Hello everyone,

I'm looking for two mouthpiece recommendations. The first is for my Bach 42BO. I've been on the stock Bach 5G set up for some time now. A problem that I still face is a lack of comfort playing on my 5G in general. I feel constrained when I play, as though I'm not allowed to throw all of my air into the horn without it backing up on me or over blowing immensely when I really want to let loose.

The second is for my Holton 65. It's a .495 bore slide, and I just own an old Holton Collegiate mouthpiece. I feel somewhat of the same issue here, and the horn backs up moving into the upper register. Otherwise it sings beautifully.

Any recommendations on mouthpieces, or practice techniques would be greatly appreciated!

-AMP

For the Bach, you may need a mouthpiece with a larger aperture and perhaps a larger rim ID. For a larger rim I'd try a Bach 4G. For a larger ID and a larger aperture I'd try a Wick 4AL. The Wick has an odd mouthpiece rim (quite flat) and you will either love it or hate it -- there seems to be no middle ground here. For a larger aperture but the same rim you could try a Wick 5AL.

For the Holton, you are probably blowing it like your Bach. That's too much air for such a little horn. You aren't helping yourself using a very small mouthpiece like the Holton, which is about the same as a Bach 12C. Anything larger will help, but you also have to redefine your playing.

In either case, the help of a good teacher can make a big difference. If you don't have one you can get some lessons on-line from some of the members here, but be warned -- many of them aren't cheap.

I too felt there was too much restriction/back pressure with the standard 7c, 12c, etc. on my small bores and now I use a Doug Elliott piece similar in size to a Bach 5, even on my King 2B. Take a Skype session with him and I bet he can suggest a mouthpiece for you and your Bach as well as your Holton.

Talk to Doug Elliott, he will advise on your type of chop placement and suggest the optimum rim size for you

Have you considered that maybe you're trying to throw to much air into the horn? If you aren't studying privately, I definitely would. Efficiency is always the name of the game. You also want a mouthpiece that is going to fit the horn in terms of throat size and taper.

Working with Doug Elliott could help you with ALL of those things.

I don't know about the small horn, but when I recently switched from a Giardinelli SYM-T to a Bach 4G with my Chinese 42BO copy I began to feel I was getting the best out of the horn.

Just this week I tried a Wick 2NAL. Their blurb says, "narrow rim with excellent flexibility. Easy high and low registers." Are they ever right! For me, it's perfect. It does take a bit more Alessi Eyebrow to go above the (Tenor Clef) staff but so worth it.