Trent, I've been high skeptical that these things would make a material impact to anyone's sound, so I'm very surprised to realise that there was a very slight but noticeable difference. Firstly, I thought that the heavy top (3rd) mouthpiece sounded a tiny bit cleaner than the others. But only discernable because you played them back-to-back. In isolation, I believe it would be impossible for a listener to pick. But more importantly, you split the difference as the player, when you said that "the notes are a bit less certain to play" when you take off the booster. That in itself is a strong enough reason to favour the additional mass options. Thank you for this valuable demonstration.
I shut my eyes when you started playing, hoping you wouldn't say which mouthpiece was which. Fortunately, you didn't. Frankly, I didn't hear a difference between them - at least not enough to mention. Knowing full well these had to be different takes of the same passage, any differences seemed to be from the different performances. However, that's only half of the story. Sometimes differences in equipment result in a different "feel" for the performer. Those don't necessarily translate into different sounds, but they might allow for a more precise performance or better expression or less fatigue. Any of those could be valid reasons to prefer one mouthpiece over another even if they don't directly affect the sound.
I've played with a standard and a megatone mouthpiece as well (both 6 1/2 AL Bach) for several years now and to be honost, I too don't hear nor feel any real difference. You could say, of course, I'm a bad player, well allright... anyway, I think it's in my head, between my ears. Now I just switch between the two of them, just depending on my mood, how it feels and isn't that what it's all about? If you feel comfortable with something, don't ask questions, just play...
Listening to this as an audio producer and brass player, I have studio monitors on and I can hear that there is slightly more low-end with the heavier mouthpiece, other than that the booster did nothing to the original...
The heavy top sounds a bit richer to me, maybe ever so slightly louder too? It was slightly more pleasing to my ear than the standard. Maybe it gives more stability to the sound and the extra metal helps it resonate better?
The heavy DW sounds the best. The booster doesn't make enough of a difference to make it worth buying. I actually like the sound of the standard DW for jazz or pop concerts and Heavy DW for symphonic.
I honestly didn't hear a difference and I think that's because of the camera audio. I also have a Dennis wick 0AL bass trombone mouthpiece and I also really love playing on it. I share the sentimental value of your 0AL because I too bought that mouthpiece as my first brand new. Awesome video
I don't have the best ear, but I only notice a very slight difference between the three mouthpieces. I think I like the sound of the third mouthpiece (the heavy one), but again the difference is just slightly more pleasing.
I agree with your summary. I did not hear a difference in tone, but attack and stability seemed better with the heavy mouthpiece. I played with a borrowed one, and it felt better, but not enough to actually get one.
The heavytop mouthpiece has a much clearer and more pleasant sound on the lower octave arpeggio, but I noticed on the Bb below middle C the heavier ones sounded less certain, almost as if the extra mass widens the target size for slotting higher harmonics. Just my initial observations.
I absolutely agree with you! The heavy top and the booster sound a little better. I am partial to my Bach 6.5AL because it was my first brand new mouthpiece. My first trombone I’ve ever had is a Holton that is over 85 years old and has the original mouthpiece, and to this day I have kept the slide in good condition and I used it as my marching trombone for band!
It would be interesting to see what the waveform looks like for each. I can't hear much difference from over here in the U.S. Maybe if I was closer, I could tell.
The differences were subtle. I can see applications where one could have an advantage over the other. I preferred the heavy top and then the regular. The "boosted" one, it's like "why bother?". I also see this as being a viable tool when cutting your own multi-tracks so you can have each recorded part have its own character. I think I need to try this with trumpet, as that's what I play. I do have times when I'd like to darken the tone a bit.
I really like my KGU heavy bottom caps on my Committee trumpet and use a KGU booster on my main mp. To me it feels like it absorbs the upper harmonics and makes it slot wider with less high sharp frequencies. It feels like pulling out the tuning slide 1mm without having the problem notes go flat if that makes sense.
As with a lot of things you alter with a musical instrument, the change is most noticed by the musician. You sounded better with the heavy top, but that was most like because you like it better.
There is always the possibility of change per round. It's extremely difficult to get the exact same sound per rep, but given the sample size, each rep sounded the same coming out of my cellphone speaker. However, you sound more comfortable on the heavy top mouthpiece, which in turn will give you a better sound. Love this channel.
Eyyyy, I`m a bass bone player myself :D In my opinion, the heavy top has a richer, fuller sound, but suffers a little bit in articulation. Mouthpiece that I use right now is Douglas Yeo mouthpiece for bass trombone, and it`s kind of in between the heavy top and standart mouthpieces - for me it works just great!
The heavy top produces a richer sound with more depth. After listening to the heavy top I listened again to the standard mouthpiece and it sounded thin by comparison. I didn’t think the booster DW made much difference. I would be interested to see a similar comparison between the trumpet mouthpieces.
