“The Bach 1C megatone is a very good trumpet mouthpiece for large lips”
Best Trumpet Mouthpiece For Thick / Large Lips
What is the best trumpet mouthpiece for big lips?
We all come in different sizes, and having large and thick lips should by no means be an obstacle for becoming a great trumpet player. There are thousands and thousands of trumpet virtuosos out there with large lips, and they are doing just fine…
…some of them do indeed need bigger mouthpieces, but not all of them. You see, it also depends on what kind of chop setting we are using.
That said, before you start messing around with your embouchure, it is indeed better to look for a suitable trumpet mouthpiece for thick lips…
…assuming your embouchure is working fine, of course.
The Best Trumpet Mouthpiece For Big Lips
I consider the Bach 1c megatone to be a very good mouthpiece for trumpet players with large lips. You can click here to read real user reviews on Amazon, as you’ll find feedback from trumpet players with thick lips over there.
The Bach company is one of the most well-known brass manufactures. They have been around for decades, and their brass instruments, as well as brass mouthpieces, are amongst the absolute best you can find on the market.
They are very consistent in quality and, unlike the newer and cheaper brands that are popping up left and right, you know what you’ll get when ordering a Bach mouthpiece…
…I do NOT recommend buying one of those new, cheap brands, under 20 dollar mouthpieces, that you can find on eBay!
Why The Bach 1c Megatone Is a Good Mouthpiece For Trumpet Players With Thick Lips
I myself have pretty large lips, and I did play on a Bach 1c for a couple of years. It was great at the time, but I have since then changed my embouchure so I now play in a way that requires a smaller mouthpiece…
…that said, at the time I was using a very common “chop setting” and it is with confidence I can say that, if you have bigger lips, and are struggling with your current mouthpiece, the Bach 1c will probably help you significantly.
The Bach 1c Megatone is a good mouthpiece for big lips because the rim diameter is fairly large, 17.00 mm, and the cup is pretty big, making plenty of room for the trumpeter.
On top of that the added mass on the megatone version, will help with endurance, because of the more focused tone. If you want to dig deeper into why added mass helps with endurance, I talk more about that physical phenomena in my article The best trumpet mouthpiece for endurance.
Here are the Bach Megatone 1C specs:
- For trumpeters with bit “thicker” lips
- Heavy version
- Fairly large cup
- Cup diameter: 17.00 mm
- Medium-wide rim
- Backbore: 10
- Silver plated
- A bit lighter and more brilliant in tone than the model 1B
Now, you should know that there are bigger trumpet mouthpieces out there. For example the Bach 1 (without any letter after it) and there are also a lot of other brands, making bigger mouthpieces than the Bach 1C…
…however, even though you might have big lips, I do not recommend you go for the absolute biggest one. If you do, you might be shooting yourself in the foot…
…Why?
Here’s the deal!
There are two schools of thought, when it comes to selecting a good trumpet mouthpiece:
- Choose the biggest mouthpiece you are able to play, and stick with that.
- Choose the smallest mouthpiece you are able to play, and stick with that.
We all have to find a size that is suitable for us, that’s a given, but there is always 2-3 different sizes within the “golden size range” that a trumpeter can use without feeling very uncomfortable…
…and it is my belief that we we should choose the smallest one out of those.
Don’t Go For The Absolute Biggest Mouthpiece!
If you have big lips, the Bach 1c is most likely going to be a very good fit for you. Again, we want to choose the smaller one of the big ones, and chances are that’s the 1c.
“The smaller one of the big ones” means that it might take a bit more time to get used to, but it will pay huge dividends in the long run, in form of much better endurance, better control and general playing capability.
So, even if you have very large lips, and are tempted to go for the biggest trumpet mouthpiece ever made, I would advice AGAINST that, and recommend you try the Bach 1c megatone first. Even if you have very thick lips, I believe that the Bach 1c may be exactly in that “golden size window” for you.
You can click here to check the current pricing over at Amazon. There is a box where you choose the size of the mouthpiece over there, so just make sure to select the 1c.
Some Other Things That Might Help
So after having found a good trumpet mouthpiece for large lips, there are some other things we might consider putting a little time on.
Now, of course you should only do this if you still feel that you are struggling, because as the saying goes…
…”if it ain’t broke don’t fix it!”
Regardless of lip size, it is pretty common that trumpet players tend to put too much chops into the cup of the mouthpiece. This will hinder the trumpeter to progress in all aspects of trumpet playing…
…and, of course, putting too much chops into the cup, will be especially detrimental for trumpeters that have large, or thick lips.
The solution to this is setting up the chops in a way that is optimal for vibration.
In this video the good Charlie Porter explains how to set the chops in a way that is very efficient, and at the same time, helps with everything I just talked about…
…he explains it VERY WELL, so please, grab a cup of coffee and really take your time to watch the whole video…
The Best Trumpet Mouthpiece For Large Lips Conclusion and Final Words
So there you have it, to sum it all up, here is what I would do if I were you…
- Start by ordering the Bach 1c Megatone, click here to check the price on Amazon, and give it a good try for several weeks.
- If that does not help at all, then consider doing what Charlie Porter explain in the video above.
- If you still struggle after this, then, and only then, try an even bigger mouthpiece, like for example the Schilke 24…but again, do not, I repeat, do NOT start with the Shilke 24.
Alright, thank you for reading this article about trumpet mouthpieces and lip size. I hope it was informative, and don’t hesitate to leave questions in the comment section below, if there is something on your mind.