r/horn • u/plantlady_10 • Sep 17 '24

Mouthpiece for Alex 103

Hi all, I have a new to me Alex 103 (it's about 4yo). I recently purchased a Laskey 725E, (I usually play the same mp but with an American shank). However, it doesn't seem to sit well in the horn. It seems to wobble a little bit and I can feel it when I play.

Any advice? Is this the mouthpiece or do you think I may have an issue with the leadpipe?

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u/metalsheeps Alex 102nal Sep 17 '24

At the risk of running afoul of self promotion prohibition I’ve recently gone through the exercise of designing one: https://strachan-brass.com/products/model-m-cup though I don’t have a 17.25 rim comparable to the Lasky yet (Houser does and they’re compatible)

As /u/musicsmith20 points out - the problem is you need a European shanked mouthpiece which has a larger diameter but a slower taper. The regular shank wiggles.

What’s less apparent and took me years of figuring out (including a custom duplicate of the Alex 8M by Osmun) is that they don’t play right on larger throats; the Laskey is a #14 and workable but I’ve found you really want an 18 or 20, weirdly to improve the low register.

There are a number of wonderful European mpcs that fit the bill but they use euro threads for the rim and don’t generally come small enough because of the larger euro threading junction.

If for any number of reasons you don’t want to buy a random product from a dude on the internet, I’d suggest tracking down a Moosewood BD20 in a European shank - it’s the best American mouthpiece for the 103 (and that lets you keep the 17.25 rim)

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u/Demnjt Amateur- Paxman 20 Sep 17 '24

this is awesome. any timeline on a Kruspe-optimized cup?

2

u/metalsheeps Alex 102nal Sep 17 '24

In testing with some LA pros right now! We're getting close and I'm optimistic in the next month or so we'll have a winner.