Trent, I noticed a ig difference between the standard vs either of the other two examples. The added mass seems to have damped the higher frequencies, leaving a deeper, richer, or thicker sound. But that was only on the initial, three-note passage. In "Do, Re, Mi," while there was some difference, it was not nearly as pronounced as in the first passage.
I couldn't really tell - and so much depends on the frequency response of your microphone, and the EQ of my stereo equipment. I play trumpet, and have eventually settled on a Smith Watkins Mike Lovatt mouthpiece, studio model with medium booster. It's fat at the bottom and rich at the top. Without the booster, it's a lot thinner sound, and doesn't cut the way it does with the booster. I guess it's all down to personal choice.
I think the tonal palette is the most broad with the standard mouthpiece, and the most limited with the booster. My guess is, since the booster isn’t fixed, the vibrates a little on its own, possibly counteracting the vibrations of the mouthpiece itself. I played on a Bach megatone for several years, and have since switched to a standard weight Pickett. Horses for courses.
I definitely prefer the heavy top from listening. The first mouthpiece sounded good but just a tad bit airy, the booster did make a bit of a difference but not that much, but the heavy top sounded way more full, rich, and louder.
I think on the standart mouthpice,the sound is just a little bit thiner then on the others but it does not make huge differences on a metal mouthpice.There are also plastic mouthpices avaiable on wich you can get metal boosters and on those mouthpices a booster does change the sound dramaticly. (“Brand“) is the brand name.
The regular mouthpiece has a dark tone with a variety of colors, where the sleeve takes away some of those colors and makes it brighter, while adding volume. The heavyweight mouthpiece keeps the colors and darkness whilst increasing the volume for the same input. So the extra mass does add volume but different sound options for what the player prefers.
Heavytop definitely sounded clearer to me. Booster, very close to it. FWIW, I use boosters on my cornet and trumpet mouthpieces, and I find much more of a sound difference on the trumpet than the cornet- I guess because there is more shank to focus the sound down the instrument. They both help the feel though, probably because keeping a good sound requires slightly less work from the embouchure. Useful to have a direct comparison, so thanks Trent.
I liked the pedal tones from the standard mouthpiece best. The bulkier units felt a bit more cottony muffled. Ensemble playing with either heavy mouthpiece would likely remind one of euphoniums or french horns and be quite mellow. Just depends on what you are after for the given composition.
Hi, I have also tested for the result of heavy mp which with comparing to light mp. For my opinion, as in your video, the difference is so small that most of the listener cannot determine which is which. However, in my test, i try to make a really loud and heavy accent tonguing on the trombone, which nearly sound like explosion, the difference is noticeable. For the light mp, when you blow too heavy into it, there is a very little vibrate buzz sound from your instrument/mp, but not from the explosion sound from the bell. When i changed to heavy mp, the little buzz sound disappear, only left is the more clear version of the explosion sound. well, the little buzz sound is so small compare to the explosion sound, however, you can still hear the difference. Sorry that i dont have the video/sound sample with me.
During the arpeggios there was a TINY difference in the tone, however when you distracted yourself from tone production to play a tune - all of that difference went away. My impression is that any difference perceived or realized exists due to player input. But what do I know? My Bass Trombone mouthpiece of choice is a Doug Elliot 118.
I thought the original sounded sweetest/roundest; the heavy more precise/clear; and the booster somewhat in between. Great stuff Trent! Could you do something on how to go about tuning brass instruments. B))
I feel like the standard mouthpiece produced a more “dirty” sound and let the additional sounds your lips made in the mouthpiece show through in the what you hear, and that the heavytop got rid of these almost completely and had a much more full sound. The boosted one sounds somewhere in the middle, a bit more towards the heavytop.
I think the heavy top mouthpiece certainly makes a difference, the tone is much fuller when you played on it. But I didn't hear a difference with the booster though, weirdly enough
I'm just a beginner on trumpet, but I found that the heavy style mouthpiece (I only have a very cheap Chinese-made no-brand one) puts a little more mass at the mouthpiece end of the trumpet and I find that the weight of the trumpet sits more nicely in my left hand. Not sure if this will apply to all trumpets or just the old Yamaha T100 I have.
It's very subtle for my ears and so what feels best, plays best/easiest and what costs less have to be considered too. A trombone mouthpiece has already so much mass and so dampening that I don't see how it even could make much difference. My own heavy Bach trumpet mouthpiece plays different than the standard one but they are not exactly the same. The throat of a megatone is a bit larger.
The heavy mouthpiece sounded more focused and had more core to the sound, the standard sounded a little fuzzy and uncentered, the standard with the weight sounded more centered but not the same core/richness the regular heavy had. I thought the heavy(third one) sounded the best
To my ear (and the speakers with which I heard the video) the standard mouthpiece sounded more resonant, while the other two sounded a bit stuffy, very close, with the Heavytop the stuffiest.
I didn’t think I could really hear a significant difference between the mouthpieces until the switch from the heavy top to the standard. Then it was really noticeable.
