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Hey guys, so I'm looking to change my mouthpiece. I'm currently playing on the Dennis Wick 1L.

I'm looking for a darker and fuller sound (I know it takes a change in playing as well, I am working on this), preferably with a larger throat bore than the Dennis Wick. I'm looking for that dark, rich, organ like tone quality. Any advice would be awesome!

P.S- this is assuming that I don't have access or time to drive hours to find a store to sit there and try every mouthpiece under the sun and don't want to order 800 of them sending the rejected ones back through snail mail. Can't cover those shipping charges, would prefer not to take that kind of time if it can be avoided.

If you really want a new mouthpiece I would suggest a blokepiece symphony model.

Isuma wrote:I'm looking for that dark, rich, organ like tone quality.

That's easy! Conn Helleberg:

standard blurb wrote: Produces a very deep, organ-like tone with excellent volume.

Seriously, you're going to get a lot of answers, but if you want to get something that works better for you than the Wick 1L without just trying a lot of them at random, I think you need to start with some idea of what's wrong with it. It is already a big, deep mouthpiece with a big throat bore, so don't neglect to check people's recommendations on that point. (Is Conn Helleberg's throat larger than 1L's? I wouldn't bet on it, really, but don't know.)

Donn wrote: Seriously, you're going to get a lot of answers, but if you want to get something that works better for you than the Wick 1L without just trying a lot of them at random, I think you need to start with some idea of what's wrong with it. It is already a big, deep mouthpiece with a big throat bore, so don't neglect to check people's recommendations on that point. (Is Conn Helleberg's throat larger than 1L's? I wouldn't bet on it, really, but don't know.)

Good point. What don't you like about the Wick 1L? The rim? The cup volume? The bore? The cup diameter? And what do you like, other than a big mouthpiece? Flat or round rim? What cup shape do you like? Funnel, bowl, Geib? There's lots of variables that you have to specify. I've seen a good suggestion by another poster: call Matt Walters at Dillion Music and he can recommend a mp based on your descriptions of your playing.

Isuma wrote:P.S- this is assuming that I don't have access or time to drive hours to find a store to sit there and try every mouthpiece under the sun and don't want to order 800 of them sending the rejected ones back through snail mail. Can't cover those shipping charges, would prefer not to take that kind of time if it can be avoided.

Well, you might get some help to narrow down choices once you try a few and know what you do/don't like. But really, this is the only way to be sure. AND, even pros and people who have been playing for years switch mouthpieces now and then. It's never a one-and-done situation.

One good thing is if you can buy something used here, on eBay, whatever... I tried a bunch of mouthpieces last year, and for mouthpieces I didn't keep, I pretty much broke even. Chances are if there's something you're looking to buy, there's someone else out there doing the same thing.

I'd try these:
Conn Helleberg (NOT the 7B)
Mirafone TU33
PT-88
Bobo Symphonic
Cooley Helleberg
Mike Finn MF3

Good luck.

cktuba wrote:

hrender wrote: If you take care of it, you'll be able to resell it for about what you paid for it.

Wow, I wish that was the case... if you want to move the mouthpiece it seems like you end up somewhere around a 40% discount off the new price. Otherwise, it sits on your shelf.

If you're buying new, that's true; however, you seem to have missed the key word in the sentence before the one you quoted:

hrender wrote: To make the hunt cheaper, look for used "archetypal" mouthpieces, e.g. Conn Helleberg, PT88, Stofer Geib, Mike Finn 2 or 3, etc. If you take care of it, you'll be able to resell it for about what you paid for it.

Isuma wrote:Hey guys, so I'm looking to change my mouthpiece. I'm currently playing on the Dennis Wick 1L.

I'm looking for a darker and fuller sound (I know it takes a change in playing as well, I am working on this), preferably with a larger throat bore than the Dennis Wick. I'm looking for that dark, rich, organ like tone quality. Any advice would be awesome!

This is what the denis wick website says about a Wick 1L (everything I could find with Google in 5 minutes that might be useful):

www.deniswick.com wrote: Wick 1L Description:
Diameter: 47.46 mm
Cup Diameter: 32.50 mm
Rim Width: 7.48 mm
Bore Size: 8.43 mm
Back Bore: Open

A very large Helleberg-type mouthpiece for enormous volume and full low register. Lovely response, but needs strong chops. Great for the serious orchestral player and BB flat bass player. Huge mouthpiece with a huge sound. This is the mouthpiece that I always use in my 1929 York BB flat sousaphone for Dixieland gigs, and in my 1960 Holton BB flat.

Comparison:
Schilke
Helleberg II,
Laskey 30H, G
& W Alan Baer
model MVII,
Perantucci PT-88

It seems that the original poster has a Helleberg style mouthpiece, but would like one that's more open than the one he or she has.

If the original poster wants a Helleberg style mouthpiece with a larger throat than 8.43 mm, the only thing I can think of is a LOUD LM-6, which had a very very open throat. I recall it was 8.6 mm. The LM-5 may have had that big a throat as well. The LM-6 had a pretty normal cup size (think Laskey 30H or Schilke HII) with a super huge throat. I think the LM-5 supposedly had a much deeper cup and a huge throat, but I don't think I ever tried one.

The original poster might want to look for a used LM-6 or LM-5. They are heavyweight and made of stainless steel and have removable screw rims. The default LM-6 rim was something somewhat similar to a Laskey 30H, but something you buy used could come with a different rim. Evidently, these designs can still be purchased directly from Dave Houser, but will not have the LOUD name on them --> viewtopic.php?f=9&t=43654" target="_blank

However, I personally would not play either of the things I suggested to you above. Even though it isn't anything like what you asked for, I would still suggest you try a Sellmansberger / Houser "Symphony" model with the rim of your choice --> viewtopic.php?f=9&t=40458" target="_blank

I hope this helps,

Christian

Sounds to me like that's something along the lines of a bored out Conn Helleberg. Not going to be easy to find something to help you get more organlike than what you already have. Three options I can think of:

- Perantucci PT50
- Miraphone Rose Orchestral
-Practice, practice, practice.

Doesn't take me but a second to come to the conclusion that a mouthpiece change isn't what you're looking for so much as a change in your own sound. But if you insist on going for a deeper, more organ like sound, I guess my previous two suggestions might work. If you're already an awesome and very strong player.