Mouthpiece

iiipopes · Post by **iiipopes** » Mon May 15, 2006 10:22 pm

The one played by the guy with the biggest lungs. Seriously, try one of the stainless steel mouthpieces: Loud, (of course), G&W, Finn, SSH, Titanovation (if they're still in business), and maybe another one or two I can't think of right now. Supposedly the stainless steel is more inert and is more efficient in getting the buzz down the leadpipe into the horn.

Your thread does beg the question: why are you looking for the loudest mouthpiece? Mere curiosity? You want to launch a 16-inch battleship shell twenty miles? You want to play your Conn 12J as loud as the guy with the new M-W Thunderballs, or whatever the latest craze is?

Unless it's mere curiosity or something about your inherent physical makeup that needs more help (There was a person who played trombone in my high school band -- great tone, great technique, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get any more than an mf dynamic out to save herself, and in my opinion was unfairly graded down because of it), concentrate on tone, intonation and breath support, and the dynamics will come with practice.

Some people mistake volume for centering or clarity of tone, as a well developed tone with the proper overtones will carry better than without. It's like a pipe organ subbass pipe. By itself, it doesn't sound loud, but put a simple chord in the middle of the manual on top of it, and it will shake the walls from the additive and difference tones.

Oh, well, I've rambled on long enough, I didn't mean to shred your thread.

iiipopes · Post by **iiipopes** » Mon May 15, 2006 10:41 pm

tubaman90 wrote:for marching band, and so i can scare people

In that case, get a Kelly 18 or Kellyberg and wrap a piece of golfer's (or would that be gopher's, with your picture) lead tape around the shank where it meets the bowl (so your tone doesn't break up). The Kellyberg is even larger than a Conn Helleberg. The 18 is marginally deeper than a Bach 18, but has the same rounded bowl cup and larger throat so you can put a lot of air through it and really get the projection going out the bell of a souzy. Besides, a Kelly is insensitive to cold; it doesn't break; it doesn't dent the rest of your horn if you drop it; it's inexpensive; it has good tone and intonation; and you can get one in your school's colors. I use a Kelly 18 exclusively on my souzy for outdoor gigs.

pulseczar · Post by **pulseczar** » Mon May 15, 2006 11:14 pm

pt 88

of course the mpc debate is purely subjective. if volume is the only thing youre going for, efficiently moving air is a bigger part of the equation.

windshieldbug · Post by **windshieldbug** » Tue May 16, 2006 12:07 am

The one with the biggest throat on the smallest bore horn. WMD's.

Will · Post by **Will** » Tue May 16, 2006 12:33 am

pulseczar wrote:pt 88

I used the same in marching band and got a HUGE sound with it. I received many looks from the director, some good and some not so good

. I'm not sure if it was the mouthpiece but it IS a good one to have in your arsenal.

Randy Beschorner · Post by **Randy Beschorner** » Tue May 16, 2006 12:49 am

What is the loudest mouthpiece out there?

Try this

http://www.criminaldefenseassociates.co ... C=standard

LoyalTubist · Post by **LoyalTubist** » Tue May 16, 2006 5:21 am

I never thought of mouthpieces as being loud. That all depends on the player. I don't even think it has anything to do with lung capacity. I have breathing problems (chronic bronchitis) and I can get loud (without blasting) if I really need to be heard. My normal axe is a Mirafone 186 (it's from L.A.) with a Helleberg knockoff mouthpiece.

Dylan King · Post by **Dylan King** » Tue May 16, 2006 5:26 am

My Giddings and Webster Bayamo sure pumps a lot of sound through my Yorkbrunner. It seems to be the loudest horn blower I've tried so far.

GC · Post by GC » Tue May 16, 2006 8:20 am

As a recent Bayamo convert, I second MSM's comments. However, you'll probably get more good comments about more centered tone than about sheer volume.

Throat and open backbore seem to have the greatest impact on how much air you can put through a piece. I could get the most sheer volume out of a Dillon G3 or M1C than anything else because they have so little resistance, but I couldn't get a good tone.

If you really want to impress people in a marching band, work on a tone that they can all feel, not just hear.

Dean E · Post by **Dean E** » Tue May 16, 2006 9:30 am

MellowSmokeMan wrote:My Giddings and Webster Bayamo sure pumps a lot of sound through my Yorkbrunner. It seems to be the loudest horn blower I've tried so far.

The Bayamo is great for working the low register on my Willson 3050 RZ CC . A MP with a smaller cup is warranted for circus marches, though.

iiipopes · Post by **iiipopes** » Wed May 17, 2006 2:56 am

tuben wrote:
iiipopes wrote:The one played by the guy with the biggest lungs.
I would personally disagree with this statement.

OK, did you really read my initial post? This comment was tongue-in-cheek. I followed it with the word "Seriously...." The rest of my initial post emphasizes the priority of developing good tone and musicality. Of course, we all have fun with the occasional hoot, and I'm not above a bit of fun now and then. Hey, what about Randy Beschorner's post? I nearly fell off my chair laughing as I know lawyers that resemble that remark. Please lighten up.

ken k · Post by **ken k** » Wed May 17, 2006 9:56 am

I would think the heavyweight mouthpeices would be the loudest, especially if you use a nice brass mallet.........

be sure not to grip it too tightly or you will dampen the vibrations. It would be interesting to hear the difference between stainless steel and regular brass.

Plastic would definitely be out of the running, no resonsance whatsoever

It would be fun to take my old mouhtpieces that I no longer play and make a set of tuned moutpieces. It would be like a set of crotales. It would make an interesting percussion instrument. By using trumpet and trombone mouthpieces too, I could probably get a multi-octave range.

ken k