29 April

I don't want you to phone or visit any other shop except mine, so to help this I am continually working on ways in which I can match some of the more established businesses.

Vandoren Reeds are always a popular make reeds. Although the recommended retail price has just gone up I have decided to lower my prices.

Traditional Clarinet reeds will now cost you £11.50 a box (was £14.00)
Alto Saxophone £15.00 a box (£17.50)
Tenor Saxophone £11.00 a box (£12.50)

I have a good range in the shop - will even post direct to you.

21 April

'How many clarinetists does it take to change a lightbulb?'
Only one, but they'll go through a whole box of bulbs before they find just the right one!

The Backbore
Perhaps the second most critical area of a mouthpiece, the backbore either spreads the sound or channels it depending on how tight or open the design. The backbore influences the color, nuance and timbre of the mouthpiece. If you put a large backbore with a large cup mouthpiece the result will be a very warm, compassionate mouthpiece with feeling and depth of sound. The same mouthpiece with a tighter backbore will focus the sound that is being created, equalizing the lower end and accenting the upper end of upper harmonics. Backbore designs can enhance the player's ability to move easily throughout all registers of the instrument with uniformity of timbre and feel. Please note that the wrong backbore can make the mouthpiece play sharp or flat.

The Throat
Most mouthpieces are made with a medium-sized throat which will produce an even register, good intonation, and sufficient endurance for strenuous, all-around work. A small throat does not produce an easier high register; on the contrary, it not only chokes the tone but contracts the entire register, making high notes flat or the low notes sharp. A mouthpiece with an excessively large throat will make playing soft difficult, however, a large throat may help to produce a bigger tone.

17 April

The Cup
Although I am a great fan of Vincent Bach instruments and accessories I will refer to Mr Marcinkiewicz about the mouthpiece cup because in my opinion he got it right for me and it may suit you.

"The cup reflects the player's choice for quality of sound by both depth and shape. There are three basic types of cups: C-cup, V-cup and the Marcinkiewicz modified C/V-cup. A C-cup offers the player a darker sound. A V-cup offers efficiency. Our modified C/V-cup can offer the darker sound of a C-cup with the efficiency of a V-cup. The air stream is channeled through the center of our uniquely designed cup and venturi, through the backbore and directly into the horn to produce the desired sound. In short, the modified C/V-cup is easier to play. There is a difference between a C-cup and a V-cup and not every player can play both. The C/V-cup offers more choice to a wider range of players.

A deeper cup offers a darker sound and a shallower cup offers a brighter sound. Our modified C/V-cup mouthpieces can be shallower and still give the player more flexibility and versatility verses the C-cup or V-cup alone. Again, this situation is because the modified C/V-cup is more efficient.

Cup depth alone does not always dictate the sound quality. The overall shape of the cup factors in greatly. You may find mouthpieces that have similar dimensions (inside cup diameter, outside cup diameter and depth) but play completely differently. Generally, this is due to a variation in cup shape. It is possible for a mouthpiece that has a shallower cup than another mouthpiece (again, with same rim dimensions) to have greater overall cup volume than the deeper mouthpiece, due to the contours of the cup.

The inside cup dimension measurement is a critical piece of information to any mouthpiece and the consistency and accuracy of the measurement is vital for the player. An accurate and consistent measurement allows a player to know exactly what dimension is employed and a baseline for adjustments. We measure our trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn and French horn mouthpieces at .032 in. from the top of the rim to a consistent point. Tenor trombone, bass trombone and euphonium mouthpieces are measured .047 in. from the top, tuba and sousaphone mouthpieces .064 in. from the top. Fractions or approximations do not work the same way.

I'm pleased to announce that I have started to stock a selection of Marcinkiewicz mouthpieces at the shop (Trumpet, Flugel Horn and Trombone so far). Please feel free to call or visit for more information.

11 April

I bet you're all wondering what has happened to my daily updates. Unfortunately my computer decided it had had enough and retired itself. I have now replaced it and am ready to rock 'n' roll again.

One of the first things I need to do is to complete my explanations on the brass mouthpiece - I am also please to announce that in the shop I now have some Marcinkiewicz mouthpieces, but more on that later.

During the Easter break I had a 10% discount on selected Trevor J. James instruments of which some of you were luck to benefit from. Due to the fact I could not publish this good news on the webpage I have decided to extend this offer to the end of April 2005. This means you all have a little longer to get to the shop and grab yourself one (or more) of the finest made instruments on the market.

Hope you all had a Lovely Easter.