New Wedge Tuba Artist and Mouthpiece

[DrDave]

New Wedge Endorsing Artist and Signature Tuba Mouthpiece – Scott Mendoker of the Philadelphia Brass

About Scott Mendoker
http://www.philadelphiabrass.com/member ... doker-tuba" target="_blank" target="_blank

The SM Solo Signature Mouthpiece
General Description
The SM Solo is the signature mouthpiece of Scott Mendoker of the Philadelphia Brass. The SM Solo was designed as a solo mouthpiece for the F tuba. However, it is versatile enough to allow excellent sound throughout the entire range of the instrument.

The SM Solo has a relatively large diameter and a shallow bowl shaped cup, shallower than the SJ Solo. The cup shape and entry into the throat is similar to the Giddings and Webster Alan Baer Beltane F. However, the contour had been changed to work with the Wedge rim, and the rim and cup have the unique oval shape used on our DOC trumpet and horn mouthpieces. This feature provides exceptional depth of sound and responsiveness from a relatively shallow cup.

Specifications
ID 1.316 at .05 inches into the cup
OD 1.97 inches
Throat .294 inches

Scott's Description of the SM Solo Design
Dave's creation has surpassed anything I could have hoped for in a mouthpiece. As already mentioned, this project started as an attempt to essentially put the Wedge rim on a Giddings and Webster Beltane Alan Baer Solo F mouthpiece - a great mouthpiece in and of itself. The final version is a mouthpiece that allows me to play through the entire range of the instrument without color changes. And here is the truly unique and amazing thing - I can change the color anytime I want! This allows me to play the SM Solo in any situation, with any ensemble in which I choose to play a bass tuba - whether it's EEb of F. Response is effortless, as is articulation. The stability of the dynamic spectrum is rock solid. And when you factor in the added advantages of the Wedge rim, you have a mouthpiece that allows you to make musical choices rather than physical ones.

Scott’s Testimonial About Wedge Mouthpieces
My journey with Dr. Dave Harrison and the Wedge system started out with a phone call to Canada. After explaining my needs and shortcomings to Dave, he advised me to NOT try his mouthpieces!!! My admission of probably greater-than-average mouthpiece pressure led him to this advice. I was disappointed, to say the least. Still, I was curious. And the plastic versions of his mouthpieces made it somewhat more affordable. I went ahead and ordered a plastic SJ Solo tuba mouthpiece to try on my F tuba. After five minutes with this mouthpiece, I knew that I had made the right guess... Because of the way the Wedge is made, I had to move my corners toward the mouthpiece - essentially relieving some of the aforementioned mouthpiece pressure. So, endurance was no longer an issue. Articulation, especially at the softer dynamics, was also greatly improved. Overall, I'm much more relaxed.

All of this brought me to the next logical step - to develop a mouthpiece closer to the measurements I'm used to, with that incredible Wedge rim (and whatever magic Dave came up with..) After sending me the first prototype, I knew we were close. When I received the 2nd version, I was just blown away - so much so that I found it hard to believe that this one mouthpiece was real! I played for some trusted colleagues and students and their overwhelmingly positive reactions confirmed what I already knew: The new SM Solo mouthpiece allows me to do my job more easily. It's become a direct extension of the instrument!

I'm absolutely thrilled with my Wedge mouthpiece and honored to be a Wedge Endorsing Artist.

Thank you, Dave, for your genius, your patience and your friendship.

Scott Mendoker
Tuba - Philadelphia Brass
Artist/Teacher - The Hartt School at the University of Hartford

To see a profile of the SM Solo mouthpiece visit http://www.wedgemouthpiecestore.com/pro ... ta-sms.htm