Connstellation mouthpiece

[Armando]

Hello everyone. Just joined this forum and it is great to have this available. I started playing again after a 20 year absence from being a weekend warrior. I used to use a Connstellation9CW mouthpiece that fit my embouchure well. Does anyone know where I can obtain one of these mouthpieces or any suggestions on other mouthpieces? I play a shallow cup and narrow rim.
Thanks

[David Oulton]

With respect to other mouthpiece options, I encourage you to visit GR Mouthpieces at http://www.grmouthpieces.com and/or send them an e-mail at info@grmouthpieces.com

Within this forum you will find a good amount of discussion about this brand and the quality of service provided.

Another good resource recommended by many is Bruce Lee at BruceLee@NorthernBrass.com
(603) 421-9178

David

[_Don Herman]

Has your lip size changed in 20 years? That 9CW might not be the one for you now... Purely out of the blue, I want to mention that I have a Marcinkiewicz 7CW which, while close to a Bach 7C, has a deeper cup and much nicer rim for me. It is also the cushion style, which in Bach-speak is denoted by the "W" and I assume Conn followed that convention. That might be a good one to try.

If you're just starting, I personally think it's more important to get a mpc that's close enough and get on with all the other rebuilding. Worry about the perfect mpc now is likely counterproductive; more important is getting proper embouchure, breath control, SOUND CONCEPT, etc. down pat. Later you'll have a better idea of what you want in a mpc.

FWIW - Don
_________________
Don Herman/Monument, CO
"After silence, that which best expresses the inexpressible, is music." - Aldous Huxley

[Andy Cooper]

At the moment I cannot find my little blue Conn Mouthpiece manual written by (I believe ) Kent. So this is from memory - I think I have it right. Conn Connstellation mouthpieces were produced in three sizes 5, 7, and 9. The 9 size was the smallest and had no direct relationship to the Bach 9. Two cups were available the C and the B. The B cup had the bottom of the cup (second cup) enlarged. There were two bites available the N bite - more like a Bach 5 B cup bite and the standard bite which was a little more rounded. Here is where my memory fails me - I am not sure if the standard bite was given a letter or not. So the W in your mouthpiece was either for the standard rounded bite or indicated a wider (more cushioned rim). I believe the trombone mouthpieces followed the same naming system. The manual goes on with an excellent discussion of the results of changing throat and backbore sizes and the effects on intonation. We seldom give Conn the credit they were due - in the 50's and 60's they spent money to do the "numbers" to make better instruments and mouthpieces. The bean counters simply prevented them from doing it all. (My apologies to you trumpet playing bean counters out there.) If you want to take the time to research old copies of Journal of the Acoustical Society of America you will find interesting articles by Kent and by Benade on brass instruments and mouthpieces. I believe it was Benade who showed that it was the balance of the (cubic) volume of the backbore, throat, and cup that made a "good" mouthpiece - this was being done long before Monnette made his first hand balanced mouthpieces. Your best bet to find a Conn 9cw might be Dillon Music or Rich Ita - see their websites. You might also put a request in the Marketplace and in TPIN. Custom mouthpiece makers such as Warburton and Stork may have samples or at least the specifications of the Conns from previous customers. Modern mouthpieces to try - you might start with Marcinkiewicz perhaps around 6 to 8, Giardinelli 10m or 10c, Reeves 41M or 40M. These all have a rounded bite and the Reeves has a rim that also is wider (more of a cushion type). If you find something close you can then consider custom work it you need to.

[tom turner]

Hi Armando,

I am VERY familiar with the Conn 9CW, for it truly saved my tail in early '72. I'd just been converted by the Army to trumpet after only playing cornet as a civilian. The 9CW was my cornet mouthpiece. At the US Naval School of Music I was issued a trumpet along with a Bach mouthpiece . . . I never have been able to play Bach mouthpieces.

I nearly washed out several weeks into the program, finally heading across the city of Norfolk VA in quest of a Conn dealer. A 9CW was ordered and came in the day before my final lesson to determine my fate. The instructor said, "Wow, what a difference! I was going to wash you out today. I never would have believed that a mouthpiece could make such a difference." I finished second in my class and that 9CW ended up doing me well as I eventually went to my band unit and quickly became the soloist there for my entire enlistment. (Thanks Conn!!!)

I currently have my 9CW mouthpieces for both trumpet and cornet, along with a 9BW cornet one somewhere.

I recently measured the rim size and it corresponds to a .625 . . . about like a Bach 10 1/2C, a GR 62 or 63 series or a Warburton 7 or 8.

As you know, the CW had a slightly wider rim than "normal" yet not nearly as wide as a Bach 10 1/2 C. Also, this mouthpiece really "speaks" with great ease, one of my favorite mouthpieces ever.

I've not yet found another GR with similar performance for me, although a prototype NorthernBrass GR mouthpiece, the General Lee 62s *** is really, really close with a wonderful sound that I own and play.

If the Conn 9CW was a "wonderpiece" for you, you'ld also love the Warburton 8M . . . for it has that same feel and wonderful response of the 9CW!

I'm no longer using my 9CW and might be pursuaded to part with it. E-mail me if you would be interested. Otherwise, you may wish to try a Warburton 8M.

Also, I'm awaiting my turn for a custom piece design for Northern Brass mouthpieces by GR. It will have a rim you'ld love with the great sound charectreristics of the General Lee ***. Bruce Lee will be the distributor of my mouthpiece design.

Sincerely,

Tom Turner