TubeNet

are stainless steel mouthpieces as smooth as one with 24k gold plating? I like the feel of gold plating and despise the feel of most silver plated mouthpieces. I have pretty bad eczema so i need something soft on my lips. I like the idea of Stainless Steel mouthpieces as people that have tried them seem to like them (some people are absolutely ballistic over SS mpcs) I know there are different Stainless Steel finishes, satin, polished, and frost. What's the difference between the finishes?

There are a few companies out there that offer Stainless mouthpieces (Houser and Giddings to name some). Giddings offers different mouthpiece finishes for sure, and I think that's what you are asking about specifically. Although I haven't played on any other finishes than polished, I am fairly certain they are cosmetic differences only, and the rim will remain polished. Giddings also has a "Dragon's Breath" finish which undergoes different heat treatment and alters the color of the mouthpiece (slightly different each time).

are they as smooth? a little hard to say without having the same exact mouthpiece in both materials, but I think so. I like the feel of them (I play on Giddings Baer mouthpieces myself).

i need something soft on my lips

I once saw a picture of trombone mp with a LEATHER cushioned rim...
Due to skin irritations with silver plating I played Kelly lexan mps for long years. When I came into need for different rim shape I tried different gold and stainless steel alternatives.
The different finishes on Giddings mouthpieces are only for the outside. The rims are polished and smooth with a similar feel as gold plating. The Dragons Breath treatment gives a nice colour and changes the hardness of the steel, but the feel of the rim is unchanged. (It is polished after the heat treatment)
Giddings and Houser/Sellmansberger offer a very smooth rim with "gold" feel, with Houser you can have even a gold look when you choose a titanium nitrated rim. I have two rims of the same size in polished and titanized and I am not able to feel a difference in playing.
The Kelly stainless steel mps are slightly less shiny and offer a bit more grip, but are still more slippery than silver plating or lexan.
My skin reacts only with silver or missing plating, the grip of the rim doesn't make a difference.

Snake Charmer wrote: ↑Wed Sep 28, 2022 2:04 am

i need something soft on my lips

I once saw a picture of trombone mp with a LEATHER cushioned rim...

How would that even work? you sure it wasn't like a weird protection measure for storage?

the material of the surface - silver plate, gold plate, stainless, lexan, etc - can all have the same smoothness but will be "slipperier" than each other particularly when moisture is involved. Gold is the slipperiest, lexan the least so. I like the feel of gold and stainless but they are different without question.

How would that even work? you sure it wasn't like a weird protection measure for storage?

It looks well made but caring for leather in moist conditions is not easy! Millereau(F), ca 1900

...and here a COMFO-RIM mouthpiece. Not the smoothest surface

Snake Charmer wrote: ↑Thu Sep 29, 2022 1:57 am Comfo-Rim-Trombone-mpc.jpg
...and here a COMFO-RIM mouthpiece. Not the smoothest surface

no idea why that wouldnt be comforable