The Alessi Seminar will be hear before you know it. In addition to the usual suspects (Alessi, Ellefson and Whitaker), this year’s seminar will feature Trombones de Costa Rica and Sim Flora. Trombonists interested in performing and/or teaching as a career choice should definitely attend this event. And since it’s being held in Alabama, we expect to see lots of trombonists from Florida, Mississippi, Georgia… you get the idea. Visit www.alessiseminar.com for all the details.
The answer is always “the one that works best for your needs”. Ok, that’s me being Captain Obvious but in all seriousness it sometimes is that easy. Other times you might have to think a bit about what you are after.
I can’t tell you how many times I have been asked “what’s the difference between NY & Deco shapes? Is it only cosmetic?”. Now with the Nouveau blank it could get more difficult to choose… or is it. The shapes (Blank is what I call outer shape) are unique, but it’s not just the shape that is different, it is the weight of the mouthpiece. The weight of the mouthpiece really does control many things in the sound and feel of the instrument.
A heavier blank (Deco) will provide a very stable feel and if your instrument is not very stable feeling this is the mouthpiece for you. The sound is also very rich and centered aiding in projection. This all sounds perfect, why would you want anything else but “rich and centered”? Well if your horn is a very centered and stable instrument then this style mouthpiece might double up with your instrument and make the overall sound confined and not allow you to shape the notes the way you want in timbre and color.
The NY blank is my medium or standard weight mouthpiece. It has a very neutral approach and is not heavy or light. The sound is wider than the Deco with a bit more highs on the outside of the sound than the Deco, and this style of mouthpiece is a safe bet if you read all of this information and still can’t make a decision.
The Nouveau blank is a very light mouthpiece that is designed to open up instruments that blow a bit tighter and are overly centered. The sound is the most wide and brilliant of the three styles of mouthpieces.
The one thing to realize is your style of air. If you blow very slow hot air and tend to be really dark sounding without enough clarity then you should consider a smaller mouthpiece in a lighter style blank to focus in your sound and help with clarity within sound and articulation.
If you play with very fast air and tend towards being bright and a bit explosive then consider a heavier style blank to keep the sound centered in the higher dynamics and the upper overtones from being too prevalent in the sound.
Everything is about balance and understanding what you want in feel and sound. There are enough options within this line to fit most any trombone player. If not, then just wait for the Alessi line and then you will have even more options to think about.
When we re-launched our site a few weeks ago, you undoubtedly noticed a new shopping cart. We decided a move away from our previous cart to PayPal would benefit both our customers and us. We’re saving money in server costs, payment gateways, etc., and our customers are still able to purchase our products using a completely safe and trusted shopping cart.
I wanted to mention that you don’t have to have a PayPal account in order to purchase from our site. Once you click the checkout button, you’ll be directed to a page where you can log in to PayPal (on the right) or pay by credit card. The latter option is much less obvious, so simply look for the following:
Use your credit card or bank account (where available). Continue
If you’d rather conduct your transaction over the phone, please call us at (262) 949-1924.
Okay, the blue containers that we use to ship mouthpieces are perfect for just that, shipping mouthpieces.
Unfortunately, they are not made for daily use.
The foam reacts with your spit and will erode the silver plating. Please use any standard mouthpiece pouch. If you are going to use the blue container remove the foams and use a soft cloth to cover the mouthpiece to protect it from the chemical reaction that can occur.
Well I thought that since 2006 is starting it would be a good time to write my first entry. I hope everyone has had a great holiday season. We are starting off the new year by completing another production run. For our jazz trombonists, know that small shank mouthpieces are included in this run. More gold mouthpieces will be available as we shipped some to Anderson last week.
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