[TPIN] RE: Brightening My Sound

[Ron D'Angelo]

I've been seeing a lot of postings lately regarding differential use of
mouthpieces to alter one's sound.  But I haven't been around to check my
emails much lately, so I never read the original question.

My two cents is: be careful what you wish for.  One really lame thing about
playing our instrument is that we are the only ones who don't know what we
really sound like.  Even a good recording will only give an approximation of
what an audience would hear.  Building a herald trumpet with a back-turned
bell would be the only way to really get an idea of your own sound, and then
only from a couple feet away.  Why do you think Dizzy liked the sound after
Big Stump stomped on his horn at that party all those years ago?  And even
then, it was being splattered all over the rafters before hitting his ears.


Have people with trustworthy ears listen to you at a distance in a number of
playing situations.  If you're being compared to Paul Cacia, I wouldn't
worry too much about brightening up a sound.  If they say "Mark Gould" while
you're playing lead, then you may be onto something.

I think there are legitimate reasons to switch equipment.  I was lured to
the Monette side of things about a year ago, because I specifically liked
the sound I was getting, at least to my own ears.  But they are very
unforgiving mouthpieces.  If I was ON it was fine, if I was not on, I had
pitch and accuracy issues galore.  Kinda like my old golf clubs...  Now,
having finally returned to my GR's and awaiting one with a more appropriate
rim diameter and contour, I am remembering what it was like to not have to
work so damn hard to play.  I never realized how easy it was to get around
the horn until after fighting my equipment in order to maintain a good
sound.  


D'