I am no longer connected to the mouthpiece business. It surprised me that I even went in that direction, as
hardware analysis has never been a big interest.
For example, many years ago, I remember a student coming to me for his first lesson. He opened a large pouch, which contained over 20 mouthpieces! "Which should I play?" he asked. My response was, "pick one."
What led me to get involved in mouthpiece recommendations was a gentleman named Bobby DeNicola. Bobby was just a great guy, and a pleasure to work with. I really liked his mouthpieces. So did my students. But, when he passed on in 2006, I decided to move on as well.
There are many, many capable mouthpiece manufacturers out there, far more than I was aware of when I wrote the BE book in 2001. And, these folks are more qualified than me to assist you in finding what you seek. It's what they do for a living.
All I can offer is general advice. If you feel the need to do the mouthpiece safari, I favor starting with a mid-sized piece, such as a 7C, and either move up or down in size, depending what feels and sounds the best. The size of your lips WILL NOT determine the mouthpiece size. How you form your lips is more important. And that, of course, is where BE enters the picture.
For example, many years ago, I remember a student coming to me for his first lesson. He opened a large pouch, which contained over 20 mouthpieces! "Which should I play?" he asked. My response was, "pick one."
What led me to get involved in mouthpiece recommendations was a gentleman named Bobby DeNicola. Bobby was just a great guy, and a pleasure to work with. I really liked his mouthpieces. So did my students. But, when he passed on in 2006, I decided to move on as well.
There are many, many capable mouthpiece manufacturers out there, far more than I was aware of when I wrote the BE book in 2001. And, these folks are more qualified than me to assist you in finding what you seek. It's what they do for a living.
All I can offer is general advice. If you feel the need to do the mouthpiece safari, I favor starting with a mid-sized piece, such as a 7C, and either move up or down in size, depending what feels and sounds the best. The size of your lips WILL NOT determine the mouthpiece size. How you form your lips is more important. And that, of course, is where BE enters the picture.