I thought I would share my thoughts on the Mercer and Barker GW3 Mouthpiece that I acquired a couple of weeks ago.
There seems to be very little about the mouthpieces unless it’s from artist who are brand ambassadors. I found it hard to find much out about the mouthpieces and the differences other than the basic information on the website. I had been considering one of the Mercer and Barker mouthpieces for some time but the lack of reviews and the price kept putting me off. Hopefully my findings will help anyone else who’s unsure about taking the plunge.
A little bit of my background: I started playing Euphonium (moving from Baritone) when I was 14. I was in a Colliery Brass Band in the UK. At 16 I joined the British Army as a musician. Due to no vacancies for Euphonium I learnt to play clarinet and saxophone before I was able to fill a vacancy on Eb Tuba. Whilst playing Tuba I attended the Royal Military School of Music - Kneller Hall. I was at Kneller Hall for a year where I received tuition from Patrick Harrild (Principal Tuba with the London Symphony Orchestra). I left the army band after 8 years and went on to a completely different career.
About 5 years ago and started to play Euphonium again in a local brass band. It was alien at first but after several months began to feel familiar, although at times frustrating no longer being able to play pieces of music I could play years ago.
During the last 5 years I have struggled to find a mouthpiece which felt right to me. I found a Wick 3AL to be the most comfortable on my face but didn’t particularly like the tubby sound I could hear as the player. I swapped to a SM3 ultra which gave better articulation but still the same tubby sound. The SM4 Ultra gave more of the sound I wanted but I found it hard work and just couldn’t get used to the feel of the smaller mouthpiece. I tried a SM4 also but just didn’t like the mouthpiece at all.
This is where the Mercer and Barker GW3 comes in. I find the mouthpiece to be very comfortable on my face. The rim feels quite narrow compared to the Wick mouthpieces but still comfortable and doesn’t cut in like the Ultra 3 did. Articulation feels precise and slotting of notes feels accurate. But the main thing for me is the sound. As the player it feels open and warm without any of the tubby feeling that previous mouthpieces of this size have given. The higher range really sings. I don’t know if it’s the rim feeling narrower but jumping between the lower and higher ranges feels easier. It feels like there’s more room to change your embouchure quickly.
The mouthpiece feels welll made and it is certainly worth considering the Mercer and Barker range if you are in the market for a new mouthpiece.
Please note that I have no affiliation with Mercer and Barker and my post is purely my own findings.
There seems to be very little about the mouthpieces unless it’s from artist who are brand ambassadors. I found it hard to find much out about the mouthpieces and the differences other than the basic information on the website. I had been considering one of the Mercer and Barker mouthpieces for some time but the lack of reviews and the price kept putting me off. Hopefully my findings will help anyone else who’s unsure about taking the plunge.
A little bit of my background: I started playing Euphonium (moving from Baritone) when I was 14. I was in a Colliery Brass Band in the UK. At 16 I joined the British Army as a musician. Due to no vacancies for Euphonium I learnt to play clarinet and saxophone before I was able to fill a vacancy on Eb Tuba. Whilst playing Tuba I attended the Royal Military School of Music - Kneller Hall. I was at Kneller Hall for a year where I received tuition from Patrick Harrild (Principal Tuba with the London Symphony Orchestra). I left the army band after 8 years and went on to a completely different career.
About 5 years ago and started to play Euphonium again in a local brass band. It was alien at first but after several months began to feel familiar, although at times frustrating no longer being able to play pieces of music I could play years ago.
During the last 5 years I have struggled to find a mouthpiece which felt right to me. I found a Wick 3AL to be the most comfortable on my face but didn’t particularly like the tubby sound I could hear as the player. I swapped to a SM3 ultra which gave better articulation but still the same tubby sound. The SM4 Ultra gave more of the sound I wanted but I found it hard work and just couldn’t get used to the feel of the smaller mouthpiece. I tried a SM4 also but just didn’t like the mouthpiece at all.
This is where the Mercer and Barker GW3 comes in. I find the mouthpiece to be very comfortable on my face. The rim feels quite narrow compared to the Wick mouthpieces but still comfortable and doesn’t cut in like the Ultra 3 did. Articulation feels precise and slotting of notes feels accurate. But the main thing for me is the sound. As the player it feels open and warm without any of the tubby feeling that previous mouthpieces of this size have given. The higher range really sings. I don’t know if it’s the rim feeling narrower but jumping between the lower and higher ranges feels easier. It feels like there’s more room to change your embouchure quickly.
The mouthpiece feels welll made and it is certainly worth considering the Mercer and Barker range if you are in the market for a new mouthpiece.
Please note that I have no affiliation with Mercer and Barker and my post is purely my own findings.
This post first appeared on Euphonium-Tuba And General Music Forums - Recent B, please read the originial post: here
