cheap amazon trombone mouthpieces...

[captain]

Eastrock, Glory, Missmore...oh my!

These things are so cheap it seems like they cannot be real. Has anyone tried any of these $10-$20ish mouthpieces? Are they truly silver plated, or just "silver color" plated? I could get TEN of these for the price of ONE name-brand, and maybe find something close to my Conn 2.

I'm concerned that they might be so cheaply made that they could poison me. Then again, I wonder if Bach, Selmer, etc. are just price gouging us, and $15 IS what a mouthpiece SHOULD cost.

[BrooklynDad]

I bought one of these. While it looked and felt ok, it didn't feel great to play, and did not produce a sound nearly as good as one of my regular pieces.

[Kingfan]

I was given a no name "gold plated" mouthpiece. The plating wore off pretty quickly. If I was going budget, I would go Faxx mouthpieces.

[ghmerrill]

Amazon may not be the best source of such things (duh). However, I've had no-name copies of some common mouthpieces that were just thrown in by the manufacturer with an instrument I bought, and they were fine (not what I wanted -- but that's because I didn't want the original "brand" piece either). An accurate copy of a good mouthpiece will be a good mouthpiece (think of Faxx and Kelly -- or even Yamaha). There may be arguments about how "faithful" a copy it is and whether it's "exactly" like the original, but I think there's a lot of ideology and subjectivity there. Yes, there is a lot of junk out there, but not all of the low cost (Chinese or otherwise) examples are junk. With Amazon, if you try it and don't like it, just send it back.

[tbonesullivan]

Honestly, with Faxx and used mouthpieces from yamaha and bach already super affordable, I wouldn't risk it with those no-name pieces on amazon. Who knows what kind of metal they are really made from.

[ghmerrill]

Who knows what kind of metal they are really made from.

I don't know. Depleted uranium from anti-tank rounds might be okay -- especially if you're looking for a heavy weight piece. And as long as it's really depleted. It's only "mildly radioactive". Hey, what isn't?

[captain]

I figured I'd keep them in my vintage Vaseline Glass bowl anyway, so what's a little extra radioactivity?

But, seriously, here are some I'm considering:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DLMGDKWN/
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BMTX8GPV/
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BFDZ1NKW/
vs. $45 for Faxx
https://www.amazon.com/Faxx-Bass-Trombo ... 004BLCE5I/
vs. $100 for Conn
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002HU7DG/

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I really like the feel of the Conn 2. The Yamaha 48-L seems fine, as did the plastic thing that came with the PBone I no longer play. I just want to try a bunch of different sizes and styles to see if it really makes a difference.

[captain]

I never thought about the size of the MOUSE when considering a mouthpiece for trombone playing! ;-p

https://www.amazon.com/Trombone-Mouthpi ... B09BMX87D1

[ghmerrill]

It appears that these products offer free returns. We have Amazon Prime, and with that you can return practically anything. I'm absolutely ruthless about that. So if you get free returns, just try out some of these. You have nothing to lose but a little time and a trip to your nearest UPS store or pickup location.

I'm pretty old school and for some time felt kind of sleazy about returning stuff. But this is the "new normal" and in fact the new approach to marketing and sales. Go with it. It's really the only way you can buy a lot of stuff nowadays (especially with any convenience) and see if it fits or works for you.

[captain]

I too used to be a ruthless returner. I don't have the energy for that, plus I've gotten "banned" for "too many returns", so I'm more careful these days. (most idiotically from Fry's Electronics, where the constant "sales pitch" was basically, "I know nothing, but you can buy it and return it if it doesn't do what I just erroneously told you it will do." fml)

I do have 10 of those "mouthpieces" in my amazon cart though, so since no one here seems to have researched it for me, I may be the canary. I'll try to write up something not totally worthless if I do the experiment. I'm basically Donny when it comes to trombone though.

[Posaunus]

Spend your money (and waste your time) and buy all the cheap Chinese knockoff mouthpieces you want.
They'll look pretty in your glass candy bowl.

Here's the cheapest that I've encountered (in a 30-second search) at $10.97 for a 6½AL:
https://www.amazon.com/Andoer-Trombone- ... EXJY&psc=1

But please don't bother with that sexy 51D piece - that size is a terrible match to your King 2B.

And report back to us in a year or two after you've tried all these mouthpieces (and probably many more) and still haven't found the "ultimate."

[brassmedic]

Eastrock? Didn't Fred Flintstone play one of those?

[captain]

I ended up with a couple of Bachs, a Blessing, and a Shilky from the local shop. Sadly, no Conn #2. Onward! Through the fog!

[CheeseTray]

Captain: sent you a PM

[tbonesullivan]

I ended up with a couple of Bachs, a Blessing, and a Shilky from the local shop. Sadly, no Conn #2. Onward! Through the fog!

Any interesting sizes? I've been on a mouthpiece buying hiatus to stem my addiction. hopefully.

[captain]

Several 6 1/2 AL (the Bach is much higher quality than the blessing); a Bach 12C, a Shilky 51, a Shilke 51D (I don’t know what the D makes different), an east rock 9BS that actually looks pretty damn close to my beloved Conn #2!, and something “made in China“ that has no markings on the actual mouthpiece, but looks kind of rectangular.

[captain]

Here’s the “made in China” no name mouthpiece.

This thing is very strange. It goes extremely loosely and floppily all the way into a large bore, but just barely goes 1 cm into the receiver of a small bore. WTF?! . Maybe this is one of those “medium bore” things i’d only heard about up to now.

BUMMER! Because I actually like the way this thing feels and plays. I’m not sure it’s OK to use it with only a centimeter of connection length. That seems like just asking to torque damage my receiver.

It turns out that it’s a “missmore trombone baritone tenor mouthpiece”. I think I’ll trade it in for the 9BS that specifically reads small shank, and add a 4AL for the large bore bone.

Oh yeah, and a Yamaha 48 small bore, so I now have the option of the same mouthpiece on both bores. And a few other non-descript Chinese mouthpieces.

[tbonesullivan]

Several 6 1/2 AL (the Bach is much higher quality than the blessing); a Bach 12C, a Shilky 51, a Shilke 51D (I don’t know what the D makes different), an east rock 9BS that actually looks pretty damn close to my beloved Conn #2!, and something “made in China“ that has no markings on the actual mouthpiece, but looks kind of rectangular.

The "D" is for "deep". It's more of a Euphonium Piece, but some play trombone with it. The regular 51 is I believe what Ralph Sauer played, or maybe still plays. Schilke mouthpieces don't really have a "system" the way that Bach mouthpieces to. Many of them were custom designs that later got model numbers.