TromboneChat

HI all I started a quest in collecting Giardinelli Mouthpieces and so far found a few of the small shank ones but I noticed the stamping on them are all different. The three different stampings are below:

"Giardinell-New York", Model # underneath (Screw rim model)
"Giardinelli New York", Model # underneath (one piece model)
"Giardinelli", Model # to the right. (one piece model)

Anyone have info on which stamping is from which era?

Thanks!

I'll try this again - the site eats replies sometimes!

I think the 1-piece models all come from after Bob Giardinelli sold the company and they moved out of NYC (sometime in the 80"s). The screw-rim was a major design feature of the originals, and the 1-piece models were a cost saving measure for the new owners. I think they kept the same specs., but with less models being offered.

I have a couple of old mouthpieces and an old catalog somewhere in my studio. I'll see if I can find them and will send any info that I discover.

Jim Scott

Greg Black makes mouthpieces to the original Giardinelli specs, they are listed on his site as New York Legend, there's a separate listing for large and small shanks. No mention of Giardinelli but the listed specs are the same as for the Giardinellis of the same size. In addition to these common sizes I've had a few other Giardinellis. They used to make a Symphony B, which was the Van Haney Bass mouthpiece, the one I had was about the size of a 2G, but with the wider Giardinelli rim. And I've had two different Giardinelli Beversdorff mouthpieces. Both were about the same rim size as the 3GM but with a cup between the 3GM and the 3G, and with the narrow rounded Beversdorff rim. I knew several people who used the 3GS, like the 3GM but a slightly shallower cup for 1st trombone.

I've had a number of the 3GM and 1G and 1GM over the years, and consistency varied, rims sizes particularly and even the distance the shank fits into the lead pipe. Back when the 88H was so popular it was common to see Symphony T and 3GM with 88H Remington shanks, and they were marked at the top of the shank "88H'

They also made a lot of custom mouthpieces, the more popular ones, such as the Beversdorff could be ordered. Greg Black has a line of New York Legend Artists, and these may be based on some of these. It would be interesting to know.

The 3GM always felt and measured larger than a Bach 3G but with shallower cup. It would be about what we now call a 3g-5g. The 1G is about the same size as a Bach 1 1/2G but with a wider comfy rim. The 1GM is the 1G rim but with a cup like the 3GM, really a mouthpiece for large tenor but with a bass trombone sized rim.

What were the specs of the Symphony T? I found that they had a Large shank and a Small shank version of it.

Modelerdc, what did the stamping on the outside of the cup look like? I’m assuming yours are models of an older age. Here is a picture of all the different stampings from my collection.

An old brochure for Giardinelli trombone mouthpiece specs:

My Symphony T that I used in high school. college, and many years after, had a .261 throat. The small shank version of the Symphony T was awful. Too deep and 1/4" throat too small. It really didn't work on any horn.

There was never any explantion for why my large shank one had a different throat, but it was a good mouthpiece.

Interesting. Thanks for all the info. Is it safe to say it’s “better” to get the two-piece models if I find them?

Doug Elliott wrote: ↑Thu Aug 01, 2024 2:17 pm My Symphony T that I used in high school. college, and many years after, had a .261 throat. The small shank version of the Symphony T was awful. Too deep and 1/4" throat too small. It really didn't work on any horn.

There was never any explanation for why my large shank one had a different throat, but it was a good mouthpiece.

All my Giardinelli mouthpieces are one-piece. I have a large-shank Symphony T, but it has a smaller 0.250" Throat; ~25.75mm Rim I.D., as listed in the brochure. The Cup is allegedly the same as the Conn Remington. Like the Remington, it's not quite my "cup of T" - but I guess it's a product of its time (1960s-1970s).

The Giardinelli Symphony G is (to me) a better mouthpiece - still sort of a medium-deep V-shaped cup, but deeper and somewhat larger than the T (~26.0mm Rim I.D.), with a larger (more appropriate) 0.261" Throat. (Some Giardinelli catalogs list a 0.271" Throat.)

I have never seen the small-shank Symphony T, but I do have a small-shank Giardinelli SYM-AL - apparently their version of a 6½AL (0.266" Throat). It's O.K. if you like that size. (I've tried it on a medium-bore Conn 79H. But I now usually use a Doug Elliott setup - E4 Shank, LT E Cup, LT 101 or LT 100 Rim - on the 79H.)

Azynguyy - My late brother-in-law (Martin Hughes) at one time performed on Giardinelli NewYork Symphony T mouthpieces. I ended up receiving his Remington large shank with an extra cup along with a small shank piece. As a bass trombonist I have no use for these and considering your comments about collecting Giardinelli pieces, I thought you may be interested in them.

I’d say they’ve been “rode hard and put away wet” during Martin’s early career. See the attached photos. If you are interested, they are yours for the cost of shipping - probably less than $10 to CONUS.

Ken

I'll gladly send you postage for them, PM sent.

modelerdc wrote: ↑Sat Aug 03, 2024 12:29 am I'll gladly send you postage for them, PM sent.

Waiting to hear from Azynguyy. See my PM.

Just to clear up a slight inaccuracy I read in this thread: The Symphony T was/is a copy of Lewis Van Haney's mouthpiece he played while in the NY Phil. It was copied by Giardinelli for Haney from Emory Remmington's personal mouthpiece, NOT the CONN Remmington mouthpiece. They are similar, but different.

Mr. Haney told me this story when I studied with him in the early '70s. He got the gig with the NY Phil, but hated his mouthpiece, so he borrowed his teacher's personal mouthpiece, Emory Remmington, and had Giardinelli copy it for him. Giardinelli put the piece into production as the Symphony T.

Giardinelli also made a version of the Remington mouthpiece at one time. I remember seeing one at the store.

Jim Scott

In the mid 70's they sold the Symphony T and the van Haney as two different mouhpieces that were similar but not the same.
I had a Symphony T and some of my friends got van Haneys around the same time. I think the catalog listed the Symphony T as a regular model and the signature named models separately - I'll try to find my old catalogs.