Posted by Rick Denney on September 14, 2003 at 22:46:40:
In Reply to: Re: Re: What to do, What to do?? posted by scott on September 14, 2003 at 21:47:12:
Didn't Ken say that the 24 meant a small diameter, the A meant a deep cup and the W meant a wide rim? Isn't 31.25 smaller than the diameters of any of the other Bach mouthpieces? Isn't it the only one with a W and the description Wide rather than Medium wide?
Despite the literature, though, I think the 24AW is a bit on the small side for high-school kids, diameter-wise. I played one through school because I didn't know any better, but when I started again I felt like it was bottling me up. The Bach 18 is much more generic and I think a more vanilla choice for students who need to depend on their air and chops to make sound.
Personally, I hate to see kids who haven't even learned how to spell get on the mouthpiece-trading bandwagon just yet. It's expensive to say the least, and judging from the age of people who still fiddle with mouthpiece choices (myself included at times), there is no end to it. Perhaps students should buy a Conn Helleberg and a Bach 18, and told to learn how to make both of them sound good. At the end of that process, they'll prefer one or the other. I expect one of those mouthpieces would be good enough for just about anyone until they start working the margins for subtle improvements.
Rick "thinking nearly all mouthpieces derive from the Bach 18 or the Conn Helleberg" Denney