41. Gold plating: Why do gold-plated mouthpieces feel smoother on the lip?
NOTE: This is a transcript of the video text; you can translate it into other languages using a translator.
Greetings Metalheads,
Do you have a mouthpiece with the gold-plated rim, and when you put it on your lip, it feels smoother than others with silver plating or just plain brass? 🤔
Today we are going to look at why the feel changes when mouthpieces have different finishes, what happens if the mouthpiece is uncoated in raw brass or plated with silver, and why gold plated has a smoother feel.
Why does this happens? 🤔
Let’s start!!
To understand it, let's go to the base of the material I use to make all my mouthpieces, which is brass.
Imagine that this drawing you see here is the rim, the part we put in the lip, and the material is raw brass without any plating.
Each material has its characteristics and composition, and brass is a somewhat porous material; these pores are like tiny imperfections.
If we could zoom in on this piece of brass with a microscope, no matter how polished it is, we would see a surface like this with imperfections; it is not completely smooth, but has tiny pores, like little micro-holes.
I exaggerated this a lot in this drawing so you can clearly see the example.
These pores or micro-holes in the brass are created because brass is an alloy basically made up of two materials: copper and zinc. These need to be mixed and fused in a foundry, and the material doesn’t come out perfect. This is why, when brass comes into contact with the lip, it gives us a rougher sensation and you can notice a slight friction, as if the rim has difficulty moving across the lip.
If we apply a layer of silver to this brass,
this layer starts to fill in some of those micro-pores, since silver is denser, a noble material, pure without alloys, and it smooths the surface, making it feel much more pleasant and less rough when in contact with the lip.
That's why almost all mouthpieces are silver plated.
But the silver plating does not yet completely cover the brass hole; to fully cover it, we will need to apply a layer of gold on top of the silver (add another thicker layer)
Gold is a metal that, besides being very expensive, is very dense and nobler than silver, which means it has no pores, or very, very few, almost none, leaving the surface very smooth and soft.
That's why, when playing with a gold plated mouthpiece, many musicians notice that the rim slides more smoothly over the lip, simply because we have completely sealed the material's pores.
But be careful, don't confuse softness with what's best for you
For example.
If you play with a very dry lip, the gold plating can be ideal since the rim moves over the lip more smoothly,
but if you play with a lot of saliva, a very wet lip, you might feel like you can't find the position immediately, in a natural way, meaning it's hard to find the exact position and the rim slips much more than desired, perhaps losing a bit of control when you play.
In that case, silver might be a better option for you.
So, as always, the important thing is to try and get to know yourself to decide what works best for you.
In summary
In this post, I'm not talking to you about sound, but about physical sensations.
Each material changes the feeling we have of the rim on the lip.
Brass, no matter how polished, is quite porous → with a somewhat rougher and coarser feel.
Silver covers some of that porosity in the brass → and it already feels much smoothe.
And if on top of the silver we give it a gold plated, we manage to cover every pore of the material, resulting in a much smoother surface and a softer feel.
I am Toni Romera, and I look forward to your questions and comments.
Greetings and lots of music.
📗Additional information
Silver or gold plated does not alter the internal or external shape, nor the actual weight of the mouthpiece.
The material from which the mouthpiece is made (brass) remains the same, only it is coated with that thin layer that covers it. Therefore, it can be stated that, from a physical-acoustic point of view, there is no measurable variation in sound quality due to the type of plating, nor due to the very thin layer of silver or gold plating
The material from which the mouthpiece is made (brass) remains the same, only it is coated with that thin layer that covers it. Therefore, it can be stated that, from a physical-acoustic point of view, there is no measurable variation in sound quality due to the type of plating, nor due to the very thin layer of silver or gold plating.
So it's not a matter of acoustics, but of feelings
In chapter 3, I explain in detail what brass is and what its composition is.
And
Chapter 13: What is better for sound, a silver-plated mouthpiece or a gold-plated mouthpiece?