I think your heavy top mouthpiece has a slightly richer fuller sound than the other two, though the booster comes in at a very close 2nd place. Really like the sound you get from your horn. :)
Hey Trent, love and warm regards from India I feel the heavy top mouthpiece has a more suttle and finished Tone, it sounds best amongst the one with booster and the original mouthpiece, lovely and great Video, you are a blessed soul who can play brass left right and center without any nonsence, and that's something worth high appriciation, 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹👍👍🇮🇳🇮🇳
It sounded a little bit darker with the heavytop and the booster. The heavytop sounded the most full and it didn't have the slight airyness of the others.
I can't hear it, but I wonder if part of the reason is that the speakers on a laptop aren't of a high enough quality to be able to send that along. Nowadays we use smaller and smaller speakers because scientists figured out we can use the upper partials of a low note to trick the brain into hearing the pedal tone of those partials. But I would assume that with bigger speakers, or in this case, a bigger mouthpiece, that you'd be able to hear richer sounds in the lower parts of the harmonic series.
The Bach megatone has a bigger throat than the standard one to make it feel less restricted. Monette mouthpieces typically have very large throats. Adding mass to an instrument makes a difference but sometimes it doesn’t need to be a lot of mass, just in the right place. It usually requires a variety of adjustments. In terms of trumpet one of the biggest effects of playing on a heavier mass mouthpiece is that the instrument will feel more balanced. I switched from a Bach 1 to a Bach 1 Megatone in the 80s and played that successfully for over 10 years. The better balance helped my embouchure work better.
I am mainly a clarinet player, although I dabbled in trombone for a year or so. I heard no difference between the normal mouthpiece and the boosted version. But the heavy-top was a bit more beefy and rich, and it sounded more confidently played. Just my thoughts
To my ear, any differences were within the range of normal variability. Do you think a heavy mouthpiece would help prevent breakup of the sound when playing high and soft on a tenor trombone? When I play the last movement of Mahler 6, I find that the high G (played as a seventh partial in second position) is liable to this flaw.
In my opinion the heavy top mouthpiece sounded like a straight mute was slightly on the instrument, because it had more of a beam sound but some echo with it
I have used a lafreque device on my trombone. They seem to be very popular in Japan. There are different models for different instruments, including woodwinds.They consist of 2 small metal plates fitted one over the other and this is attached to your instruments (different placement on different instruments). I have tried it on my trombone and it made a great difference in the projection and ease of playing. I am only hesitant, as it attaches on via an elastic device, which would give way sooner or later. Any views on this device?
Not enough of a difference to make a difference. More accessories for the player that don't actually give you the edge you're wanting, but drain your pocketbook.
I read an article about a guy who used a weighted collar on his mouthpiece for many years, only to loan it to someone he was playing with and change his mind about his unweighted mouthpiece entirely. Maybe it's just a fad, who can make the heaviest mouthpiece. Some have commented the playing characteristics of a horn can change dramatically, but I don't have any experience to say anything more than this.
Can’t tell the difference w/o the booster, but the heavytop is a bit cleaner-or thinner-in the higher tones. But who knows if the shape is really identical.
The Denis Wick heavytop seems to give a sound more rich of middle and bass harmonics, yet less focused. The normal Denis Wick gives a brighter sound; adding the booster seems to de-focus the sound... I didn't like it very much actually
Hi Trent - first time commenting. In my opinion the heavy top seemed clearer and more stable. From a players perspective do you find that your playing benefits from the heavy top? Thanks again for the demonstration and all of your videos which I find both informative and entertaining.
Not the best listener but it sounds like to me the normal one vibrates the most after you stop putting air through the instrument. The heavytop vibrated the least since its the one with the most mass. I also feel like the heavytop brings out articulation more than the normal one too
All in all, the 3 all sounded very similar, but I did notice a few things: Standard: Had a nice mellow sound. Didn't seem like you always hit the center of each note though. Booster: Still a nice sound, but was a bit brighter than the standard on the higher notes. You also sounded much more centered on each note. Heavy: Pretty similar to the booster in terms of tone (just a bit brighter on the higher notes). Every note sounded centered and comfortable, more so than it did with the booster.
This seems like the discussion on if gold or silver affects how a flute sounds. I hear that as the mouthpiece gets heavier the sound gets darker and perhaps a bit fuller.
I didn't hear any difference, but then, my hearing is going, especially in the high frequencies. Adding mass to a mouthpiece (or anything else, I suppose) would dampen higher frequencies. So, for those who can still hear high frequencies, you should be hearing more overtones with the lower mass mouthpieces. This would affect the timbre, or "color", of the sound.
The differences are subtle. I am reminded of a video made by a sax guy, who compares a two-thousand dollar sax to a two-hundred dollar sax. He sounds great on both. A lot depends on the musician. I agree with several of the commentators, that the "heavy top" mouthpiece, that you bought so long ago, sounds warmer.
