TromboneChat

I've realized over the last couple years that if I play anything other than a 6.5AL, my lower front gums develop discomfort even when not playing. It's not pain so much as they just feel "out place" and uncomfortable somehow. It can happen in as little as 1-2 hours on a different mouthpiece. The discomfort goes away in a day or two if I switch back to a 6.5AL.

Initially I thought it was related to rim contour, but it seems not to be.

I thought maybe it could be cup depth, but it happens on a an 7C down to a 5G.

I got a Kelly mouthpiece hoping maybe plastic would be better, but no difference.

The only difference seems to be cup width. Anything smaller or larger than 6.5AL bothers my front lower gums. I had thin front gums when I was younger and had a skin graft on the lower front to thicken them up, so I'm guessing that's related. It's a bummer because it means I can't try out difference sized mouthpieces. Has anyone had anything like this? I could I could just explore the world of 6.5AL-ish mouthpieces for the rest of my life.

Stick with that size then!!!
You could go down the Doug Elliot route and keep the same rim but change cup size etc.
There's also AR Resonance which I have switched to or Warburton that do similar.

FWIW I am also most comfortable on 25.4 rim sizes

I second Chris's suggestion.

I used a 6.5AL for ever, switched to a Doug about a year ago and never been happier. My rim size is a little bigger (and works soooo much better for me).

There are other potential reasons for that problem besides just the particular rim shape.   Hard to guess without seeing you play and your mouthpiece placement.

Quote from: Doug Elliott on Jan 06, 2018, 10:16AMThere are other potential reasons for that problem besides just the particular rim shape.   Hard to guess without seeing you play and your mouthpiece placement.

What other potential reasons can you think of? If there are some things I can try, I'm all ears. I could probably send you a short video of me playing, but I haven't decided if this bothers me enough yet to go to the trouble 

Quote from: Chris Fidler on Jan 06, 2018, 01:59AMStick with that size then!!!
You could go down the Doug Elliot route and keep the same rim but change cup size etc.
There's also AR Resonance which I have switched to or Warburton that do similar.

FWIW I am also most comfortable on 25.4 rim sizes

Thanks. It's not that I mind being stuck on a 6.5AL rim forever. Just sometimes I wanna try other things and see what's out there for fun. But yeah, with the modular mouthpieces, I could at least experiment with cup sizes, etc.

Quote from: Chris Fidler on Jan 06, 2018, 01:59AMStick with that size then!!!
You could go down the Doug Elliot route and keep the same rim but change cup size etc.
There's also AR Resonance which I have switched to or Warburton that do similar.

FWIW I am also most comfortable on 25.4 rim sizes

Thanks. It's not that I mind being stuck on a 6.5AL rim forever. Just sometimes I wanna try other things and see what's out there for fun. But yeah, with the modular mouthpieces, I could at least experiment with cup sizes, etc.