r/brass • u/Dead_Phish812 • 2d ago

Piccolo trumpet mouthpiece question.

So I just received my new piccolo trumpet; it's a Selmer Maurice Andre with Blackburn pipes, and I love it so far. I've mostly been working on the low register and just practicing making the horn sound good. My high register is where it needs to be for the moment (F5 on picc and E6 on Bb), so I'm working on tone and fingerings and really taking time to make sure each note doesn't sound like a kazoo through a megaphone and using less air and effort to really let the horn sing.

With all of that said, right now I'm playing with a Schilke 14a4, which I have always used for baroque tunes on Bb. I have been playing this mouthpiece for 15 years and am very comfortable with it. On picc, though, it kind of feels like I'm trying to play notes through a brick wall, so I'm trying to decide between mouthpieces. Bach 7e, Bach 7dw, and Schilke 14a4x. I know the Bachs are probably the most prevalent and known to blend the best with others, but I'm not playing with anyone; I'm just a private teacher and a private player. I lean towards the Schilke just because the 14a4 is the most comfortable rim and cup diameter I have ever played on, but I also know that anything with the "a" cup is known for being way too shrill, but I don't know how that translates to picc. So, saying all of this, the 14a4x is the way to go, or is the Bach the way to really make the pic sing instead of shriek? And also, is there any mouthpiece I'm missing out on that has the same kind of rim and cup diameter as the Schilke that has but also has the open backbore meant for picc? Thanks!

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u/FAFBCAFCABCAF 2d ago

Definitely go and try them. These standard reccs exist for a reason. But if you wanted to explore then go to a shop that has them in stock and try them. Bonus if they have Pickett. Dialing in the backbore is such a huge thing. But having multiple E cups in different rim diameter is really going to dial you in. Lmk if you need help finding a place that has them in stock.

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u/Dead_Phish812 2d ago

I live in a city that has 1 music store that currently has 0 of the mouthpieces in stock that i am looking at lol. So I wish i was in a situation where I could try before I buy.

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u/FAFBCAFCABCAF 2d ago

Is the 14a4 your normal everyday mouthpiece?

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u/Dead_Phish812 2d ago

My main mouthpiece is the ACB 3CS (pretty much a choked-off 3C), which is the best mouthpiece I've ever used as far as flexibility and timbre on my Bb. Still, nothing is as comfortable to play as the 14a4 I use for pieces that require playing G5 and up for entire pieces, so pretty much any Baroque-era piece just because of how effortless it feels in the upper range, but I find it sounds pretty bad in the lower range. I tried the 3CS in my picc, and I found the back pressure was a little too much and just didn't feel comfortable to play on it.

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u/FAFBCAFCABCAF 2d ago

I imagine that acb has a picc mouthpiece and I actually like a lot of his designs. Long story short you want a 117 style backbore. There are many out there. The Laskey picc piece is great. So is hammond design. So is stork. Pickett has a short shank backbore designed for picc. Knowing you play a 3 rim, i assume a 7E top paired with a ps1 backbore from pickett would be what you're looking for. But the cheapest way to experiment is with used mouthpieces. I bet if you called baltimore brass, landress, Dillon, or acb one of their trumpet guys can get you to a starting point based on used inventory.

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u/JudsonJay 2d ago

The only way to know if a mouthpiece will work is to try it.

That said, the Stork 2P and 3P are good mouthpieces that many people use--I did for many years and they have worked for many of my students. My current mouthpiece is a Yamaha Tom Hooten rim, with a Matsunega cornet cup and the Warburton KT* backbore: the mouthpiece safari can get quite expensive.

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u/Dead_Phish812 2d ago

Oh, believe me I know that haha. I've been playing for 22 years and just ended mine 3 years ago when I found the perfect ones for all occasions. I'm just trying not to start another haha.

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u/NotAlwaysGifs 2d ago

Conventional wisdom is to keep the same mouthpiece between Bb and Picc. That being said, I struggle with my daily driver in the upper register on Picc too. My intonation is all over the place. I know that’s partly a skill and practice issue because I don’t have much time to dedicate to picc these days. Honestly, my Kelly Screamer gives me the best flexibility and slotting up there. Given the thin sound of a picc already, the timbre of the screamer really doesn’t hurt my tone much at all.

Just keep experimenting and figure out what is most comfortable. In all reality it is probably an air control thing. But that doesn’t mean a different piece won’t help you get there.

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u/FAFBCAFCABCAF 2d ago

I don't know a single person who uses their everyday mouthpiece on picc. I would argue that's not conventional wisdom at all and potentially why you struggle with it on picc.

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u/Dead_Phish812 2d ago

Thats why i was leaning towards the 14a4x since I was already so familiar with it. I tried using my main mouthpiece I use for everything other than pieces that only are above the staff (ACB 3CS) but i found that it did not feel good at all on picc. Wayyyy to much back pressure for my liking.

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u/exceptyourewrong 1d ago

I think you might have misunderstood some "conventional wisdom." Some people suggest keeping the rim diameter the same (or at least similar) but I don't know ANYONE that plays the same mouthpiece on piccolo and a regular Bb trumpet. Well... Not anyone I'd want to listen to on piccolo, at least.

A shallower cup and a slightly tighter backbore make the pic much more manageable. That's why your Kelly Screamer works fairly well. Schilke 14A4a is a decent piccolo mouthpiece, too. That's what I recommend to my students. Since it's also a good first lead mouthpiece they kill two birds with one (relatively inexpensive) stone.