Mouthpieces for trumpet and mellophone

[vferrera]

I use a bach 3c mouthpiece for trumpet and would like to get a mello piece with a comparable cup size and rim.

From the little bit of research I have done, the 3C has a cup diameter of 16.30 mm. The Bach mello mouthpieces come in the following cup sizes:

12 - 18.3 mm

7 - 18.5 mm

6 - 19 mm

5 - 19.2 mm

3 - 19.75 mm

So it looks like even the smallest mello piece (from Bach) is substantially bigger than the 3C.

One thought would be to try a 3A (deep cup) trumpet mouthpiece on mello.

Would like to hear from people who are crossover trumpet/mello players.

[G-horns]

I use a bach 3c mouthpiece for trumpet and would like to get a mello piece with a comparable cup size and rim.

From the little bit of research I have done, the 3C has a cup diameter of 16.30 mm. The Bach mello mouthpieces come in the following cup sizes:

12 - 18.3 mm

7 - 18.5 mm

6 - 19 mm

5 - 19.2 mm

3 - 19.75 mm

So it looks like even the smallest mello piece (from Bach) is substantially bigger than the 3C.

One thought would be to try a 3A (deep cup) trumpet mouthpiece on mello.

Would like to hear from people who are crossover trumpet/mello players.

Have you looked at mouthpieces other than Bach? Go to Kanstul's website. They have a mouthpiece comparator program that will let you select two different pieces and graphically observe the differences. The list wasn't super robust the last time I visited, but it is much better than trying to interpret the different manufacturer's size data.

A word of caution regarding mellophone mouthpieces. Some mello receivers (especially G mellos) accept a trumpet shank while others accept a mellophone shank. Having a mis-match might make an already difficult horn impossible to tame.

[Shadow_7]

All those seem to be pretty huge rim diameters. Even by symphonic french horn standards.

16.7mm? trying to recall if my Conn CKB M6 is that inner rim width... To shallow of a cup for me and worked better on powerbore soprano than mello IMO. Too small of a shank for soprano though. Nothing a little tape wouldn't solve though.

From there I went to a bach 10S french horn piece (similar spec'd inner rim). With a Kanstul M6 mello piece. Probably smaller inner rim, but generous cup. And a Dave Hickman trumpet mouthpiece. Not sure on the specs of it, but that thing fits like a glove, nice flat rim for the comfy factor. 1.25 G&W 149 (or something like that) is a huge trumpet piece that works well on mello IMO. But it really depends on the mello. As each is completely different, even of the same make model and lot.

HTH

[Scooter Pirtle]

I use a bach 3c mouthpiece for trumpet and would like to get a mello piece with a comparable cup size and rim.

From the little bit of research I have done, the 3C has a cup diameter of 16.30 mm. The Bach mello mouthpieces come in the following cup sizes:

12 - 18.3 mm

7 - 18.5 mm

6 - 19 mm

5 - 19.2 mm

3 - 19.75 mm

So it looks like even the smallest mello piece (from Bach) is substantially bigger than the 3C.

One thought would be to try a 3A (deep cup) trumpet mouthpiece on mello.

Would like to hear from people who are crossover trumpet/mello players.

This is a good post.

Keep in mind that the Bach mellophone mouthpieces utilize the traditional mellophone mouthpiece sizing which is closer to an alto mouthpiece. These are much larger than the trumpet cup sized modern mellophone mouthpieces that became popular beginning in the 1960s and prompted further into usage by drum corps. While some folks love these and they are, by many people's opinions, a more appropriately sized mouthpiece for an F-pitched instrument, you may want to utilize the more common sized mouthpiece if you are utilizing your instrument in a drum corps environment.

If you are currently on a Bach 3 rim diameter, you should try a Hammond 5MP which is 16.63 mm or the 6MP which is 16.45 mm (compared to the 3C's 16.30 mm cup diameter). Both are great mouthpieces.

Also, if you have an established music store in your area that has been around for awhile, they will probably have a few Bach mellophone mouthpieces in stock for you to try. Who knows, you may actually love that size!