I feel like when you added the booster, the sound because fuller and more wholesome. Then with the heavy top, a bit of this was taken back off but there was certainly more power.
So, I can play french horn really well with the standard mouthpiece, but I can barely play above the 2nd D on trumpet with the standard mouth piece. Is there a mouthpiece I could use with trumpet that could replicate my french horn experience?
samgoble.com/m-cornetto-mouthpeices-.html If I were you I’d find a trumpet mouthpiece that matches your horn mouthpiece in cup shape, with the smallest rim size and backbore size you can find. Emulate the horn mouthpiece as best you can, and maybe find a cornetto mouthpiece compatible with the trumpet. You play the smallest mouthpieces they make with the horn. You might also like the piccolo trumpet, which I have heard is the hardest brass instrument you can play. No pressure. ✊🏽😎 MuscleMouth
Interesting. I didn't expect to hear much difference, but the booster sounds cleaner than the standard, and the heavy top gives an even more pure tone.
All sounded the same to me TBH most the differences I hear are run to run errors and changes that you'd expect. Personally I don't really mind I've used all kinds. To me it's all about the diameters and dimensions and rims. Enjoy whatever you play on! (I use a Baer set of CC and F tuba mouthpieces. Neither of which I'd call a heavy MP.)
I thought the heavy top sounded ver so sightly brighter. If I’m choosing a mouthpiece for a sound the difference wouldn’t necessarily be enough to make me choose it over other factors. I’ve found with the heavy tops I’ve played (on a trumpet, and clone mouthpieces, not brand name) the notes slot much more easily. I’m a lot more confident that the note I aim for will be the note I hit, not just an approximation if it. That could be a purely psychological thing though, so don’t take my word for it.
Hard to tell just playing mezzoforte. The big difference between them will be appearant in pp and ff. For me it is easier to play in ppp with projection with a heavy mouthpiece {Bach Megatone 1 1/4C) in comparison with Bach 1 1/4C. I can also play louder without distortion (ff ==>)
Adding the booster or using a megatone mouthpiece makes me hear more of the sound and less of the air or your lips vibrating, but more information may be needed.
The weight was more focused on the first passage. I am a black church trombone side man, not to be confused with the great house of prayer trombones or an equally valid church orchestra player, which I do from time to time. The style of music my church does seems like would benefit from that focus as I regularly play fanfares, fills, bass lines and may have to play for the entire accompaniment for the choir or be straight solo for an altar call. Once in a while the extra reverb sloppy of the lighter mouthpiece may be better but you sounded better playing the heavy. Clarify. I don't think the resonance of the instrument changed much. But you played better. The second passage was a wash. But I felt the difference. I own a small live sound business. My main goal is to make the talent comfortable so the performance sounds good. Kind of like the cheapest clip on microphone in the world that the horns can't run from sounds better than the best microphone in the world that the horn players don't play into. A ten dollar pyle lav beats a thousand dollar Newman on a stand their scared of. Give the drummer a hug and tell the singer she looks fabulous. Megatone about the same for you.
The booster had the best tone sounding angelic while the standard sounded a little lame and the heavy tone sohnded the worst sounding buzzy to me more jazzy while the booster sounds heavenly
I started on a heavy mouth piece (they ran out of regular) and when I finally got the correct one I felt a huge difference in tone might just be me though
With the heavy top, there's a little bit more of a richer sound, like your chops are more loose. My personal preference is the heavy top.
You’re the hidden gem of youtube
Trent, I've been high skeptical that these things would make a material impact to anyone's sound, so I'm very surprised to realise that there was a very slight but noticeable difference.
Firstly, I thought that the heavy top (3rd) mouthpiece sounded a tiny bit cleaner than the others. But only discernable because you played them back-to-back. In isolation, I believe it would be impossible for a listener to pick.
But more importantly, you split the difference as the player, when you said that "the notes are a bit less certain to play" when you take off the booster. That in itself is a strong enough reason to favour the additional mass options.
Thank you for this valuable demonstration.
I shut my eyes when you started playing, hoping you wouldn't say which mouthpiece was which. Fortunately, you didn't.
Frankly, I didn't hear a difference between them - at least not enough to mention. Knowing full well these had to be different takes of the same passage, any differences seemed to be from the different performances.
However, that's only half of the story. Sometimes differences in equipment result in a different "feel" for the performer. Those don't necessarily translate into different sounds, but they might allow for a more precise performance or better expression or less fatigue. Any of those could be valid reasons to prefer one mouthpiece over another even if they don't directly affect the sound.
I've played with a standard and a megatone mouthpiece as well (both 6 1/2 AL Bach) for several years now and to be honost, I too don't hear nor feel any real difference. You could say, of course, I'm a bad player, well allright... anyway, I think it's in my head, between my ears. Now I just switch between the two of them, just depending on my mood, how it feels and isn't that what it's all about? If you feel comfortable with something, don't ask questions, just play...
Listening to this as an audio producer and brass player, I have studio monitors on and I can hear that there is slightly more low-end with the heavier mouthpiece, other than that the booster did nothing to the original...
