Posted by Charley UK on August 10, 2002 at 12:10:33:
Hi from England,
I thought I might stir things up a bit with these thoughts.
Before playing on my curent Doug Elliott mouthpiece, I used first a Dennis
Wick, then Steven Mead model mouthpiece, the Mead ones being far superior I
thought.
At that time mouthpiece boosters appeared and I tried one out.
I thought they did little if anything and my purchase was put away in
draw with the rest of many other past projects.
Digging it out a few days ago and feeling sorry for it, I fitted it
to the Elliot mouthpiece and it made a huge diference, both using the
practice mute and in a concert today in our local church.
My thoughts are these;
That the Wicks are too light in the first place to benefit from boosters.
The Mead models are lighter than the Wicks again.
The Elliott mouthpiece is a loy heavier than the Wick.
The booster fitted to the Elliott mouthpiece only touches the shank and
does not come anywhere near the cup !
Over to you my learned friends.
Best wishes, Charley Brighton.
Euphonium, BBC Wind Band London