Copying Shanks/Backbores -- Can it be done?

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TromboneMonkey
Posts: 223
Joined: Fri May 11, 2018 9:58 am

Copying Shanks/Backbores -- Can it be done?

Post by TromboneMonkey »

I am interested if anyone knows about the nature of how mouthpieces are copied and why it is so hard to copy shanks/backbores.

I have several "same-model" iterations of different brands of mouthpiece and several copies of good mouthpieces that have wildly different shanks than the originals.

Warburton and Marcinkiewicz are for the most part VERY consistent, but when I was at the last ATW I noticed that my T3* shank (an older one) and the newer ones were visibly different in terms of wall thickness I ended up trying a T5* that was more similar to my T3* than the new T3*s were. I noticed the same difference between these two "identical" Marcinkiewicz pieces:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/CuegCWbXVDB5wJh47

The pictured pieces, in particular, are interesting because they feel identical on the face but blow differently. I consider myself a 7.5/10 on the "sensitive to mouthpiece differences" scale, and don't think they're different when I place them. But when I blow them, the one with the thinner wall is much freer and more nimble. It also seats better in the leadpipe, which actually makes me nervous about even putting the thicker one in my horn.

So what gives? Why is it so difficult to copy backbores and shanks? I think (and someone who makes mouthpieces can correct me on this) that this is where most "copies" fail to reproduce the effects of the originals (for good or for bad; I'm not criticizing here). I might end up posting for a Marcink of the era of the left-pictured piece for that reason-- the newer ones just aren't the same in the backbore. Why is this?
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Doug Elliott
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Location: Maryand

Re: Copying Shanks/Backbores -- Can it be done?

Post by Doug Elliott »

You're not really talking about "copying," you're taking about consistency. Differences can be accidental or intentional. Or modifications somebody else did.
"I know a thing or two because I've seen a thing or two."
Elow
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Joined: Mon Mar 02, 2020 6:18 am

Re: Copying Shanks/Backbores -- Can it be done?

Post by Elow »

A good bit are modified. About once a month one of the kids from the local college that has a good band program brings in a mouthpiece asking for us to “open it up”. We tell them they might not like the results but they still go for it. It normally turns out they keep wanting bigger and bigger until it plays terribly.
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