Greetings MetalHeads,
A few days ago I gave a conference and they asked me………..
What part of the mouthpiece (for me) was the most important? First I thought about it a little... but …..
Without a doubt, the answer is The backbore
This answer may surprise you, as it surprised the conference attendees, but, for me, the backbore is 75% of a mouthpiece, if it is not compensated with the rest of the mouthpiece, this one is not going to work for you.
To demonstrate it, I had a single mouthpiece with a removable leadpipe and 11 different backbores openings (in this case a horn).
A volunteer came out and played with the same cup, rim and throat and we only changed the backbore.
The volunteer who came out to test and those who listened were perplexed by the changes in sound, articulation, the improvement or loss of low and high notes, which were produced only by changing the backbore.
In fact, many of the musicians who come to my workshop have tried so many different mouthpieces, that, more or less, they have some things clear, the rim that suits them, the sound, etc... But??
There is always a but!!!!
They can't find their best mouthpiece, and when everything is
“More or less in place”,
Almost certainly, we only need to adapt the backbore.
I always repeat that the mouthpiece is part of a whole:
Musician / MOUTHPIECE and instrument.
But, inside the mouthpiece, you have to be especially careful with the backbore.
For example, in my Custom series mouthpieces I give three different backbores sizes:
(I will give you more information in future chapters)
Standard, Closed and Open, but, I am aware that the backbore is so sensitive to changes, that the best thing is to work on this part in a personalized way and this only It can be done, WELL, if you come to my workshop and we can work slowly and without rushing.
Keep Calm; we are working on the backbore