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A reader who switched to the new wedge mouthpiece, and is enthusiastic about it, recently sent me his spare mouthpiece to consider for review. After a bit of brief trial I can offer some initial reactions.
The basic thing to know is this is a very unique horn mouthpiece. The cup is not round and the rim is not flat, such that if you spin the mouthpiece and look at the rim end you can see the oval shape of the cup and if you set the mouthpiece down on a table, rim side down, it will rock as there are high and low points. A standard mouthpiece is flat and round and can be manufactured on a standard lathe with relative ease. This mouthpiece requires more sophisticated, modern equipment to produce (at least in quantity) and is something that those interested in the latest ideas will want to look at.
There is a dot on the outside surface of the rim that lets you know which side to place up. The photo shows the rim end of the Wedge mouthpiece as compared to what I normally play, noting that the Wedge is “sideways” in the photo — the oval shape actually goes up and down. As to the roots of the design, the maker states
The Wedge mouthpiece is based on the observation that the shape of a brass mouthpiece has not dramatically changed in over 100 years, and the conviction that it could be improved upon. The Wedge was designed by a trumpet playing physician who set out to challenge the rules that a brass mouthpiece rim should be round and flat. It incorporates concepts of how dental structure affects playing, and knowledge of human anatomy and physiology, to produce a more biomechanically efficient mouthpiece.
To learn much more about the mouthpiece and options you should go to the website, but I will quote this portion below as well, as it relates to my experience actually trying it.
Experience is demonstrating that there are two types of players – Wedge “Responders” and Wedge “Non-responders”.
Wedge Responders usually know fairly quickly that the mouthpiece will work for them. The rim feels quite different when first tried but feels as comfortable or more comfortable than their current mouthpiece. Within a short time the new Wedge rim feels “normal” and a conventional rim feels uncomfortable and restricting. This can take as little as a few minutes or as much as a week or two. Many players report an immediate and sometimes dramatic improvement in performance. The initial level of comfort and improved playing tends to evolve quickly over the first week or two. Advances in players with previously stable abilities are still evolving after six months….
A small group of “Non-responders” find the Wedge uncomfortable or not as good as their current gear.
Unfortunately, I personally clearly am one of the non-responders. I can’t play for any length of time on this mouthpiece. I know it has to do with how I set up my lower lip and is not a direct reflection on the concept or execution of the design. I set the rim in the red of my lower lip (a good photo of my setup is in this article), so I am very sensitive to changes of rim width and shape. The Eric Reed rim is too wide for my embouchure setup, and that combines with the peak of the rim being there and the setup of my lower lip in sort of a perfect storm. My embouchure is incompatible.
But if you set up more typically than I do, on the white, this is a very interesting mouthpiece and the machine work is impressive. The reader that loaned the mouthpiece to me really likes it, and it is an innovation that will be of interest to some in the horn world.
