series have been added to the catalogue. The V- and O-series are about double the price and do not have the rubber bands. Those are specifically for the S-series. If you have any doubts, let me know! I can always check with our guy at GEWA.

[Retrobone]

It certainly doesn't! I'm going to investigate... I suspect there's something fishy going on.

FWIW: In our catalogue from GEWA (the Dutch distributor for these mouthpieces) there are three series of the Ian Bousfield mouthpieces. The S-series is still available (and in stock at the distributor) and recently the V- and O-series have been added to the catalogue. The V- and O-series are about double the price and do not have the rubber bands. Those are specifically for the S-series. If you have any doubts, let me know! I can always check with our guy at GEWA.

It seems weird to me me that these mouthpieces are not Griego... apparantly. Or are they? I got mine in an older Warwick Music box with rubber rings and V3 scribbled on the box. Also a GEWA sticker is on the box.The engraving of "V3" is not the same as the Bousfield name... all I can observe is some mystery about the provenance of these pieces.

[harrisonreed]

On my Griego, the V3 shows as a simple single lined thin font, while the word Bousfield is in a fancier double lined font.

[Retrobone]

On my Griego, the V3 shows as a simple single lined thin font, while the word Bousfield is in a fancier double lined font.

Harrison
Mine's the same... is Griego engraved on it as well? Mine came in a white Warwick Music box. No mention of Griego anywhere

[harrisonreed]

Nope. That sounds exactly like mine. Hmmm

[Bart]

Here are the catalogue images of the mouthpieces. They do use a different font as you can see. No V-series has the same font as the S-series and vice versa. So that should tell you which mouthpiece you really have.

It sounds to me like you have an original V3-mouthpiece, but in a recycled box. It's not uncommon that boxes get lost during a stand at an event or while at a customer when he tries it out. That might also explain the rubber rings: they were just left over from the S-series that was once in the box.

Or something was switched at GEWA. Is the number on the GEWA sticker 714.50x?

<EDIT: removed the inline attachments: I'm unable to correctly insert them in the text>

[harrisonreed]

I've got an O3 now on its way from Hickeys....

For wind ensemble, of course....

Still on the V3, going on 3 weeks after playing a 1C on almost everything for over 4 years... this is crazy haha. Change can be good though!

FWIW, the instantaneous endurance gain after the switch is probably why I'm still getting pumped up to play it every day. I think that's what I like the most. Less metal on my face?

[harrisonreed]

When I was using a 1C as a daily driver I got an O3 to compare and I thought it was much smaller all around than I expected. The rim felt different and maybe closer to a 105 than 106, but that could be the shape. I really thought the 1C was pretty shallow especially compared to Greg's stuff; if they made a small shank Bousfield 3 it would probably be a killer alto piece. Looking forward to hearing what you (and others) think.

I have a V3 rim on its way to Japan from Bob Reeves' guys -- met them at Joy Brass just outside Tokyo about two weeks ago. It's threaded now to fit my current alto setup, so I'm really excited to get working on that. I'm hoping it is like what I have quoted in bold here, a killer small shank V3 for alto (and my 3B). This is probably the craziest thing I've ever done, modification wise, but the Bob Reeves guys were so cool, and the price was even less than they had quoted me. Really looking forward to it!

A lot of this came about because I had been working 100% of the time on my large bore setup in Colorado, on the V3. I was loving that setup. Everything was easier than it has ever been. I built up a ton of synergy. I got to Japan, and now I'm playing all of the time in the brass band on a 3B with an AWESOME Doug Elliott setup that sounds really good, and plays really easily. XT106Lex, C+, D small shank. Again, loving life.

But, go back to my trusty large bore setup for a wind ensemble type performance, and the rim feels weird on the V3 again. It's not like I haven't been playing and practicing my large bore every day, it's just that it isn't what I'm performing on at the moment. Blows great, sounds like it had when I was using it exclusively every day, and nothing else changed other than the annoyance of :

"dang, I kind of hated this rim, then realized that the rim was actually really awesome for me once I got used to it and reduced the pressure on my face, and now I kind of hate this rim again after four months on my 3B with a rim that has a lot more cushion. I remember how awesome playing this felt just a few months ago, but the 3B is changing my playing. I must be unconsciously using more pressure than I mean to, again. Because I can on the lexan..."

I want my cake, and I want to eat it too! I'm hoping this is the final nail to hammer down for gear for a long time, at least until Edwards completes my self -playing trombone for me. V3 rim on everything. This way the large bore won't feel alien if I pull it out shortly after a brass band gig for a different ensemble.

[Blenky]

Did anyone get to the bottom of the Griego/Not Griego thing?

I have a Signature V5 and a V4 both with double lined 'BOUSFIELD Vx' font and O rings, but no mention of Griego on the MP at all?