Mpcs Gold vs. Silver?

[SplatterTone]

Gold looks spiffy. Some people like the way it feels. Might be some allergic sensitivity to silver. As far as difference in sound, that's beginning to stray into religious territory. Although ... if you get a little drunk and silly, you can put gold glitter on the rim and some of it will stick to your face and make you look pretty.

[tubatom91]

I have a both (silver and gold) I like the gold because it warms up very fast. I like silver/stainless because they cost alot less....But my only silver mouthpiece I got second hand (mirafone C4) and it was black. Also the rim is severly chipped and dinged. I haven't had my gold helleburg for long enough to see durability standards but I'll love it regardless.

[Getzeng50s]

mayve after tons of years starting on a silver mouthpiece, and using the highschools marching mouthpieces that were 25 years old and dinged, and chipped, and bent.... vs the feel of my 1st gold mouthpiece... man.. that gold felt soooo soft and warm, and since then, ive been hooked.

[AndyL]

In both cases, the mouthpieces are brass and the difference is the very thin plating layer applied to the brass.

I've heard the best goldplated mouthpieces actually have goldplate over silverplate.....somehow gold plates to silver better than it does to brass.

Gold can feel more slick, or slippery, to your embouchure. That may affect the way a mouthpiece works for you.......but you're still playing a brass mouthpiece. I'd be very sceptical of any claim that the thin plating layer of gold changed the character of the sound.

[Rick Denney]

I have a both (silver and gold) I like the gold because it warms up very fast.

Huh? That microns-thick layer of gold will have much effect on the thermal conductivity of the brass underneath? I don't think so. If the mouthpiece was solid gold, it would perhaps make a measureable difference. And the price tag would have at least four digits.

Stainless steel does have different thermal conductivity than brass, but I don't know if I would notice it. Mass has an overwhelmingly bigger effect on the time it takes for the mouthpiece to reach the same temperature as the face. A heavier mouthpiece takes longer to warm up, and stays warm longer.

I prefer gold because if feels smoother on the skin. Silver is a little grabbier, and lexan grabbier still. In my limited tryouts, stainless steel mouthpieces seemed smoother than silver plating and felt more like gold plating.

There is no physical explanation to support a difference in the way the mouthpiece plays because of plating. But the placebo effect is a powerful force.

Rick "whose gold-plated mouthpieces are heavier designs and take longer to warm up" Denney

[tubatom91]

I probably notice it because it is a helleburg ang I usually use the bigger PT-88

[Chuck(G)]

Get one of Dave Houser's titanium-nitride-over-stainless mouthpieces. Looks just like gold, will last much, much, much longer and should cause no problems with skin sensititivies.

[Lee Stofer]

To answer the original question, if everything else is working right, your lips do not (and probably should not) completely fit inside the rim of your mouthpiece.

Brass mouthpieces have been the standard since brass instruments have been in existence. Experiments have been done with plating, but silver, which is harder and more durable than the brass itself, is still the standard and few people have allergic problems with it. Raw brass will cause problems for most people, referred to as brass poisoning. Mouthpieces have been nickel-plated, but it is an inert metal that is hard to work with. Gold plating readily adheres to silver, but not brass. If you get a mouthpiece that is gold-plated on brass, expect that to last a year or less. Proper gold-plating needs a good silver plating underneath. If the player regularly cleans a gold-plated mouthpiece with water alone and gingerly dries it, the gold-plating will last several years, and a clean, gold-plated mouthpiece in storage will last indefinitely.

Experiments have also been done with alternative materials, such as exotic woods, plastics and exotic metals. Mouthpieces with exotic woods seem to be most common in Europe, but are not likely to ever become popular. Jim Kelly's lexan mouthpieces are the best, most useful plastic mouthpieces developed to date, exibiting comfort, durability and a modest price. Being non-metallic, however, they do not give off the metallic "ring" in their tone that a brass mouthpiece does, so some players like them better, and some don't. A number of makers have ventured into making exotic metal mouthpieces. Some of them play very well, but they also do not have the characteristic "ring" of a brass mouthpiece. That, and the fact that they are normally a bit more expensive combine to limit their mass popularity. The fact that the exotic metal mouthpieces have no plating issues is a good trait.

Concerning the gold-plated vs silver-plated discussion, I'll say this; Whether or not your mouthpiece is clean, whether it has an open, round shank or one that is dented, and whether it is really a fit for your embouchure and instrument, makes a lot more objectively-measurable difference in how the mouthpiece sounds than whether it has a dusting of gold on it or not. Gold is very soft, but that little would not make a measurable difference in feel. Since gold-plating is done over silver, the silver must be very thoroughly and carefully buffed before gold-plating to ensure that it has a smooth surface. So, a gold-plated mouthpiece may feel smoother to the embouchure because it has been more carefully buffed, but that would be the extent of the difference. Otherwise, any difference is most likely in your mind.

[MaryAnn]

It's possible the original poster meant that he has very thick lips and that he has to "set in" (a la french horn) to one or both of them with his rim. That does seem unlikely though, unless he's using a really small cup or has Mick Jagger running for cover.

However, some of us *are* small enough that our lips, corners and all, fit inside a standard tuba mouthpiece. We have to be just darn good free-buzzers to play tuba.

MA, whose corners cannot be seen when using my standard-issue PT64.

[Rick Denney]

So, a gold-plated mouthpiece may feel smoother to the embouchure because it has been more carefully buffed, but that would be the extent of the difference. Otherwise, any difference is most likely in your mind.

I'm inclined not to take this at face value, but despite my previous statements I'm not prepared to assert the opposite. I never said it felt softer. Gold is soft but it's harder enough than skin so that one wouldn't be able to probe its softness with lip pressure.

But every gold mouthpiece I've played is noticeably more slippery than silver mouthpieces, even those with a very high polish (some of them I've polished myself). I believe it has to do with how gold wets versus silver. I'll have to dig into my material science resources to see if I can find a measurement of the effect. I do know that water surface tension is different on different materials, such that some materials form a different meniscus than others. Or maybe I dreamed it. Chuck may know.

Rick "more research needed" Denney

[Chuck(G)]

Chuck may know.

But he doesn't. Yer on yer own, here, Rick!

[Chuck(G)]

I'll stick with Stainless, Gold, and Kellybergs. I'm gonna see if Bloke can make me a split lead pipe so I can have all three plugged in at once. That way I can switch without a hitch.

If you do, be sure he orders one of these, so you switch on the fly.

[Chuck(G)]

That's the plan, but I want an 8 ball for the knob.

Why not a Dr. Young mouthpiece?