TromboneChat

Has anyone used any of their artist series A-cup as an alto piece? Obviously their 1A would be much too large, but I'm curious about their 5A and smaller rims with the A cup.

Thanks!

A long time ago I tried the 1A "Alessi" for alto, which I believe is identical to the new series. For me it had some things I didn't like baked into the design, and none of them had to do with the cup ID.

1. The mouthpiece has a throat and backbore configuration that is just not quite right for alto. The sound is way too big. And the intonation is off, doing octaves.

2. The shank is made to insert the "correct" distance into the leadpipe, about 1", but I think that alto pieces play better if they go in further than 1". But ...! Only if the throat and backbore are correct first. So you dial in the intonation and sound with a tight backbore, and open up the feeling by reducing the shank diameter. The 1A doesn't do this.

3. The blank was rather heavy for alto. The response was not what I was looking for.

I think it was designed for this sound concept. This may predate the 1A but I'm fairly sure whatever setup is being used here is similar:



The "1" rim is fine for alto if that is what you usually play, but for everything below the rim, for me, it's more of a tenor mouthpiece than an alto piece.

Hi, someone use Griego Artist A on alto? What are your impressions?

This is based on the 1A.

I agree with Harrison. Cup and throat are too big/open for me (it’s close though). It’s a little heavy too I think. The Greg Black NY is the same but worse. That being said, if you need an alto mouthpiece with a big rim (like I do) there aren’t many other options besides GB, custom, and Doug Elliott (what I use on alto now).

Kdanielsen wrote: Mon Jul 21, 2025 2:45 pm This is based on the 1A.

I agree with Harrison. Cup and throat are too big/open for me (it’s close though). It’s a little heavy too I think. The Greg Black NY is the same but worse. That being said, if you need an alto mouthpiece with a big rim (like I do) there aren’t many other options besides GB, custom, and Doug Elliott (what I use on alto now).

Thank you for your suggestion!

Yes, same response. It's too big in the back end. You can hear in the recording I posted of the man himself, which is beautiful and so well played, that it is kind of close to a tenor sound. Small tenor. I finally have my lathe in my workshop now. Alto mouthpiece designs are coming soon.

If I had more disposable income, I'd probably enquire about one of the Oft altos with an artist rim.

I’ve tried the 5A on my alto and currently use the Oft. While the inner diameter is smaller, the outside diameter is pretty close to a 5ish and isn’t too much trouble to switch between with some practice. But I do find the 5A works great on small tenor for lead playing.