Blokepiece trials and repair
Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2021 1:58 pm
So this past Saturday, I made the trek down to Bloke-place to try out some mouthpieces and have some work done on 2 trombones (that my oldest used while in HS) and 2 tubas (my Kalison and my youngest son's 186 BBb).
Those of you who know Joe, know he will be honest with you on what he hears when you are trying out mouthpieces. So I had a trusted set of ears to back up my impressions. I ended up purchasing a Symphony with a 32.9mm #2 rim. It was close with the Orchestra Grand and my normal mouthpiece on my Kalison DS... but the Symphony really had the edge in resonance on my horn. Heard clearly from both sides of the bell. I think on the 186 the Orchestra Grand would have been the direction to go, but I was just looking for a match for my horn and not my son's 186 BBb. The various choices that Dave Houser and Joe provide in putting together a mouthpiece to fit any individual on any horn are really impressive. If you can get in and try them or (when things get back to closer to normal and there are actually conferences and such) give them a shot. When you get the right combination dialed in it gives a good balance of bass and clarity and clears up any fuzziness.
Now on to the repairs. The level of craftsmanship exhibited by Joe is FANTASTIC and most definitely worth the drive! Please don't take that as a knock on other instrument repairmen... it's just a statement refelective of the exceptional level of work done by Joe. I'm a brass guy so I deal with Joe, but I understand Debbie is just as good with the woodwinds. Personally, I find it extremely interesting observing the process of the repair and seeing Joe utilize his skills. Like improvising parts from things he has laying around and fabricating them by hand to such a high standard that you can't tell it wasn't a manufactured replacement. So in short, if you've got an instrument in need of repair, a trip down to Mid-South Music should be on your radar. You will not be disappointed.
Those of you who know Joe, know he will be honest with you on what he hears when you are trying out mouthpieces. So I had a trusted set of ears to back up my impressions. I ended up purchasing a Symphony with a 32.9mm #2 rim. It was close with the Orchestra Grand and my normal mouthpiece on my Kalison DS... but the Symphony really had the edge in resonance on my horn. Heard clearly from both sides of the bell. I think on the 186 the Orchestra Grand would have been the direction to go, but I was just looking for a match for my horn and not my son's 186 BBb. The various choices that Dave Houser and Joe provide in putting together a mouthpiece to fit any individual on any horn are really impressive. If you can get in and try them or (when things get back to closer to normal and there are actually conferences and such) give them a shot. When you get the right combination dialed in it gives a good balance of bass and clarity and clears up any fuzziness.
Now on to the repairs. The level of craftsmanship exhibited by Joe is FANTASTIC and most definitely worth the drive! Please don't take that as a knock on other instrument repairmen... it's just a statement refelective of the exceptional level of work done by Joe. I'm a brass guy so I deal with Joe, but I understand Debbie is just as good with the woodwinds. Personally, I find it extremely interesting observing the process of the repair and seeing Joe utilize his skills. Like improvising parts from things he has laying around and fabricating them by hand to such a high standard that you can't tell it wasn't a manufactured replacement. So in short, if you've got an instrument in need of repair, a trip down to Mid-South Music should be on your radar. You will not be disappointed.