The heavy top sounds a bit richer to me, maybe ever so slightly louder too? It was slightly more pleasing to my ear than the standard. Maybe it gives more stability to the sound and the extra metal helps it resonate better?
The heavy DW sounds the best. The booster doesn't make enough of a difference to make it worth buying. I actually like the sound of the standard DW for jazz or pop concerts and Heavy DW for symphonic.
I honestly didn't hear a difference and I think that's because of the camera audio. I also have a Dennis wick 0AL bass trombone mouthpiece and I also really love playing on it. I share the sentimental value of your 0AL because I too bought that mouthpiece as my first brand new. Awesome video
I don't have the best ear, but I only notice a very slight difference between the three mouthpieces. I think I like the sound of the third mouthpiece (the heavy one), but again the difference is just slightly more pleasing.
I agree with your summary. I did not hear a difference in tone, but attack and stability seemed better with the heavy mouthpiece. I played with a borrowed one, and it felt better, but not enough to actually get one.
The heavytop mouthpiece has a much clearer and more pleasant sound on the lower octave arpeggio, but I noticed on the Bb below middle C the heavier ones sounded less certain, almost as if the extra mass widens the target size for slotting higher harmonics. Just my initial observations.
I absolutely agree with you! The heavy top and the booster sound a little better. I am partial to my Bach 6.5AL because it was my first brand new mouthpiece. My first trombone I’ve ever had is a Holton that is over 85 years old and has the original mouthpiece, and to this day I have kept the slide in good condition and I used it as my marching trombone for band!
It would be interesting to see what the waveform looks like for each. I can't hear much difference from over here in the U.S. Maybe if I was closer, I could tell.
The differences were subtle. I can see applications where one could have an advantage over the other. I preferred the heavy top and then the regular. The "boosted" one, it's like "why bother?". I also see this as being a viable tool when cutting your own multi-tracks so you can have each recorded part have its own character.
I think I need to try this with trumpet, as that's what I play. I do have times when I'd like to darken the tone a bit.
Megatones from Bach also have slightly more open backbores
Actually, the difference is in the throat, which is one size larger on the Megatone.
*yes*
I really like my KGU heavy bottom caps on my Committee trumpet and use a KGU booster on my main mp. To me it feels like it absorbs the upper harmonics and makes it slot wider with less high sharp frequencies. It feels like pulling out the tuning slide 1mm without having the problem notes go flat if that makes sense.
Thank you for the video Trent! I honestly heard no difference with or without the booster
As with a lot of things you alter with a musical instrument, the change is most noticed by the musician. You sounded better with the heavy top, but that was most like because you like it better.
There is always the possibility of change per round. It's extremely difficult to get the exact same sound per rep, but given the sample size, each rep sounded the same coming out of my cellphone speaker. However, you sound more comfortable on the heavy top mouthpiece, which in turn will give you a better sound. Love this channel.
I’ve been looking for a new Euphonium mouthpiece so this video has come out at the perfect time :D
I heard that the heavy top one was the cleanest sound
there's such a tiny difference it wouldn't be noticeable unless comparing side by side
Eyyyy, I`m a bass bone player myself :D In my opinion, the heavy top has a richer, fuller sound, but suffers a little bit in articulation. Mouthpiece that I use right now is Douglas Yeo mouthpiece for bass trombone, and it`s kind of in between the heavy top and standart mouthpieces - for me it works just great!
The heavy top produces a richer sound with more depth. After listening to the heavy top I listened again to the standard mouthpiece and it sounded thin by comparison. I didn’t think the booster DW made much difference. I would be interested to see a similar comparison between the trumpet mouthpieces.
Trent,
I noticed a ig difference between the standard vs either of the other two examples. The added mass seems to have damped the higher frequencies, leaving a deeper, richer, or thicker sound. But that was only on the initial, three-note passage. In "Do, Re, Mi," while there was some difference, it was not nearly as pronounced as in the first passage.
The heavy top is A LOT cleaner than the other mouth piece
No, it's *very* slight.
No, it's *very* slight.
No, it’s *very* slight.
No, it's *very* slight.
I would agree. It is a lot cleaner.
I couldn't really tell - and so much depends on the frequency response of your microphone, and the EQ of my stereo equipment. I play trumpet, and have eventually settled on a Smith Watkins Mike Lovatt mouthpiece, studio model with medium booster. It's fat at the bottom and rich at the top. Without the booster, it's a lot thinner sound, and doesn't cut the way it does with the booster. I guess it's all down to personal choice.
I think the tonal palette is the most broad with the standard mouthpiece, and the most limited with the booster. My guess is, since the booster isn’t fixed, the vibrates a little on its own, possibly counteracting the vibrations of the mouthpiece itself. I played on a Bach megatone for several years, and have since switched to a standard weight Pickett. Horses for courses.
