TromboneChat

I would like to give a shout-out to Doug. I've been playing some new mouthpieces from him, and they are outstanding. I already use his XT C+ on my 3B and his XT A on my alto. I wouldn't be able to play those instruments without those mouthpieces.

But these new mouthpieces are great. An XT E with the large bore shank, and the new SYM series G. I also got a bass mouthpiece, the SB J, but I'm not a bass trombonist -- it seems really easy to play and forgiving and sounds good to me, so that's all I'll say about the bass piece.

The XT E is VERY similar to the Griego V3 in terms of cup depth and volume, but plays with a lot more efficiency and core the the sound. I really like it a lot, and it sings in the upper register. I would also compare it to a 6.5AL or 5CL. Absolutely appropriate on my large bore Edwards, and doesn't sound thin -- just more fundamental and less warm overtones.

The new SYM series is something else! I admit, I do not usually play such a large mouthpiece, but it is very stable, has a really really nice resistance, and compared to the XT E, it has a lot of warmth -- I'll have to do a spectral EQ on the sound at some point, but I believe the sound I get would have a much wider overtone "signature" instead of just a few bright red lines. I played it in the wind ensemble this week on Orpheus and the Olympic pieces from John Williams. It felt and sounded great!

Our tuba player just got a ridiculously large tuba mouthpiece from Doug that looks like you could get into it and fly to space!! He won't put it down. It projects, and he is playing some crazy solo rep on it in the practice room.

These new designs are great, Doug.

Thanks! I was just about to ask you how they all worked out.

The tuba players are doing some crazy playtesting and will send you feedback soon

I love my tenor MP combo of Doug's. Saving up to get a combo for my bass.

I searched for years to find a bass trombone mouthpiece that works well for me. I like big equipment, but it seems like some of the really big bass trombone mouthpieces out there go a bit "too far" and (for me) have no articulation definition or core. Once I got my Doug Elliott LB 115 N with a 9 shank in 2011, my search ended. Yes, it is a rather large mouthpiece.....but it has clarity, great core and just WORKS. Kudos to Doug.

Note the 6 years of non stop use on the XT-C+. The best.

Yeah, I'll jump in too. Doug's pieces have really helped me solidify my tenor playing. Once I got the sizes dialed in, I started experimenting with rims. Lexan is my favorite, as it is most comfortable and it seems to repel the lip gunk. I got a Parker stainless rim to fit, and that adds some brightness to the sound, but accumulates a lot of lip gunk.

Harrison, it's odd that you use your E on a big Eddy, I use mine with a small shank on 79h or my 88 with 525 slide. I do agree that the sound is just right with Doug's mouthpieces.

The extra shanks are for some of the smaller receivers such as an Olds Recording and my 79h, and I have one to swap out my G cup from large to small shank.

I have yet to get on board with my euphonium and tuba, but I'm not as ... discriminating... on valves as on bone.

Doug's E is magical. I use an XT E on my small/medium bore (500/525 & 525), largebore, and euph.

hyperbolica wrote: ↑Fri Apr 30, 2021 8:53 am Harrison, it's odd that you use your E on a big Eddy, I use mine with a small shank on 79h or my 88 with 525 slide. I do agree that the sound is just right with Doug's mouthpieces.

So, I have found a few uses for the E cup setup - it works very well on my 3B for low parts. I throw on my D3 shank and it works great. On large bore, I have tried it on first bone in wind ensemble, and it's great, but the SYM G blends better and for now I can get through the material no problem on the G. We'll see though, as the set that is brewing looks like it will be an entire concert of FF brass heavy pieces with little rest. I want to try it in a BQ, but haven't gotten to yet.

Where it shines is while marching around. I threw my lexan rim on, and the piece is so efficient that I'll be able to focus on what actually matters for a marching performance -- straight lines, lifting feet high enough, proper turns. Marching is the most stressful thing for me, because obviously I want to sound good, but if you are worried about playing, a horn bobbling around, and all this other stuff like straight lines and horn angles, there are too many variables. Something suffers. It seems like this mouthpiece will alleviate a lot of the stress of playing while marching around.

I use the other pieces a lot more but a some of these in my picture are very new to me. The C+ I've had for 6 years. It is amazing. The A/alto I've had for a few years but it has replaced any other thought I've had about alto mouthpieces -- if you play alto I think the A cup is the way to go. And the weird looking non-doug elliott mouthpiece is that large throat experiment piece I had made. I just thought it would be fun to line that one up in there.

The E, G, and J (small bass) are very new to me. Of those the E is the one that seems like it could fill many roles, especially if I'm looking for efficiency at the cost of the particular sound you get on the larger cups.

I like my E setup for Swing Band playing (mostly 1st and 2nd), or 1st in Concert Band. For Orchestra I like my G better. I have an H, but it's really too big. I was going to try it (the H) on my G Bass (with the EI6 shank) but that's a project for another day.

I love DE’s Lexan rims.

harrisonreed wrote: ↑Fri Apr 30, 2021 5:29 pm Where it shines is while marching around. I threw my lexan rim on, and the piece is so efficient that I'll be able to focus on what actually matters for a marching performance -- straight lines, lifting feet high enough, proper turns. Marching is the most stressful thing for me, because obviously I want to sound good, but if you are worried about playing, a horn bobbling around, and all this other stuff like straight lines and horn angles, there are too many variables. Something suffers. It seems like this mouthpiece will alleviate a lot of the stress of playing while marching around.

In the Navy I marched on my 52e2 with a 42b, because A) I didn't know any better and B) I was young enough to be able to pull it off and C) we didn't have a lot of fancy choices in the 80s. You're not marching the Edwards, are you?

I use the various sizes for small bores with different sound weight. My Courtois 402 takes a D cup, and the Olds Recording uses the E. My Wessex Urbie clone gets the C. 79h gets the E or F. I haven't been able to settle on a DE bass piece yet, partly because I'm not sure how dedicated I am to bass bone. I don't enjoy it, and it's an ergonomic nightmare for me. But its the opportunity I get fairly often, which balances out other things I guess.

For euph, I recently landed SM3 and SM3U which are pretty damn good, and a similar rim size to the DE 104. Tuba I just play a DW 4, which doesn't even fit, but again, it's a question of commitment.

No, my marching horn is a nice getzen. But we march with large bores. No two ways about it. The E cup is a great fit.

Bach5G wrote: ↑Fri Apr 30, 2021 5:57 pm I love DE’s Lexan rims.

I also like Doug's lexan rims. I really want to try the XT E cup as well.