A mouthpiece angular sweet spot... really?

[Ken Crawford]

No. That is beyond silly. Don't give it another thought.

[windshieldbug]

The person mentioned should clean their mouthpiece more regularly!

[bort]

Unless it's asymmetrical, like a wedge or the parduba double cup (right?)

[Worth]

For most of us its Voodoo but some people are hung up on the whole Feng Shui of their setup I suppose.

[proam]

Some call it “clocking” the mouthpiece. Some believe that a mouthpiece has an optimal “clock position” within the receiver.

While I had some success as a trumpet player, I could never tell a difference myself. But some who believe in clocking their mouthpiece are much, much better players than I ever was so what do I know.

https://www.trumpetherald.com/forum/vie ... p?t=141951

[Three Valves]

Why not mark the piece and pipe to make sure it is consistently clocked correctly after the sweet spot is found?

Or does the sweet spot move?

Like the G-spot...

[proam]

They do mark it.

[timothy42b]

Yes, this is well known. As mentioned, it's called clocking.

Musicians are a superstitious lot.

The theory is that mouthpieces aren't perfectly manufactured, and inaccuracies may lead to an optimal position.

I don't buy it myself. But you must NEVER argue with true believers.

Yes, I've tried it. I've never been able to tell any difference. However, there is something to not varying from an established starting ritual.

[WillDellinger]

I've heard of this before. It seems crazy, but it sure is fun to read about.

Somebody on trumpet herald thinks it could be due to the mix of copper and zinc not being uniform throughout the brass. Hopefully Joe's suppliers mix the chromium into the stainless really well

[windshieldbug]

Find the best spot, and put a nice file mark there so that you can easily find it again.

Then make sure it aligns with your Mohawk...

[Three Valves]

I had a steel nose ring. When I changed it to copper, my playing improved significantly, my hair stopped falling out and the lead was restored in my pencil.

[Ken Crawford]

Find the best spot, and put a nice file mark there so that you can easily find it again.

Making a file mark on the mouthpiece would change the whole thing. Use a permanent marker, but make sure to use a color that you want your sound to be like. One time I drew a red arrow on my mouthpiece pointing toward the lead pipe which helped to draw maximum projection out of my lips. If I want a dark sound I use a dark color, drawing circles on the outside of the mouthpiece, the size of which corresponding to the size I want my sound to be.

[Oldschooltuba]

The sweet spot for me is mouthpiece on my face. Case closed

[proam]

Use a permanent marker, but make sure to use a color that you want your sound to be like.

Has to be green.

Does anyone else remember the early days of CDs when some advocated that using a green marker to make a line around the outside edge would significantly improve the playback audio quality?

[GC]

The sweet spot for me is mouthpiece on my face. Case closed

I use my forehead. That's were people tell me I sound best.

[happyroman]

Rex Martin told me about this years ago. The throat will be bored out at a very slight angle in each mouthpiece. There will very rarely (if ever) be perfectly straight through the shank. The idea is to make sure that slight imperfection is aligned a certain way (I don't remember how) and there will be a noticeable difference in how the mouthpiece plays and sounds.

[Three Valves]

I knew those Chinese were controlling the weather/climate!!

[Art Hovey]

Anybody remember the video of Vizzuti playing Carnival of Venice while "clocking" his trumpet 360 degrees?
He must have passed through his "sweet spot" in the process. Shall we listen closely to see which note it was on?

[Drbuzzz]

I wouldn't have believed it until I experienced it. I wouldn't call it a sweet spot as much as a timbre change and back pressure change. Therefore, certain pieces I like it in one spot, but for others, I need it spun elsewhere. For instance, in one position, the sound is brighter and the back pressure is low. Works great for very articulate pieces. Spun around (i.e. about 180 degrees), the sound is darker and the back pressure is more intense. Works great for very soft tonguing and soft slurs. I've noticed this phenomenon on every mouthpiece, on every horn. And the positions that work for one horn aren't the same positions for another horn. I don't know the science behind what's happening...don't care. As long as there's a change in sound (and feel), that's all that matters to me.

This was introduced to me at the Denver ITEC while I was watching Mickey Moore play the Yamayork. Wayne Tannabe was having him clock the mouthpiece. At first I called BS, but after I heard the difference (and it wasn't a "sweet spot", rather a difference), I couldn't wait to try it. So when I got to try the Yamayork, I did a little mouthpiece spin and was totally amazed. I was equally impressed with mouthpiece clocking as I was the Yamayork.

[windshieldbug]

Just matters which angle the backbore was dropped on last...