CL v CV v GH what’s the difference?

“Alright Alex” you may pose - “why do you make 3 medium ish 13 bore cups, all with a conical bore?”*  And as a follow up - “you must hate yourself as a product manager…”

First off- you’re right, I wish I could stock only one of the three.  It would be easier, I could give you a clear answer on what to buy and it would bring at-a-glance clarity to the product line. Sadly it’s not that simple since all 3 have unique strengths and weaknesses.

Let’s start with the obvious, the CL and CV start with a C and the GH starts with a G, why?  Well the G series is our “Geyer” family of mouthpieces and are tuned specifically for small throat, yellow brass horns.**  It works fine on Schmidt or 6D wraps too but it doesn’t work well on things with really big throats or with heavy bells.  The nature of how it changes color as the volume increases is pretty particular about how the horn is going to respond to it so it really can’t carry a C-series designation.

With regards to response and sound color, CL stands apart.  The attacks are extremely clear and begin with a distinct “ping” and the sustain has a more clean sound.  It’s the brightest of the three and would be best summed up as “clean, clear, and responsive”.  It’s been likened to the a digital high-fi recording when the CV tends more towards that “vinyl” sound.  It’s also got enormous cutting power when you need to project.

The CV is an intriguing mix of smooth and stable - two attributes that can be at odds, especially in a lightweight mouthpiece.  Instead of responding to every micro change in playing the CV sets up a stable base and asks you to draw and shape out the phrasing with a deliberate, intentional gesture.  It also plays with a lush, warm sound.  At fff the CV makes enough brightness to project with a full, rich sound, though it can be harder to stand out of the texture when the trumpets and trombones are at full gas than on the CL.

To a CV player the CL might feel wild, lacking control, and play with too cold a sound.  To a CL player, the CV might be slow and lacking clarity.  A pro might legitimately prefer either, with maybe a few more preferring the CL, but an amateur or beginner will almost surely prefer the CV.

The GH is in the same vein as the CV but takes everything up a notch.  It’s even smoother, with a more open back bore and at quiet dynamics it has an extremely warm glow.  At high dynamics though it transforms, adding a bright sheen to the sound.  It weights physically more than the other two adding in additional stability, making this one of the smoothest, most controllable mouthpieces we make.  The sound is also less “noisy” than the CV.  At quiet dynamics that manifests as a purer sound that can be shaped into a dense core or a diffuse glow as the situation demands, where the CV tends to hold onto that core more.   It’s also what makes it problematic on darker, larger throat horns where the natural darkness overwhelms the ability to shape the sound.  At fff the sound condenses into a formidable wall, blending well but giving enough top end to stand out.  The GH is particularly a winner on horns that feel too “tight and bright” as some Geyers tend to.

On my particular instrument I prefer the GH - it’s a naturally bright original Geyer and I like the ability to add some glow to quiet passages and the particularly elegant high range it gives (again on my specific instrument).  The CL gives incredible response and accuracy but my air stability in quiet passages isn’t my strongest point and I can find it hard to dial back to a true ppp.  The CV works great too but the GH just has a little more dynamic range to work with.

TLDR: If you don’t have a Geyer decide between the CV for warmth or the CL for clarity.   If you do have a Geyer style horn, the GH could be the Goldilocks “just right” between them.

* Yes the CL is conical, but the bowl-shaped upper cup gives it a unique playing character among the conical bore family so we don’t emphasize it as much.

** My original Geyer is actually Nickel Silver but that’s not exactly common…