TromboneChat

Anyone tried the George Curran Mouthpieces from Ultimate Brass yet? If do, how did they feel?

Big. I had the orchestral for a bit. The rim felt a bit smaller than my 1G, but it seemed even deeper and had the larger .316 throat as well. It wasn't bad by any means but it was even less efficient than the Greg Black I was on. If you're well over 6 feet with monster chops and you play a Shires... Might be just for you.

Burgerbob wrote: Sun Feb 12, 2023 12:37 pm Big. I had the orchestral for a bit. The rim felt a bit smaller than my 1G, but it seemed even deeper and had the larger .316 throat as well. It wasn't bad by any means but it was even less efficient than the Greg Black I was on. If you're well over 6 feet with monster chops and you play a Shires... Might be just for you.

I guess it wouldn't work for me. I'm only 5'6"

I'm a bit over 6 feet, but I don't have monster chops and giant lungs. I've been working a lot on air control but still .315 and larger is just too big for me. My low range also doesn't speak as well.

Honestly, not everyone plays best with a huge throat. It's like people who think that all engines will work best without any back pressure from the exhaust. NOPE.

I tried the Curran Model for several days. I thought the rim felt comfortable and I was able to get a great sound. Just didn’t have the lung capacity to handle that .316 inch throat!

George loves it!

Very similar to a Black 1 1/8G in a lot of ways. Definitely a deeper cup as burgerbob describes. For my money, I found the sound really appealing when I was "dialed in," but it was not a very forgiving piece. Some of my colleagues sound a lot better on it than I did, though.

Burgerbob wrote: Sun Feb 12, 2023 12:37 pm (...) If you're well over 6 feet with monster chops and you play a Shires... Might be just for you.

Can you elaborate on this? Specifically the link to Shires.

Btw, thanks for your videos they are great

Thelonious wrote: Sun Feb 19, 2023 12:34 pm

Burgerbob wrote: Sun Feb 12, 2023 12:37 pm (...) If you're well over 6 feet with monster chops and you play a Shires... Might be just for you.

Can you elaborate on this? Specifically the link to Shires.

Btw, thanks for your videos they are great

The big dual bores Shires setups with axials seem like they might be air hogs and inefficient, but they are pretty much as easy to play as they can be with those specs. This means you can play them relatively easily (especially if you are an orchestral pro doing nothing else) with really big, deep, open mouthpieces.

Those same mouthpieces might work much worse in other instruments that are made with a different playing and sound concept.

Burgerbob wrote: Sun Feb 19, 2023 1:41 pm

Thelonious wrote: Sun Feb 19, 2023 12:34 pm

Can you elaborate on this? Specifically the link to Shires.

Btw, thanks for your videos they are great

The big dual bores Shires setups with axials seem like they might be air hogs and inefficient, but they are pretty much as easy to play as they can be with those specs. This means you can play them relatively easily (especially if you are an orchestral pro doing nothing else) with really big, deep, open mouthpieces.

Those same mouthpieces might work much worse in other instruments that are made with a different playing and sound concept.

That matches my personal experiences although I didn’t try any ultimate pieces yet. The Instrument I play at work is a Shires Curran with axials and a dual bore slide and it works best with mouthpieces that size and then it is actually *really* easy to play.

Same goes for edwards with shires axials and a single bore slide.

RustBeltBass wrote: Mon Feb 20, 2023 9:29 pm

That matches my personal experiences although I didn’t try any ultimate pieces yet. The Instrument I play at work is a Shires Curran with axials and a dual bore slide and it works best with mouthpieces that size and then it is actually *really* easy to play.

Yup... I played a really stellar Curran model at NAMM 2020 with my 1G .312 #2. I don't play that size anymore but that feeling still haunts me sometimes. One of the best sounding, easiest experiences I can remember.

Fwiw, I’ve heard George play a number of horns and he sounds great on all of them. It’s not just the tech, it’s also the player. He also uses a 3L leadpipe instead of the standard as well for all of those who are real curious about gear. I’ve had the opportunity to play his horn in a lesson right after I got my cut bell, crazy efficient and crazy good, best shires I’ve every played.

Shires seem to ring really well with Ultimate or GB pieces, they seem to help center the horn and it give more core to the sound.

BigBadandBass wrote: Mon Feb 20, 2023 10:45 pm Fwiw, I’ve heard George play a number of horns and he sounds great on all of them. It’s not just the tech, it’s also the player.

Ha ! None of us were aware of that, thank you !

RustBeltBass wrote: Fri Feb 24, 2023 6:33 pm

BigBadandBass wrote: Mon Feb 20, 2023 10:45 pm Fwiw, I’ve heard George play a number of horns and he sounds great on all of them. It’s not just the tech, it’s also the player.

Ha ! None of us were aware of that, thank you !