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What is your favorite technique for comparing mouthpieces? I have 2 pieces that are very similar setting at home. Tomorrow I am going to play test them against each other. I already know the rims are shaped differently, but can someone aid me in some ideas for comparing them?

I was thinking of buying some silly putty or playdough and molding the cups for comparison. I may get an idea of throat size by molding in a similar manner, or trying to see how deep a pencil goes. I am certain there are tools for this type of work, but maybe I am missing other obvious methods for examination. What's a good way for comparing back bores? These MP's are not stamped with a model number, therefore I can not refer to any table.

Thanks

Got this trick from a Michael Moore master class many years ago. You can do a quick and dirty comparison of two mouthpieces by droppng a quarter in each.

If you have a vise and a hacksaw, you could saw them in half to get a better view of all these parameters, but be careful to cut them right in the middle - if you're off center, it will throw your measurements off.

Donn wrote:If you have a vise and a hacksaw, you could saw them in half to get a better view of all these parameters, but be careful to cut them right in the middle - if you're off center, it will throw your measurements off.

The concept of cutting them down the middle would imply that the mouthpieces in question have lines of symmetry down their centers. Bleh I am not in an appropriate place or state of mind for performing these detailed analyses but this querulous assumption struck me upon reading this post. I assume that the mouthpieces in question are antiquated and lacking in quality control given the nature of the OP.

I have a set of digital calipers and a set of machinist's drill bits (both letters and fractional). Here's a handy drill bit chart --> http://bobmay.astronomy.net/misc/drillchart.htm" target="_blank

I have used the drill bits to measure throat size. I use the calipers to measure the width of the hole between the rim edges and the width of the rim.

I usually compare depth by using my finger and maybe a pen.

Thanks guys. Very useful stuff, and a few things that made me laugh. Yes, the play test will be the true answer. I will not be doing surgery. I had forgotten about the drill bit thing. Thanks.

The reason I asked was that one piece is borrowed and fabulous, the other I just purchased and hope is close so I do not have to spend $$$'s copying the lent MP.

I'm no help by this point, but I'm kinda curious what you are testing out!

Thanks for the offer Jim. I have in the past hooked up my mic to an FFT to see the effects you are talking about. Rick Denny has used this same tool to great affect in his sound analysis.

As for the mouthpieces: I have figured it all out with a little insertion of my finger and also looking at the shank. The piece I though may be good for my 163 (the one borrowed will have to be copied) is surprisingly good for my 155, but the shank is oddly oversized to an extreme... this thing is too big for my 163 receiver (we're talking big), and on the 155 (euro sized) only inserts ~1/8th inch !!! My ears told me everything I needed to know. When I made the post, I only had memories of one piece, and pictures of the other. I needed to see them side beside before I understood that they were obviously different, and I didn't need to pursue it very far.

We wouldn't be very far today if Mr. Jacobs hadn't been so diligent with experimentation. I am no Mr. Jacobs, but I will help when I can.

What you really want for making a cast of a mouthpiece is dental alginate. Lots of places sell it online for around $10-20. You have to work quick though, it sets in a minute or two. Special FX places sell slower-setting versions for making face molds and such.

For an around-the-house solution, removable caulk might work--the stuff hardware stores sell this time of year for temporarily sealing windows shut. It cures fast, comes unstuck easily and should keep its shape well. A big glob the size of a mouthpiece cup may take a couple of days to cure, but still not too impractical.

Either material should make a decent back bore cast if you start from the shank and don't go too far into the cup. Maybe stick your finger in the cup while you pack alginate or caulk into the shank.

Dave

Gee Ben, you take all the fun out of this kind of thing. I used to have these
same kind of discussions with Art Lehman, my mpc is bigger than yours, you
know that kind of thing. Here is a down and down method, you take that metal
object, and you put the big end up against that hole in the front of your face,
that they call an oral apature, You kind of squiggle the thing around until you
can see comfortably, all the while making sure that it doesn't pinch. Then you
see if you can make any obscene type sounds come out of the little end. If by
squeezing and relaxing your lips you can get a real low, and a real high one, Boy,
that is a good start. If by then you like it, Buy it.(ha), Really, my experience says that you can kinda grow into anything.

Digital calipers will help in comparing mpcs, but it's hard to get the exact measurement of cup diameter because the rim is rounded (bite area). How do you know where to measure? In the example below it looks like he's eyeballing it some.

http://mytrumpets.info/muck_mpc.html