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I play a Kanstul 66T in a city band and will start my quintet season in church in September. I purchased a Giddings and Webster Makanuska for the band work and loved it. I had great volume and intonation that fit the 50 piece standard band of woodwinds and brass. I was afraid I would get lost (in the sound) because the other players have 4/4 BBbs. I was not. I was able to more than match then. I have purchased the G&W Bora for quintet work. It arrived the other day and so I was able to compare the two mouthpieces. I could definitely hear the difference. The Bora is brassier (in my opinion) and definitely does not have the volume. I believe it will blend better for the quintet without overpowering them. My instructor (who happens to lead the quintet) noticed the difference too. I now actually believe the website descriptions. Who would have thunk those marketing descriptions were actually true.....

I really enjoy G&W for several reasons, one of them being their customer service. Everytime I have worked with them, they have been very honest and attentive to my needs.

The new-style Taku I own is a little bit "loosey-goosey" for my 186, but I'm keeping it, as if I ever get a rotary Eb, it should be a great mouthpiece for that, and I won't have the issue of adapting to a completely different diameter or rim, as it's similar in that regard to all three of the other mouthpieces I use on a regular basis: Curry 128D with modified rim for the upright St Pete bell; custom Kanstul based on an 18 with a slightly wider and deeper cup, but slightly narrower throat than a Bach 18 (@.325), for the recording bell, and a burgundy Kelly 18 for inclement weather.

The two G&W mouthpieces tested on the same horn are the same inner rim diameter, rim width and bore. the different is the Matanuska is a deep cone and the Bora is a medium to shallow cup. They give very different sounds. I suspect there are other manufacturers who supply similar matched mouthpieces to allow reactively seamless transition from mouthpiece to mouthpiece allowing for different sound characteristics. I was mildly surprised that the difference was so pronounced. I have a Kanstul mouthpiece of a design similar to a Bach 18 that was supplied with the horn. It has a much wider rim. The G&W mouthpieces have all the play better characteristics you would expect from a premium mouthpiece.