I definitely prefer the heavy top from listening. The first mouthpiece sounded good but just a tad bit airy, the booster did make a bit of a difference but not that much, but the heavy top sounded way more full, rich, and louder.
I think on the standart mouthpice,the sound is just a little bit thiner then on the others but it does not make huge differences on a metal mouthpice.There are also plastic mouthpices avaiable on wich you can get metal boosters and on those mouthpices a booster does change the sound dramaticly.
(“Brand“) is the brand name.
The regular mouthpiece has a dark tone with a variety of colors, where the sleeve takes away some of those colors and makes it brighter, while adding volume. The heavyweight mouthpiece keeps the colors and darkness whilst increasing the volume for the same input. So the extra mass does add volume but different sound options for what the player prefers.
Heavytop definitely sounded clearer to me. Booster, very close to it.
FWIW, I use boosters on my cornet and trumpet mouthpieces, and I find much more of a sound difference on the trumpet than the cornet- I guess because there is more shank to focus the sound down the instrument. They both help the feel though, probably because keeping a good sound requires slightly less work from the embouchure.
Useful to have a direct comparison, so thanks Trent.
I liked the pedal tones from the standard mouthpiece best. The bulkier units felt a bit more cottony muffled. Ensemble playing with either heavy mouthpiece would likely remind one of euphoniums or french horns and be quite mellow. Just depends on what you are after for the given composition.
Hi, I have also tested for the result of heavy mp which with comparing to light mp. For my opinion, as in your video, the difference is so small that most of the listener cannot determine which is which. However, in my test, i try to make a really loud and heavy accent tonguing on the trombone, which nearly sound like explosion, the difference is noticeable. For the light mp, when you blow too heavy into it, there is a very little vibrate buzz sound from your instrument/mp, but not from the explosion sound from the bell. When i changed to heavy mp, the little buzz sound disappear, only left is the more clear version of the explosion sound. well, the little buzz sound is so small compare to the explosion sound, however, you can still hear the difference. Sorry that i dont have the video/sound sample with me.
During the arpeggios there was a TINY difference in the tone, however when you distracted yourself from tone production to play a tune - all of that difference went away. My impression is that any difference perceived or realized exists due to player input. But what do I know? My Bass Trombone mouthpiece of choice is a Doug Elliot 118.
I thought the original sounded sweetest/roundest; the heavy more precise/clear; and the booster somewhat in between. Great stuff Trent! Could you do something on how to go about tuning brass instruments. B))
Hi William. Check out my science of tuning videos and let me know if you have any follow up questions :)
I actually preferred the mouthpiece with the booster.
I feel like the standard mouthpiece produced a more “dirty” sound and let the additional sounds your lips made in the mouthpiece show through in the what you hear, and that the heavytop got rid of these almost completely and had a much more full sound. The boosted one sounds somewhere in the middle, a bit more towards the heavytop.
I think the heavy top mouthpiece certainly makes a difference, the tone is much fuller when you played on it. But I didn't hear a difference with the booster though, weirdly enough
I'm just a beginner on trumpet, but I found that the heavy style mouthpiece (I only have a very cheap Chinese-made no-brand one) puts a little more mass at the mouthpiece end of the trumpet and I find that the weight of the trumpet sits more nicely in my left hand. Not sure if this will apply to all trumpets or just the old Yamaha T100 I have.
It's very subtle for my ears and so what feels best, plays best/easiest and what costs less have to be considered too. A trombone mouthpiece has already so much mass and so dampening that I don't see how it even could make much difference. My own heavy Bach trumpet mouthpiece plays different than the standard one but they are not exactly the same. The throat of a megatone is a bit larger.
The heavy mouthpiece sounded more focused and had more core to the sound, the standard sounded a little fuzzy and uncentered, the standard with the weight sounded more centered but not the same core/richness the regular heavy had. I thought the heavy(third one) sounded the best
Sounds if the heavier mouthpiece makes the sound of the air/buzzing more precise
To my ear (and the speakers with which I heard the video) the standard mouthpiece sounded more resonant, while the other two sounded a bit stuffy, very close, with the Heavytop the stuffiest.
I didn’t think I could really hear a significant difference between the mouthpieces until the switch from the heavy top to the standard. Then it was really noticeable.
I think your heavy top mouthpiece has a slightly richer fuller sound than the other two, though the booster comes in at a very close 2nd place. Really like the sound you get from your horn. :)
i think the difference is below the threshold of perception but an electronic device which analysis the sound might detect a change
Love your comments, Can you compare efficiency of a trumpet Bach Stradivarius vs a King Symphony Trumpet Super 20 by HN White 1965
Hey Trent, love and warm regards from India I feel the heavy top mouthpiece has a more suttle and finished Tone, it sounds best amongst the one with booster and the original mouthpiece, lovely and great Video, you are a blessed soul who can play brass left right and center without any nonsence, and that's something worth high appriciation, 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹👍👍🇮🇳🇮🇳
No dislikes on the video so far. Congrats Trent!
