"Famous Name Brand" mouthpiece.
...and why you should avoid themOf course not every one of the brand name pieces will suffer from bad construction. If you have the time to go to a music store featuring many mouthpieces (yeah right!?!) and play a wide sampling of new mouthpieces you can usually find several that play well. BUT - sometimes you don't have that luxury because of money or location, so you get one like this:
Uneven rails - can be major factor creating squeaking.
You can see the machining lines indicating a machined facing.
Many of the older jazz artists used to reface their own mouthpieces and there used to be many refacers in the US. Then in the 60's, most of this art went away and now most everything is mass-produced. They are faced on a machine - look at the table of a machined mouthpiece and you will see the grooves. These manufacturers simply cannot afford to pay attention to every single mouthpiece - I DO.
In order for mouthpieces to function properly, they must have several key qualities: they must have perfectly flat tables and their lay schedule must follow a steady curve. The side rails should be symmetrical in size and how they relate to the facing. Many of the big companies get it close but then your embouchure has to make up for the asymmetry.
When cutting the mouthpiece material (whether brass or hard rubber) most manufacturers use machines because they can then turn out more product rapidly. The trouble is - these materials have memory to some extent and will rebound especially if there is any heat build up. I flatten the table with tedious strokes on a flat granite slab. Tedious? Yes, but the only way to do it right.
My mouthpieces use a facing curve that I have found to be very free-blowing. This means you can concentrate on the notes you play instead of working to get a sound out of the horn. These are very minute changes that can only be measured with precise instruments with time and attention, but they make all the difference in the world. -PS
