The low-down on big tip openings:

 by David Zagar (Master Mouthpiece Maker at zagarsax)

It has been quite a while since I have written and I feel that at least one of my valued customers should read this article carefully. Tip opening plays a fundamental role on

•  how a mouthpiece reacts to a given airstream
• perceived back-pressure
• choice of reeds and reed suitability
• intonation; and
• timbre, or sound production

Notice that I have placed the list in order of significance, with timbre (or tone) last on this list.

A mouthpiece should allow the player to produce a musical note quickly and without any hesitation (without squealing, squeeking or honking) . Way too often a player selects a tip opening that is too large and the result is impaired musicality (Don't choose a tip opening just because another player that you like to listen to uses that size - obtain advice before you purchase)

As tip opening increases, a greater amount of back-pressure is perceived by the player - this is a direct result of a greater amount of two parameters: admittance and reactance. Admittance allows more air to be passed into the horn, but this requires that the player can actually support this volumetric amount of air. You will know if you can't support this amount of air if you cannot complete longer phrases and/or passages (without fainting or blacking out ). Reactance is a "good form of resistance" that only occurs if the requisite amount of air can actually be delivered - this is like a "feedback" mechanism to the player to assist in creating dynamic range control etc. Simply put, if you cannot deliver the correct amount of air for a given tip opening, the mouthpiece just won't feel right and you will have very little control (if any)

On the next discussion, I will talk about the most optimal reed selection and reed strengths that you should be focusing on to achieve the optimum tip opening setup - it basically is that simple.

I hope you find this article interesting and please stay tuned for more in the upcoming News article.  DZ