Heavy top sounds much cleaner and maybe even a touch louder. Lower tessitura really blooms with the heavy top. Nice sound!
It sounded a little bit darker with the heavytop and the booster. The heavytop sounded the most full and it didn't have the slight airyness of the others.
Bach standard mouthpieces do actually also differentiate from Bach Megatones the throat. The throat of a megatone is in general bigger
I've been using a 1G megaton for years now and find it's a much richer darker tone, much easier to project as compared with the standard 1G.
I think the standard one sounds like it has a much warmer tone where as the heavy top sounds kind of buzzy and distorted. i like the standard more.
I can't hear it, but I wonder if part of the reason is that the speakers on a laptop aren't of a high enough quality to be able to send that along. Nowadays we use smaller and smaller speakers because scientists figured out we can use the upper partials of a low note to trick the brain into hearing the pedal tone of those partials. But I would assume that with bigger speakers, or in this case, a bigger mouthpiece, that you'd be able to hear richer sounds in the lower parts of the harmonic series.
The Bach megatone has a bigger throat than the standard one to make it feel less restricted. Monette mouthpieces typically have very large throats. Adding mass to an instrument makes a difference but sometimes it doesn’t need to be a lot of mass, just in the right place. It usually requires a variety of adjustments. In terms of trumpet one of the biggest effects of playing on a heavier mass mouthpiece is that the instrument will feel more balanced. I switched from a Bach 1 to a Bach 1 Megatone in the 80s and played that successfully for over 10 years. The better balance helped my embouchure work better.
I am mainly a clarinet player, although I dabbled in trombone for a year or so. I heard no difference between the normal mouthpiece and the boosted version. But the heavy-top was a bit more beefy and rich, and it sounded more confidently played. Just my thoughts
To my ear, any differences were within the range of normal variability. Do you think a heavy mouthpiece would help prevent breakup of the sound when playing high and soft on a tenor trombone? When I play the last movement of Mahler 6, I find that the high G (played as a seventh partial in second position) is liable to this flaw.
In my opinion the heavy top mouthpiece sounded like a straight mute was slightly on the instrument, because it had more of a beam sound but some echo with it
I have used a lafreque device on my trombone. They seem to be very popular in Japan. There are different models for different instruments, including woodwinds.They consist of 2 small metal plates fitted one over the other and this is attached to your instruments (different placement on different instruments). I have tried it on my trombone and it made a great difference in the projection and ease of playing. I am only hesitant, as it attaches on via an elastic device, which would give way sooner or later.
Any views on this device?
Is there any chance you could make a few comparisons like this on a flugelhorn?
Not enough of a difference to make a difference. More accessories for the player that don't actually give you the edge you're wanting, but drain your pocketbook.
What song is the intro? Is it just his own chords or is it a part of a whole choir?
I LIKE YOUR SOUND WITH THE WICK HEAVYTOP THE BEST. ITS MORE PRECISE AND DEFINED.
The heavy top had a darker sound than the normal and the normal one with the weight adder
I read an article about a guy who used a weighted collar on his mouthpiece for many years, only to loan it to someone he was playing with and change his mind about his unweighted mouthpiece entirely. Maybe it's just a fad, who can make the heaviest mouthpiece. Some have commented the playing characteristics of a horn can change dramatically, but I don't have any experience to say anything more than this.
Can’t tell the difference w/o the booster, but the heavytop is a bit cleaner-or thinner-in the higher tones. But who knows if the shape is really identical.
The Denis Wick heavytop seems to give a sound more rich of middle and bass harmonics, yet less focused. The normal Denis Wick gives a brighter sound; adding the booster seems to de-focus the sound... I didn't like it very much actually
What type of mouth piece to you recommend to an advanced beginner trombonist
Hi Trent - first time commenting. In my opinion the heavy top seemed clearer and more stable. From a players perspective do you find that your playing benefits from the heavy top? Thanks again for the demonstration and all of your videos which I find both informative and entertaining.
Doesn’t the megatone also have a larger throat
Not the best listener but it sounds like to me the normal one vibrates the most after you stop putting air through the instrument. The heavytop vibrated the least since its the one with the most mass. I also feel like the heavytop brings out articulation more than the normal one too
All in all, the 3 all sounded very similar, but I did notice a few things:
Standard: Had a nice mellow sound. Didn't seem like you always hit the center of each note though.
Booster: Still a nice sound, but was a bit brighter than the standard on the higher notes. You also sounded much more centered on each note.
Heavy: Pretty similar to the booster in terms of tone (just a bit brighter on the higher notes). Every note sounded centered and comfortable, more so than it did with the booster.
Yes, I can hear a slight difference, but I'm not able to describe it very well. Thanks for demonstrating this.
This seems like the discussion on if gold or silver affects how a flute sounds. I hear that as the mouthpiece gets heavier the sound gets darker and perhaps a bit fuller.
