Taking on the legend - the LGR vs the Model H
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For decades the collaboration of Lowell Greer & Tom Greer to create the Moosewood LGR set the standard for historic horn mouthpieces. A copy of an original Raoux but updated to work with giardinelli threads, it's long been a favorite of many players for it's good response, great color in hand stopping and flexibility across many lengths and designs of instrument.
Unfortunately neither of the Greers is still with us; they were both legends in their fields - Lowell almost-single-handedly revived interest in historical performance in the US and left a discography of hauntingly beautiful renditions of the Mozart concertos & the Brahms trio. Tom's mouthpieces were world renowned.
Their passing leaves a hole today - a modern, well-constructed, 2-piece Giardinelli mouthpiece for historic performance, available in whatever shank your horn is using.
We here at Strachan Brass never shy away from a challenge. Make a cup that makes an Alex blend with a section of Geyers while still playing like an Alex? We've made it. Machining Titanium mouthpieces? Yeah we've done it. 3D printing? We use it for prototyping all new models.
So what does it take to take on the legend? First, amass a small collection of Moosewood LGRs to take measurements - and surprise! There was a ton of variation between the samples. So it was time to hit the source material; fortunately Dauprat left us detailed notes on mouthpieces of the day, and with modern 3D printers it was time to start prototyping. Blending the givens - cup depth, shape and bore - with what we've learned about back-bore design from the other cups we quickly arrived at a small collection of test articles. Fortunately I also happen to have my 1880s Raoux Millereau on hand for testing and a winner emerged - offered as the Strachan Brass Model H.
Take a listen; First is a harmonic series and an excerpt from the Mozart Wind Quintet in Eb. The second is a harmonic series in F with an excerpt from the Beethoven Sonata. The final is a simple harmonic series on the Bb Alto horn.
Both cups were played with the same rim back to back using the same resting hand position.
We think the results are great, and as a modern design it's available today! We want to do our part to keep historic horn a vibrant and living art and we're proud to be able to offer the Model H.
