Giddings Ron Wilkins, Chubasco, Barber

Post Reply
Aznguyy
Posts: 362
Joined: Tue May 01, 2018 2:44 pm

Giddings Ron Wilkins, Chubasco, Barber

Post by Aznguyy »

Anyone play on these? Would it be safe to say the rim size of these pieces are around the size of:
Ron- 6.75/6.5 size
Chubasco- 6.75
Barber- 11
Cup size and bore size?
Yeah, I read the specs and description but I feel it's better to hear from people that has experience playing these.

thanks all!
JLivi
Posts: 661
Joined: Thu May 10, 2018 4:24 pm
Location: Chicago, IL
Contact:

Re: Giddings Ron Wilkins, Chubasco, Barber

Post by JLivi »

I recently bought a Chubasco and find it to be similar to a 6.75.

My main mouthpiece is AR 25.10 (6.75 sized) and the Chubasco is the closest mouthpiece I've played to the AR (rim & cup).
King 2b+
King 3b
King 3b(f)
Conn 79h
Kanstul 1585
Olds O-21 Marching Trombone (Flugabone)
Aznguyy
Posts: 362
Joined: Tue May 01, 2018 2:44 pm

Re: Giddings Ron Wilkins, Chubasco, Barber

Post by Aznguyy »

JLivi wrote: Fri May 08, 2020 9:38 pm I recently bought a Chubasco and find it to be similar to a 6.75.

My main mouthpiece is AR 25.10 (6.75 sized) and the Chubasco is the closest mouthpiece I've played to the AR (rim & cup).
Good to know. The Chubasco is the first on my list to try. Is the cup size pretty much the same with you AR?
JLivi
Posts: 661
Joined: Thu May 10, 2018 4:24 pm
Location: Chicago, IL
Contact:

Re: Giddings Ron Wilkins, Chubasco, Barber

Post by JLivi »

Aznguyy wrote: Sat May 09, 2020 9:53 pm Good to know. The Chubasco is the first on my list to try. Is the cup size pretty much the same with you AR?
I'm not 100% sure that I have this correct, but here's what I noticed.

The rim of the AR feels and looks to be a tiny bit wider than the Chubasco, but the GW cup is wider than the AR.

I compared both pieces to a Schilke 47c4 (24.99mm rim according to HIckeys) I had in a drawer. The Schilke is definitely smaller in every way. Hopefully this helps. I wish I had a 7c or 6.75c to compare everything to.
King 2b+
King 3b
King 3b(f)
Conn 79h
Kanstul 1585
Olds O-21 Marching Trombone (Flugabone)
Posaunus
Posts: 3424
Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2018 9:54 pm
Location: California

Re: Giddings Ron Wilkins, Chubasco, Barber

Post by Posaunus »

Giddings Chubasco is a wonderful mouthpiece. Bigger cup than Schilke 47 or Bach 6¾C, regardless of published specs.

Haven't tried a Wilkins or Barber (but am willing to).
JLivi
Posts: 661
Joined: Thu May 10, 2018 4:24 pm
Location: Chicago, IL
Contact:

Re: Giddings Ron Wilkins, Chubasco, Barber

Post by JLivi »

Just curious, what do you play on now?

One mouthpiece that I'm definitely interested in is the GWC 101. But I'm going to mess with the Chubasco for now, and maybe when I start working again I'll pick up the GWC 101.
King 2b+
King 3b
King 3b(f)
Conn 79h
Kanstul 1585
Olds O-21 Marching Trombone (Flugabone)
Aznguyy
Posts: 362
Joined: Tue May 01, 2018 2:44 pm

Re: Giddings Ron Wilkins, Chubasco, Barber

Post by Aznguyy »

JLivi wrote: Sun May 10, 2020 9:42 am Just curious, what do you play on now?

