Posted by: Graham
Email: ghouse2@unl.edu
Date Posted: August 14, 2004
Subject: Re: Cups 22 and 22A
The only problem I encountered was that in my chamber ensemble the woodwind players remarked that even when I was playing soft, the sound was too big.
Then I got a 22A, which at the time was a fraction smaller in the throat than the current model. I certainly could control the volume, and "largeness" of the sound, but I felt that the pendulum had perhaps swung a bit too far. So...I had our local horn specialist drill out the throat just a small amount (one drill bit size larger than the existing hole). The result worked for me.
I understand that the 22A that I bought came with a 4.7 mm throat. The new ones are, I believe 4.8mm.
As far as the differences between the 22 and 22A, I would say that if your a big fellow that blows a large volume of air throiugh the horn all the time and you play mostly orchestral music or mostly loud music, then a 22 would be a good choice. If you want more control and ability to compress your sound to blend with woodwinds or strings, then a 22A might be a better fit.
Either way, I find the 22 cup to be a good compromise, or overall mouthpiece. It has a good solid core for the midrange, feels like a zingy, shallow mouthpiece when you play high, but opens up nicely to project the pedal tones when you need them.
The only other thing I would say is that you can always drill out a smaller mouthpiece, but you can't make a big mouthpiece smaller.