Reviews

An excellent investment, instantly improving your sound

I have played on a Denis Wick 6BS trombone mouthpiece for over 10 years now, purely because it came as standard when I bought my instrument. Having tried several different sizes and makes since then: a 9BS, an SM4B and a Yamaha mouthpiece i found in a cupboard, I've always come back to my trusty 6BS. Trying to achieve a wide, rich tone on the baritone is hard work at the best of times and if you need to blend with a pair of euphoniums at full tiilt in a long, sustained passage, this task becomes even harder. Playing on a 4 or even a 3 can help achieve a slightly bigger tone, but at the cost of your higher register, which can sometimes become a little pinched on these larger mouthpieces. The new SM6BU gives you the bigger tone, but you keep control of your higher register much more easily. With the standard 6BS, my sound seemed to tay within the bell of the instrument, but with the SM6BU, i found my sound filling the room. The beauty of this mouthpiece is that it is essentially the same size as the standard 6BS, only very slightly deeper, so you will hardly notice the difference. This makes the switch much smoother than if you were to change to a simply bigger mouthpiece. The improvement to my sound was instantly noticeable and I can now blend much better with the rest of the band. You can still get an edge on the sound if you blow hard enough, but i don't think this is such a bad thing! Although I needed to move a few slides around from the set-up I used with the 6BS, intonation is very good throughout the range, and low notes speak very easily. Overall, this mouthpiece is an excellent investment, instantly improving your sound with minimal adjustment.

Mike Wells, 1st baritone with the Grimethorpe Colliery Band

Denis Wick Leads the Charge!

Chris Davies puts the new Denis Wick Heritage mouthpiece through its paces, with good results.

Straight from the cutting-edge of brass engineering

Consistently evolving its technology and ideas, the latest selection of tenor horn mouthpieces, released by Denis Wick Products, are striaght from the cutting-edge of brass engineering the label 'Heritage' is particularly apt, since these innovative mouthpieces strongly resemble many 19th century Hawkes mouthpieces, which served as an inspiration rather than a basis for Denis Wick's new design. The technology behind them, however, is strikingly revolutionary. the Gold-coloured rim and silver mouthpiece are quite attractive and very unique. Presented in packaging that resembles a type usually reserved for an expensive watch or ring,m you can be assured of thye qulaity of this product, into which its makers have poured a great deal of care and precision.

Combination of power and sensitivity

The main development to note is the interesting lack of density at the top of the mouthpiece, particularly around the rim which has no metal directly behind it (unlike previous versions). The bulk of the weight of the mouthpiece (which is surprisingly light overall) is deployed towards the base of the cup, providing extremely powerful sound when needed. the contact of the new thin rim on the lips is also very comfortable and the lack of metal behind the rim gives a slgihtly better feeling of control over the sound - particularly helpful for quiet entires if your a soloist. The combination of power and sensitivity is ell-suited for horn players in bands with wide dynamic ranges - it permits greater control over the softest entires and plenty of beef when fortissimo markings crop up.

A massive 'beefy' sound, particularly in the pedal register 

The Heritage range offers a more nuanced selection of mouthpiece sizes: 1, 1A, 2, 2A, 3, 4 and 5 are all on offer, providing tenor horn players with more subtle options than previous selections. The size 1 mouthpiece (the biggest and shallowest of the series) offers a masiive 'beefy' sound, particularly in the pedal register - an ideal purchase fro second horn players looking to balance the sound of a section with fatte low notes. Also, the size 4 is a new design, and is0.5mm smaller in diameter than the 3, while the deepest mouthpiece, the 5, has the smallest diameter (but the deepest cup).

Brass Band World  - September 2009

I recently switched to the Sm4M Ultra mouthpiece

It was only a matter of seconds before i realized i had made the right choice. My sound opened up in a matter of seconds and my generally timid higher register became full and rich with colour. In a short time with the SM4M Ultra, i have discovered a beautiful sound. Beware, if you try this mouthpiece, you may not want to put your horn down.

Aaron Rivkin, grad perforamnce student, USA

Piccolo Trumpet Mute

The DW5521 piccolo trumpet mute fits the Bb and A bells, and the DW5520 D-trumpet mute fits the G bell very nicely. I am highly pleased with both mutes!

I hope my information will be helpful, in case you ever receive questions from other individuals regarding the proper mute for a G-trumpet.  Of course, there's a possibility that the D-trumpet mute may not fit all makes and models of G-trumpets, but it certainly fits the Kanstul 1520, if not others.  (By the way, my G-bell is a 4.5-inch bell (about 11-12cm) - I don't know if that is a common size for a G-bell or not.)
Thanks for your helpful information and your excellent craftsmanship!

Russell Thompson