One mouthpiece that I'm definitely interested in is the GWC 101. But I'm going to mess with the Chubasco for now, and maybe when I start working again I'll pick up the GWC 101.
I’m currently playing on an AR Alan Kaplan S.
I just want something with a little more room without getting anything bigger than a 6.75
size.
I also just went ahead and ordered a Chubasco. I figured why not since I have time to try it at the moment.
Aznguyy
Posts: 362
Joined: Tue May 01, 2018 2:44 pm

Re: Giddings Ron Wilkins, Chubasco, Barber

Post by Aznguyy »

Just got the Chubasco in today.
First impressions and notes is that if feels good. Size and rim feels comfortable. Cup is obviously bigger than my AR Alan Kaplan so sound is also bigger but not wide like my 25.4V+ cup. Good feel in terms of resistance on my .508 horn but is a little more open than the 43 shank. I don't this would replace my AR AK, but It would be good in some situations. This makes me want to get a 25.1 in stainless steel though....

ps... the frost finish looks amazing! Definitely going to have some plans to send it back for the dragon's breath treatment.
TromboneMonkey
Posts: 223
Joined: Fri May 11, 2018 9:58 am

Re: Giddings Ron Wilkins, Chubasco, Barber

Post by TromboneMonkey »

Hey Ken,

Glad you're still using the AK! I think the Chocolatero and Chubasco are the two most "balanced" Giddings pieces I've tried on my horns. The Bacchus and GWC 958 and 100 (didn't you also buy that one off me?) all both great, as well, but I've found most of their other pieces unbalanced for me.

What are you going for? I might be able to tell you if any of the pieces I've gone through recently would be something you should look into.
Aznguyy
Posts: 362
Joined: Tue May 01, 2018 2:44 pm

Re: Giddings Ron Wilkins, Chubasco, Barber

Post by Aznguyy »

TromboneMonkey wrote: Sat May 16, 2020 5:11 am Hey Ken,

Glad you're still using the AK! I think the Chocolatero and Chubasco are the two most "balanced" Giddings pieces I've tried on my horns. The Bacchus and GWC 958 and 100 (didn't you also buy that one off me?) all both great, as well, but I've found most of their other pieces unbalanced for me.

What are you going for? I might be able to tell you if any of the pieces I've gone through recently would be something you should look into.
For awhile I was playing on the AR 25.4 sized pieces and the sound was getting a little too wide. I wanted to keep it a little more compact while keeping the warm round sound of the bigger piece. I found a nice balance and sound with the AK piece but it was really easy to get "hot" on that piece if I didn't watch it. The Chubasco seems to be working out great so far with the extra room; bigger than the AK but not as big as the 25.4. I'm probably just dialing in my chops to the that sweet spot in the middle(wish I didn't sell my AR 25.1 now....)

When I was younger, I did try the other pieces from Giddings but never ventured smaller than the Chubasco for an extended time(yes I tried the Chubasco before but it was seriously 10 yrs ago). I think I tried a Barber and Bacchus but don't remember much about it. The Chocolatero did cross my mind but the specs were too close to the AK. I do remember trying the GWC100 and not liking it for sure.

What's your take on the Barber? How about the Chocolatero?
TromboneMonkey
Posts: 223
Joined: Fri May 11, 2018 9:58 am

Re: Giddings Ron Wilkins, Chubasco, Barber

Post by TromboneMonkey »

The Barber doesn't feel balanced to me for some reason; very squirrely and hard to center. The Choc is probably my favorite stainless mouthpiece out there. Feels about like an 11c; wonderfully balanced (the one I used to own, anyway).

Ben Griffin and I had a long discussion about the struggle between the 11-ish pieces and the 6.5-ish pieces. It's real! The only solution that's worked for me are Doug's mouthpieces, but Ben said he's found success by having an 11c threaded for a 6.5 rim. If the apocalypse ever ends I might have a mouthpiece threaded for a Reeves Clarke rim. The Clarke is by far my most comfortable piece but like you said-- too wide sounding.

