wood carve a "mouthpece deadener" for a Kelly?

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ttf_davdud101
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Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2018 12:00 pm

wood carve a "mouthpece deadener" for a Kelly?

Post by ttf_davdud101 »

So here's something I thought of today - I don't play way too much bass, but when I do, I use my Kelly 1.5g.
But this mouthpiece IMO seems to break up a little quickly and seems to be too "vibrant" to get a good core-ful bass sound on a tenor.

So my idea is to use some sort of very hard wood on a lathe to make something similar to basically what's found on the thick side of a Megatone, or one of those KGU Brass Boosters.

But I wanna see whether anyone has exprience with KGUBrass Booster, for example, or Megatones, particularly to let me know whether this kind of build would even has anything close to the desired effects. Image
ttf_BGuttman
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Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2018 12:15 pm

wood carve a "mouthpece deadener" for a Kelly?

Post by ttf_BGuttman »

I did something like this using some bearing ends (a piece of hardware).

I found it did nothing to or for my upper range but made the trigger notes a little fuller (no effect on the straight horn range).  Then I had an accident and my tenor was laid up for a year.  I bought a substitute but my bearing ends didn't fit.  Guess what?  I still had that fuller trigger range.

I never tried this trick with a Kelly or any other plastic mouthpiece.  I don't think wood would do the trick -- not enough mass.  You'd need a horse collar of wood to make a difference.

Quick and dirty test: if you have plumber's solder wire, try putting a couple of wraps around the shank of your mouthpiece and see if it helps.  If it does, go ahead and make something else.  You don't necessarily need the bearing caps I used.  A friend of mine used a pack of 6 or so fender washers (1/2 inch hole and 1 inch outside diameter).
ttf_robcat2075
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Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2018 11:58 am

wood carve a "mouthpece deadener" for a Kelly?

Post by ttf_robcat2075 »

If it's about more mass you could gob a bunch of clay on it. That would be denser than wood.

But I am doubtful more mass is significant.
ttf_davdud101
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Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2018 12:00 pm

wood carve a "mouthpece deadener" for a Kelly?

Post by ttf_davdud101 »

I'll give some of these tips a try, thanks guys.

Does it matter where the mass is placed - e.g. around the shank vs. surrounding the cup
ttf_bonesmarsh
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Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2018 11:59 am

wood carve a "mouthpece deadener" for a Kelly?

Post by ttf_bonesmarsh »

1/2" brass collars for repairing 1/2" hose are less than $3 at Home Depot. Use sandpaper to shim down the collar of the Kelly to let the brass thingy slide on..apply with epoxy.


Works great and cheap.

Wraps of solder or wire will not work.
ttf_bonesmarsh
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Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2018 11:59 am

wood carve a "mouthpece deadener" for a Kelly?

Post by ttf_bonesmarsh »

1/2" brass collars for repairing 1/2" hose are less than $3 at Home Depot. Use sandpaper to shim down the collar of the Kelly to let the brass thingy slide on..apply with epoxy.


Works great and cheap.

Wraps of solder or wire will not work.
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