I'm mainly a tenor trombone player. My daily driver is King 3b. I also double on bass trombone, but mostly just play 2-3 big band gigs a year and teach 1-2x's per week on bass.
I'm looking to possibly purchase a Greg Black 1 3/8G, but was curious about weights. I know what weight would do and feel like for my tenor, but I'm not good enough at bass to truly know what it would do for my bass playing.
Any idea on what a lightweight vs regular weight would do to the overall feel and sound? Same thing as tenor? How would I know what I need?
I wish Greg had his weights listed on his website. That'd be helpful.
Greg Black weight for bass trombone
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Greg Black weight for bass trombone
King 2b+
King 3b
King 3b(f)
Conn 79h
Kanstul 1585
Olds O-21 Marching Trombone (Flugabone)
King 3b
King 3b(f)
Conn 79h
Kanstul 1585
Olds O-21 Marching Trombone (Flugabone)
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Re: Greg Black weight for bass trombone
All things being equal, the effect should be similar. More weight helps slotting and stability of notes. Some people will feel their sound is brighter with a lighter mouthpiece, while others will feel their sound is darker. What the effect is out in the hall can only be determined by a good recording or some trustworthy listeners.
Kenneth Biggs
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- Burgerbob
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Re: Greg Black weight for bass trombone
Start with a regular.
Aidan Ritchie, LA area player and teacher
- dukesboneman
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Re: Greg Black weight for bass trombone
Last January I met Greg and tried a bunch of his mouthpieces.
I had never played or seen one before. At the time I was casually looking for a Different Bass mouthpiece.
I tried a couple and wasn`t excited enough to pay the price. But I kept coming back to his booth
We were at the Florida Music Educators Conference. The last time I stopped by the booth, Greg ask me to grab a Bass from the Shires Booth next door. and he handed me a mouthpiece and was told not to look at it, just play it.
For the 1st time I had the Bass Trombone sound I liked and control up and down the horn.
It was a 1 3/8GM. Medium weight. I wouldn`t want the heavy weight model but the Medium feels and sounds great to me
I had never played or seen one before. At the time I was casually looking for a Different Bass mouthpiece.
I tried a couple and wasn`t excited enough to pay the price. But I kept coming back to his booth
We were at the Florida Music Educators Conference. The last time I stopped by the booth, Greg ask me to grab a Bass from the Shires Booth next door. and he handed me a mouthpiece and was told not to look at it, just play it.
For the 1st time I had the Bass Trombone sound I liked and control up and down the horn.
It was a 1 3/8GM. Medium weight. I wouldn`t want the heavy weight model but the Medium feels and sounds great to me
- BigBadandBass
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Re: Greg Black weight for bass trombone
Fwiw I played a regular for a bit, went and did a blind trial at ATW. Ended up with the medium, wouldn’t have been my pic, always been a lightweight player but I’ve played this since. I’d start with a regular blindly and try and see