I think thw booster is interesting the heavytop however sounded like it mess led with your tone making it airy
I didn't hear any difference, but then, my hearing is going, especially in the high frequencies. Adding mass to a mouthpiece (or anything else, I suppose) would dampen higher frequencies. So, for those who can still hear high frequencies, you should be hearing more overtones with the lower mass mouthpieces. This would affect the timbre, or "color", of the sound.
Can you compare monette trumpet mouthpiece and lotus trumpet mouthpiece.
The differences are subtle. I am reminded of a video made by a sax guy, who compares a two-thousand dollar sax to a two-hundred dollar sax. He sounds great on both. A lot depends on the musician. I agree with several of the commentators, that the "heavy top" mouthpiece, that you bought so long ago, sounds warmer.
I feel like when you added the booster, the sound because fuller and more wholesome. Then with the heavy top, a bit of this was taken back off but there was certainly more power.
What would happen if you put a booster on a interchangeable trumpet mouthpiece?
I noticed a lot more power on the bass notes with the heavy top and the booster
So, I can play french horn really well with the standard mouthpiece, but I can barely play above the 2nd D on trumpet with the standard mouth piece. Is there a mouthpiece I could use with trumpet that could replicate my french horn experience?
samgoble.com/m-cornetto-mouthpeices-.html
If I were you I’d find a trumpet mouthpiece that matches your horn mouthpiece in cup shape, with the smallest rim size and backbore size you can find. Emulate the horn mouthpiece as best you can, and maybe find a cornetto mouthpiece compatible with the trumpet. You play the smallest mouthpieces they make with the horn. You might also like the piccolo trumpet, which I have heard is the hardest brass instrument you can play. No pressure.
✊🏽😎
MuscleMouth
I did hear a difference the heavy top and the one with the buster sounded a noticeable amount smoother and clearer tone
Interesting. I didn't expect to hear much difference, but the booster sounds cleaner than the standard, and the heavy top gives an even more pure tone.
All sounded the same to me TBH most the differences I hear are run to run errors and changes that you'd expect. Personally I don't really mind I've used all kinds. To me it's all about the diameters and dimensions and rims. Enjoy whatever you play on! (I use a Baer set of CC and F tuba mouthpieces. Neither of which I'd call a heavy MP.)
I thought the heavy top sounded ver so sightly brighter. If I’m choosing a mouthpiece for a sound the difference wouldn’t necessarily be enough to make me choose it over other factors.
I’ve found with the heavy tops I’ve played (on a trumpet, and clone mouthpieces, not brand name) the notes slot much more easily. I’m a lot more confident that the note I aim for will be the note I hit, not just an approximation if it. That could be a purely psychological thing though, so don’t take my word for it.
Hard to tell just playing mezzoforte.
The big difference between them will be appearant in pp and ff.
For me it is easier to play in ppp with projection with a heavy mouthpiece {Bach Megatone 1 1/4C) in comparison with Bach 1 1/4C.
I can also play louder without distortion (ff ==>)
Adding the booster or using a megatone mouthpiece makes me hear more of the sound and less of the air or your lips vibrating, but more information may be needed.
The weight was more focused on the first passage. I am a black church trombone side man, not to be confused with the great house of prayer trombones or an equally valid church orchestra player, which I do from time to time. The style of music my church does seems like would benefit from that focus as I regularly play fanfares, fills, bass lines and may have to play for the entire accompaniment for the choir or be straight solo for an altar call. Once in a while the extra reverb sloppy of the lighter mouthpiece may be better but you sounded better playing the heavy. Clarify. I don't think the resonance of the instrument changed much. But you played better. The second passage was a wash. But I felt the difference. I own a small live sound business. My main goal is to make the talent comfortable so the performance sounds good. Kind of like the cheapest clip on microphone in the world that the horns can't run from sounds better than the best microphone in the world that the horn players don't play into. A ten dollar pyle lav beats a thousand dollar Newman on a stand their scared of. Give the drummer a hug and tell the singer she looks fabulous. Megatone about the same for you.
Imho Heavy mpcs produces a little bit more projected and focused sound, apparently with the same effort. This is what i hear.
The booster had the best tone sounding angelic while the standard sounded a little lame and the heavy tone sohnded the worst sounding buzzy to me more jazzy while the booster sounds heavenly
Can u do bach megatone vs denis wick heavy top for trombone
i hear a difference which isn't enough for me to buy a new mouth piece but professional setting i can see people switching between them
The difference is extremely minuscule but personally I think the tone sounded ever so slightly better on the normal mouthpiece + booster
I’m trying a Bach 10 3/4 CW. What size megatone would equal that? For trumpet
What’s the name of the outro song?
Did you get a new Bass Trombone?
I started on a heavy mouth piece (they ran out of regular) and when I finally got the correct one I felt a huge difference in tone might just be me though
Was the difference in tone better or worse?
@@davidwashington9113 I would say it was much better.
could you do a video on the schagerl apredato trumpet mouthpiece