I was considering getting a gold mouthpiece for my pocket trumpet, which is gold and black, and the silver doesn’t really match. That got me looking into the different kinds, sizes and brands of mouthpieces available, but I really need to try them before I know how they sound. I know of a few music/instrument stores around Taipei, but does anyone know of any places with a particularly large and varied collection? I’d be particularly interested in trying out the “asymmetrical” mouthpieces.
Right now I have the standard Bach 7C that came with my Stradivarius when I bought it in 1982, as well as a bored-out 2C, and an 11C for the pocket trumpet (Jupiter, cheap).
I don’t have an answer on the store, but I wonder how much it would cost to have a jeweler gold-plate your favorite current one. Would that even be an option?
[quote=“Poagao”]I was considering getting a gold mouthpiece for my pocket trumpet, which is gold and black, and the silver doesn’t really match. That got me looking into the different kinds, sizes and brands of mouthpieces available, but I really need to try them before I know how they sound. I know of a few music/instrument stores around Taipei, but does anyone know of any places with a particularly large and varied collection? I’d be particularly interested in trying out the “asymmetrical” mouthpieces.
Right now I have the standard Bach 7C that came with my Stradivarius when I bought it in 1982, as well as a bored-out 2C, and an 11C for the pocket trumpet (Jupiter, cheap).[/quote]Seriously, I wouldn’t bother looking for anything like a decent range in a local shop.
Your best bet would be to go to a specialist brass instrument shop, wherever you can find one. There are quite a few in the UK, loads in America, and presumably some in other countries too. Leave two days for trying mouthpieces. The first for getting an idea of the range and narrowing things down. The second to choose a mouthpiece and make sure of your decision. A mouthpiece that seems great at first may turn out to be less than perfect later.
If you can’t do that, there are a few shops in the US and possibly elsewhere that will send out mouthpieces on trial. I seem to remember that Woodwind & Brasswind do that, three at a time IIRC. You could post on brass instrument newsgroups for information about others.
Bwahahaha! Try them out! As if!
You have next to no chance, let alone finding a wide array. I’ve had enough problems just getting them to open the damn box to examine sax mouthpieces, let alone put them in my mouth.
One more thing … if I were still playing trumpet, I’d really want to try a Monette mouthpiece. Wynton Marsalis plays a Monette trumpet, so if it’s good enough for him…
The KHS head office is on Zhongshan First Road in Luzhou, Taipei County. It also has the biggest music store on the first floor that I’ve seen in Taiwan, but I’m not sure if they’d have anything so specialized.
The Monette looks interesting, but honestly, reading and talking about different mouthpieces can only get me so far, as everyone’s different. Wynton is a god, of course, but I’m under no illusion that what’s good for him is good for me.
I know there’s a saxophone complex in central Taiwan (Houli, I think), but I’m not sure if there is an equivalent place for trumpets. I doubt US shops would be willing to send out trial mouthpieces all the way to Taiwan. What about someplace nearer, say in Hong Kong or Japan? -though I’d rather find someplace here.
It would take some time, as Joe says a mouthpiece changes after you play it for a bit and get used to it. It’s also possible that my current setup is the best I’ll ever have.
[quote=“Poagao”]I know there’s a saxophone complex in central Taiwan (Houli, I think)[/quote]Yeah but they don’t specialise in mouthpieces as such. Sax players too need to look abroad for a decent range of good quality mouthpieces.
[quote=“Poagao”]I doubt US shops would be willing to send out trial mouthpieces all the way to Taiwan.[/quote]Try Woodwind & Brasswind. I seem to remember they were willing to send mouthpieces to the UK for me. I might be wrong but it’s worth a try.
[quote=“Poagao”]I can’t find such an option on their website, Joesax. But there are many interesting models there, and some pretty radical designs I’d like to try.[/quote]According to this discussion, if you call them you can set up a trial. That’s what I remember too. But, interestingly, further down the page someone says that if you order a bunch of mouthpieces as normal, you can try more than on the trial, and you don’t have to pay the 25% restocking fee. And that guy says that 123music.com has the same 45 day return policy.
I used to be a mouthpiece rep. - selling and advising pros on stock/custom mouthpieces. If you are still interested perhaps I can ask if the shop I worked at in Toronto could send you some to try.