I have (another) 25.1 top I can sell you if you're interested :-p . Also have a Rath S 61/2 and a Warb pre-fire 11mT5, all of which are .99"-1" with narrower throats than a 6.5.
Aznguyy
Posts: 362
Joined: Tue May 01, 2018 2:44 pm

Re: Giddings Ron Wilkins, Chubasco, Barber

Post by Aznguyy »

Funny you mention the Reeve’s mouthpiece, I remember the Reeves 11c was a great piece that I regretted selling. I think that was around the time I wanted to fully commit to a 6.5 size pieces.... but here we are again...
I’m eventually going to want to try a Chocolatero but right now I’m going to stick with the Chubasco for a bit. I really remember trying a Barber awhile back but something just wasn’t right about it and I let it go as quick as I got it.
Tempting on the 25.1 but I need to sell some of my current unused pieces first.
JLivi
Posts: 661
Joined: Thu May 10, 2018 4:24 pm
Location: Chicago, IL
Contact:

Re: Giddings Ron Wilkins, Chubasco, Barber

Post by JLivi »

It's great to read this thread, because I thought I was the only one with the issue of the 25.4mm (6.5 sized) being too big.

I mentioned in an earlier post that i played on a 25.1, but i forgot to mention that my back bore is a 43, but it's an AK. So its shorter in comparison to the normal AR backbones. That opened up the high register for me. I struggled on my original AR setup anything above high F was too resistant. And once I switched to the AK (shorter) back bore the high range opened up.
King 2b+
King 3b
King 3b(f)
Conn 79h
Kanstul 1585
Olds O-21 Marching Trombone (Flugabone)
Klimchak
Posts: 321
Joined: Sat Mar 24, 2018 7:38 am

Re: Giddings Ron Wilkins, Chubasco, Barber

Post by Klimchak »

I just picked up a Chubasco and really like it. Had I known it was the size around 6.75 to 6.5, as opposed to the published specs, I would have tried it a long time ago. Works better than both the Watters, Wilkins, and the GWC100. I never really liked the rim on the GWC100, too wide, and the newer Watters shape is super-rounded. The Chubasco hits the narrow rim, but flattish, that seems to work well for me. I also like the compactness that I could never get out of 6.5 variants......and I have tried a lot of them.
Aznguyy
Posts: 362
Joined: Tue May 01, 2018 2:44 pm

Re: Giddings Ron Wilkins, Chubasco, Barber

Post by Aznguyy »

Klimchak wrote: Wed Jun 10, 2020 2:24 pm I just picked up a Chubasco and really like it. Had I known it was the size around 6.75 to 6.5, as opposed to the published specs, I would have tried it a long time ago. Works better than both the Watters, Wilkins, and the GWC100. I never really liked the rim on the GWC100, too wide, and the newer Watters shape is super-rounded. The Chubasco hits the narrow rim, but flattish, that seems to work well for me. I also like the compactness that I could never get out of 6.5 variants......and I have tried a lot of them.
I agree, the published specs never match up to when you actually try the piece. One example is the Sonny Ausman Large bore piece. I thought it would be pretty small and tight playing based on the specs but it actually plays really well. Deeper cup yet, but the back bore really helps balance it out. The rim is also flatter and very comfortable.

Back to the Chubasco... I've played on it for three week and agrees with everything you all are saying. It plays really nice, balanced and also very comfortable. I can safely say I don't need to go back to the 6.5 size for normal rotation but I'll still keep one in the case for the unexpected legit gigs.

Chris, how long ago was the Watter piece changed? I played on one 7-8 years ago on a King 3B and just remember it being really really open feeling.
Klimchak
Posts: 321
Joined: Sat Mar 24, 2018 7:38 am

Re: Giddings Ron Wilkins, Chubasco, Barber

Post by Klimchak »

The original (bulb-shaped outside) had a wider extremely flat rim. This would have been when GW first started out and Watters was one of the first trombone endorsers, 15 or so years ago. Rim was too flat and wide for me. Articulated great, but cut down on flexibility. When the current version came out, it felt like they took the complete opposite approach with it and made the rim completely rounded with little-to-no flattish areas to help support the chops. Sort of liked the way they play, but the rim had the opposite effect for me. I like the feel of stainless steel, and I have tried the watters a number of times, but it never worked for me for any length of time. The chubasco, at this point, really seems to work for me. The least amount of compromises that I have had to deal with in a mouthpiece.
Post Reply

Return to “Mouthpieces”