TromboneChat

Hey! So, I am an orchestral bass trombonist anddd I've been playing on a Bach 1g and I play the ranges fine but at very loud dynamics... it feels as if my sound is getting eaten away and nothing comes out! I suspect it's the hugee backbore or could it be that I am not centering?? If it is the backbore do you guys have any recommendations of what mouthpieces I can get with a similar cup depth with a smaller backbore? I play 1970's bach 50blgh if it helps

Thanks to those who reply!

I find in very loud passages where I'm doubling tuba my sound is "swallowed" as well. It's part of the game.

I find sometimes that a smaller mouthpiece can help. I keep a 1 1/2 G size mostly for when I haven't been playing bass a lot and my chops aren't up for the Doug Elliott I normally want to play (LB 112.5/L/L7; about the size of a Yeo). The 1 1/2 G sometimes lets me cut through a little better although it makes the pedal range a lot more difficult.

I concur with Bruce and add use a 1 1/2GM its just that fraction bigger for those pedals especially if you are coming to it from a bigger mouthpiece.

I just can't get the low register to speak on the 1 1/2G... haven't tried the GM version or the 1 1/4 since my local music shop doesn't have them, so maybe those may work better. Also, I forgot to mention on my original question, but the only range that is feeling swallowed when loud is the low register around low Bb to B natural below the staff.

You may be playing too open in that range, so the horn is not centering/not projecting. A smaller mouthpiece does a lot of that work for you (but not nearly all)... a larger one takes serious chop finesse.

Burgerbob wrote: ↑Sat May 04, 2019 9:24 pm You may be playing too open in that range, so the horn is not centering/not projecting. A smaller mouthpiece does a lot of that work for you (but not nearly all)... a larger one takes serious chop finesse.

Smaller as in throat/backbore, depth, or overall?

Usually overall. The 1G is also not a great design, IMO, and is very light, which won't help you center those ranges at loud dynamics as well. There are many pieces out there that are much better at just about everything- with practice!

Burgerbob wrote: ↑Sat May 04, 2019 10:47 pm Usually overall. The 1G is also not a great design, IMO, and is very light, which won't help you center those ranges at loud dynamics as well. There are many pieces out there that are much better at just about everything- with practice!

Any recommendations of other brands/companies or models would work? I do understand that it is best to playtest them but it would be extremely hard for me since I live nowhere near a good music shop (only had Schilke, bach, and Dennis Wick in 2g, 1.5g, 1g, and Schilke 60) and travel isn't really an option.

The Yamaha Doug Yeo mouthpiece is the best cheap option in that range, especially the silver plated "replica" version. Not too much to just buy and try out.

Used to play on a 1G but because of tone inconsistancies depending on dynamics, I settled on a 1 1/4GM (smaller cup but same wide throat as 1G) for a while. A little less powerful in lower register but improved everything else.
Now playing on a Stork custom 1.5 which for me is amazing throughout!

Try the megatone version. It works well.

I also use to play a 1G 20 years ago and I found the opposite, maybe it was the red brass bell but my sound would heat up and cut too much at loud dynamics. Thicker wall MP's toned it back. I switched to a Schilke 59 and it worked for that Bass trombone. This year I borrowed a bass trombone to play for a concert and the 59 did not work so a 1 1/2G did the trick.

I'm sure this does not help you but I would go to a local store and play as many MP's as you can.

Some folks test bass bone mouthpieces in the low notes only, and then wonder why their sound is so dead. The big mouthpieces make the low notes easier, but anything else just doesn't sound as good. I'm not sure that there is a one mouthpiece solution to this. You get lost in the tuba because your sound is too tuba-ish. You have to distinguish yourself from the tuba, which generally I think means slightly smaller equipment. I find a 1.25G is a nice mouthpiece, but not as lively as a Ferguson V, which is slightly larger than 1.5G. Ferguson L is slightly larger than the 1.25G, but with more bite.

. It's a spectrum, and yes, I think there is such a thing as "too big". I imagine a Doug Elliot piece between the V and the L (maybe a 112 rim and L cup?) would be a pretty good guess at a do-all mouthpiece for bass.