TubeNet

How do YOU choose?

Midway between the most extreme sizes I can control. 31.25-32mm. Small enough throat and backbore to have a comfortable amount of resistance (no giant bores and throats).

I know which diameter works for me, and I stick with it.

What is most important for me: comfortable feeling given the shape of my set of teeth, mp must leave some room between the rim of the mp and the bottom of the nose bone. For me that means the outer diameter must be no more than 47 to 47,5 mm.

Moreover I prefer: inner diameter between 31,25 and 32,0 mm because of control, rim not too broad and not too small (ca. 7.6 to max 8,0 mm), inside edge not too round and not too sharp (clear attack and flexibility), deep cup (rather warm and dark tone) and a bore between 8,1 and 8,4 mm (balance between volume and resistance).

Have a nice quest for the Holy Grail....
Hubert

The following is a bit straightforward but covers engineering basics:

RIM: The rim of the mouthpiece supports the lips and defines how much of their area is free to vibrate. The greater the area able to vibrate the greater the flexibility with which the lips may be changed from one frequency of vibration to another.

CUP WIDTH: Increasing the diameter of the mouthpiece has the added result of making the entire instrument flatter in pitch, reducing resonance in the higher register and making the tone fuller but more somber. These characteristics are not primarily caused by the enlarged diameter but by the increased volume thus created.

CUP DEPTH: The same results follow from making the cup deeper, though they may to some extent be mitigated by enlarging the backbore. This increases the fullness of tone while sharpening all but the lowest notes, giving more resonance in the higher register and less in the middle.
THROAT: Enlarging the throat gives much the same results as increasing the volume, except that the decreased resonance is noticeable over much more of the compass while the upper register becomes both sharper and more difficult to ”fill” owing to to the diminished resistance to the air-stream. Lengthening the throat flattens the upper register and gives more resistance in this part of the compass. It also increases resonance in the middle and low registers but overall may give a smaller, brighter sound.

SHELL: The walls of the cup reflect tonal energy. Thin walls provide fast response but are generally inefficient as less sound is reflected into the instrument. Response at low dynamics is good but the sound becomes bright very fast as volume is increased.  Extremely heavy shells result in stiff response and sound monotone in character.  The shells of of our (Robert Tucci) mouthpieces are optimized for tonal splendor, evenness and projection in all registers.

BACKBORE: Variations in this area affect resistance and response as well as intonation, tone color and dynamic range.

Nothing new here, life and mouthpieces are what you make it!

Bob Tucci

Thanks, Mr. Tucci. Excellent expose of how mouthpiece parameters work!