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These mouthpiece tops are part of a two piece component mouthpiece system made by Terry Warburton in Florida. These tops thread into a backbore that inserts into the trumpet receiver. Terry Warburton grew up playing trumpet, and learned mouthpiece making in Canada, then worked under Bob Giardinelli in the 1970's as he perfected his machining and design prowess. Terry is considered one of the leading mouthpiece makers of our generation.
The Warburton system lets you choose a combination of rim diameter, cup style and depth, with a backbore to best balance your sound and resistance. This flexibility means you can have the most efficient mouthpiece with which to perform in any given playing situation.
The two-piece system consists of fully interchangeable top sections and backbore sections. Due to the many demands placed upon the modern brass player, the variety of Warburton cup designs are able to produce the most desired sound in any playing idiom.
The backbore sizes compliment the cup designs and further assist in the refinement and fine-tuning of the sound. Consideration has been given even to the placement of the backbore into the receiver (amount of gap).
The Warburton system allows the player the opportunity to personally balance their equipment. This can be accomplished without the necessity of traveling to a mouthpiece maker or waiting for a mail-order custom made piece that often does not work and cannot be exchanged.
Warburton backbores are available in thirteen standard sizes for trumpet, cornet, and piccolo trumpet.
Suggested Use
Desired Sound | Try these cups |
Studio lead | ESV, ES, S, SV, or M |
Piccolo sound | S, SV, or M |
Brass quintet | M, MC, or MD |
Orchestral | MC, MD, D, or XD |
Cup Dimensions and Comparisons
Warburton Top | Cup Diameter | Cup Shape | Compare To |
2D | .680" | Deep Bowl | Bach 1B, Schilke 17D |
2MC | .680" | Medium Bowl | Schilke 17B |
2MD | .680" | Medium Deep Bowl | Schilke 17 |
3M | .670" | Medium Modified V | Giardinelli 3M |
3MC | .670" | Medium Bowl | Schilke 15B |
3MD | .670" | Medium Deep Bowl | Schilke 15, Giardinelli 3C |
4M | .660" | Medium Modified V | Bach 3D, Giardinelli 6M |
4MC | .660" | Medium Bowl | Bach 3C, Schilke 14B |
4MD | .660" | Medium Deep Bowl | Bach 2C, 5C, Schilke 14, Giardinelli 6C |
5M | .650" | Medium Modified V | Bach 6D |
5MC | .650" | Medium Bowl | Bach 6C, Schilke 12B, 13B |
5MD | .650" | Medium Deep Bowl | Bach 6, Schilke 13 |
5SV | .650" | Medium Shallow V | Bach 6E, Schilke 13A |
Cup Profiles
M - Medium depth with a modified "V" style shape. The M cup design is the most popular because it works well in all playing situations from jazz to symphonic. |
MC - Medium "bowl" shape. The MC cups could be the ultimate in bright symphonic sound! |
MD - Medium deep "bowl" shape cup that produces a rich, dark, symphonic sound. |
D - Deep "bowl" shape. This cup shape produces the fullest of symphonic sound. It is ideal for the cornet parts with its warm sound. |
SV - Medium shallow "V" style cup. This is an exceptional "high-velocity" cup for Piccolo trumpet and all upper register work |
What is your best selling Warburton mouthpiece size?
Terry Warburton writes:
Year after year the 4M is the best selling top. The #4 diameter (.660") appeals to the greatest number of trumpet players, but diameters 3 and 5 aren't far behind. The M cup is popular because of its versatility and well balanced blend of highs, mids, and lows. The best selling backbore has consistently been #7. This medium-large backbore produces full bodied sound, yet is compact enough not to fail you in the upper register.
Believe it or not, this is a frequently asked question but is founded mainly in curiosity. Don't be fooled into thinking that you will be more normal if you play a 4M/7. Choosing a Warburton mouthpiece should be based upon play-testing combinations in a logical manner. And come to think, have you ever seen a family with 2.2 kids?
Other Popular Combinations | ||
Playing Style | Top | Backbore |
Orchestral Bb | 3MD | 9* |
Band, Recital | 4MC | 8* |
Commercial Lead | 5S | KT |
Schilke Style Piccolo | 3SV, 4SV, 5SV, 5S | 10 |
Selmer Style Piccolo | 5SV | 8 |
My Warburton top and backbore are stuck together. What do I do?
Don't even think about pliers!
In almost every case an aggressive "whack" will do the trick. Grasp the mouthpiece firmly with the rim facing up. Use a rawhide mallet or wooden clave to strike the top surface of the rim. If these are not handy, use a scrap piece of wood or a wooden hammer handle. The wood cannot dent the solid brass, so be sure and strike hard. In most cases the components will now unscrew easily by hand, but may occasionally need some additional gripping power. The best I have found for this task are rubber tourniquet strips. Lid grippers are also okay. We have not found any wax or grease than can guarantee to prevent your parts from sticking together. The best way to avoid a problem is to unscrew them regularly.