Ultimate Brass George Curran Artist Model Mouthpiece

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martinong
Posts: 18
Joined: Feb 12, 2023

by martinong »

Anyone tried the George Curran Mouthpieces from Ultimate Brass yet? If do, how did they feel?
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Burgerbob
Posts: 6327
Joined: Apr 23, 2018

by Burgerbob »

Big. I had the orchestral for a bit. The rim felt a bit smaller than my 1G, but it seemed even deeper and had the larger .316 throat as well. It wasn't bad by any means but it was even less efficient than the Greg Black I was on. If you're well over 6 feet with monster chops and you play a Shires... Might be just for you.
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JeffBone44
Posts: 367
Joined: Oct 24, 2022

by JeffBone44 »

[quote="Burgerbob"]Big. I had the orchestral for a bit. The rim felt a bit smaller than my 1G, but it seemed even deeper and had the larger .316 throat as well. It wasn't bad by any means but it was even less efficient than the Greg Black I was on. If you're well over 6 feet with monster chops and you play a Shires... Might be just for you.[/quote]

I guess it wouldn't work for me. I'm only 5'6" :weep:
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tbonesullivan
Posts: 1959
Joined: Jul 02, 2019

by tbonesullivan »

I'm a bit over 6 feet, but I don't have monster chops and giant lungs. I've been working a lot on air control but still .315 and larger is just too big for me. My low range also doesn't speak as well.

Honestly, not everyone plays best with a huge throat. It's like people who think that all engines will work best without any back pressure from the exhaust. NOPE.
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Crazy4Tbone86
Posts: 1654
Joined: Jan 14, 2020

by Crazy4Tbone86 »

I tried the Curran Model for several days. I thought the rim felt comfortable and I was able to get a great sound. Just didn’t have the lung capacity to handle that .316 inch throat!
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WGWTR180
Posts: 2152
Joined: Sep 04, 2019

by WGWTR180 »

George loves it!
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JasonDonnelly
Posts: 129
Joined: Apr 23, 2018

by JasonDonnelly »

Very similar to a Black 1 1/8G in a lot of ways. Definitely a deeper cup as burgerbob describes. For my money, I found the sound really appealing when I was "dialed in," but it was not a very forgiving piece. Some of my colleagues sound a lot better on it than I did, though.
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Thelonious
Posts: 5
Joined: Oct 28, 2022

by Thelonious »

[quote="Burgerbob"](...) If you're well over 6 feet with monster chops and you play a Shires... Might be just for you.[/quote]

Can you elaborate on this? Specifically the link to Shires.

Btw, thanks for your videos they are great :good:
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Burgerbob
Posts: 6327
Joined: Apr 23, 2018

by Burgerbob »

[quote="Thelonious"]<QUOTE author="Burgerbob" post_id="201967" time="1676230629" user_id="3131">
(...) If you're well over 6 feet with monster chops and you play a Shires... Might be just for you.[/quote]

Can you elaborate on this? Specifically the link to Shires.

Btw, thanks for your videos they are great :good:
</QUOTE>

The big dual bores Shires setups with axials seem like they might be air hogs and inefficient, but they are pretty much as easy to play as they can be with those specs. This means you can play them relatively easily (especially if you are an orchestral pro doing nothing else) with really big, deep, open mouthpieces.

Those same mouthpieces might work much worse in other instruments that are made with a different playing and sound concept.
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RustBeltBass
Posts: 382
Joined: Jul 17, 2018

by RustBeltBass »

[quote="Burgerbob"]<QUOTE author="Thelonious" post_id="202689" time="1676835264" user_id="15851">

Can you elaborate on this? Specifically the link to Shires.

Btw, thanks for your videos they are great :good:[/quote]

The big dual bores Shires setups with axials seem like they might be air hogs and inefficient, but they are pretty much as easy to play as they can be with those specs. This means you can play them relatively easily (especially if you are an orchestral pro doing nothing else) with really big, deep, open mouthpieces.

Those same mouthpieces might work much worse in other instruments that are made with a different playing and sound concept.
</QUOTE>

That matches my personal experiences although I didn’t try any ultimate pieces yet. The Instrument I play at work is a Shires Curran with axials and a dual bore slide and it works best with mouthpieces that size and then it is actually *really* easy to play.

Same goes for edwards with shires axials and a single bore slide.
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Burgerbob
Posts: 6327
Joined: Apr 23, 2018

by Burgerbob »

[quote="RustBeltBass"]

That matches my personal experiences although I didn’t try any ultimate pieces yet. The Instrument I play at work is a Shires Curran with axials and a dual bore slide and it works best with mouthpieces that size and then it is actually *really* easy to play.
[/quote]

Yup... I played a really stellar Curran model at NAMM 2020 with my 1G .312 #2. I don't play that size anymore but that feeling still haunts me sometimes. One of the best sounding, easiest experiences I can remember.
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BigBadandBass
Posts: 270
Joined: Feb 13, 2020

by BigBadandBass »

Fwiw, I’ve heard George play a number of horns and he sounds great on all of them. It’s not just the tech, it’s also the player. He also uses a 3L leadpipe instead of the standard as well for all of those who are real curious about gear. I’ve had the opportunity to play his horn in a lesson right after I got my cut bell, crazy efficient and crazy good, best shires I’ve every played.

Shires seem to ring really well with Ultimate or GB pieces, they seem to help center the horn and it give more core to the sound.
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RustBeltBass
Posts: 382
Joined: Jul 17, 2018

by RustBeltBass »

[quote="BigBadandBass"]Fwiw, I’ve heard George play a number of horns and he sounds great on all of them. It’s not just the tech, it’s also the player.[/quote]

Ha ! None of us were aware of that, thank you !
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BigBadandBass
Posts: 270
Joined: Feb 13, 2020

by BigBadandBass »

[quote="RustBeltBass"]<QUOTE author="BigBadandBass" post_id="202819" time="1676958300" user_id="8578">
Fwiw, I’ve heard George play a number of horns and he sounds great on all of them. It’s not just the tech, it’s also the player.[/quote]

Ha ! None of us were aware of that, thank you !
</QUOTE>

:lol: :D