Pizka Mouthpiece - Pizka Mundstück

Pizka Classic ®

(all prices plus 16% tax for customers within the EU European Union, 19% from Jan.1st 2007).

The Viennese type mouthpieces are of a wider bore (5,0 mms), have a very narrow rim with a soft inner edge. There is no cup inside, as all the inner wall is straight, to make the mouthpiece full taper, the real funnel type mouthpiece. The inside diameter is about 17.5 mms, the classical dimension. This type of mouthpiece is the continuation of the classical horn mouthpiece.

Be aware that the rim is really narrow, but it does not "bite" as the edges are carefully softened.   All mouthpieces are precisely the same, as all is made by computer command machines. All mouthpieces are inspected by myself personally.

It allows the velvet sound, the beautiful natural slurs, gliding from harmonic to harmonic. It is the best mouthpiece for the use with the natural horn & the hunting horn. I recommend it for all horn players. It fits as well for the Viennese Horn as it improves the sound quality on the double horn. It has cured many damaged embouchures because of its less resistance against the tone production, less than other mouthpieces. The extreme thin rim prevents from pressing too much, otherwise killing the embouchure. The regular metal is yellow brass but heavy silver plated or gold plated.

The mouthpiece is available in only two versions: 
1) thinner (regular) shaft: to fit any regular leadpipe. (Zero morse taper), fits also Alexander  Horns & Paxmans

2) very thick shaft: to fit extreme wide old Pumpenhorn crooks from the   past (some few pieces left)

The narrow shaft fits the American zero morse taper requirements.

Prices:
Brass, silver plated EURO € 55.-  

gold plated EURO € 80.-
net price plus VAT 16% within the European Union/ 19% VAT from Jan.1st, 2007.

orders from overseas do not require paying VAT, but will be charged with the costs for registered mail EURO 2.25 and the actual shipping costs of around 5.75 € total € 8,-

Some customer/user comments:

Jonathan Shifflet wrote:
Wow.  I cannot believe how much more open the upper range is on this mouthpiece than on the Giardinelli C8 I formerly used.  The middle and low registers feel about the same as the C8, but the entire range has a beautiful veiled quality than I didn't get with the Giardinelli.  The narrow rim is not a problem for me (a good sign!); in fact, I notice much more flexibilty than with the C8.  Endurance, of course, will take some work.
I have spent many months working on breath support and relaxation because my breath muscles were too tense in the upper register, but I put your mouthpiece on the horn and I have no problems.  It is very free, produces gorgeous tone, and I congratulate you on producing a very fine mouthpiece.

Jonathan Shifflett
__________________________________
 
Leigh Alexander wrote:

I picked it up this morning (early, from the post office). It's terrific! Just what I have been looking for. I love the rim:-) The intonation is great, flexibility is better and it's consistent through-out the register. Thanks so much, I love it:-)

Leigh

Richard Berthelsdorf wrote about it:

I have started using it full-time now.  It's "openness" makes it a little easier to make myself heard against the trumpets & trombone in
my brass quintet.  It will take me a while before it stops feeling "funny," with the thinner rim than I've been using most of my life.

Hello Hans,

I bought one of your sterling silver mouthpieces at the IHS workshop last month. (I'm the guy who used to be a programmer at Microsoft.)  The first time I practiced with it, I did manage to cut my lip.  Since then, I have switched to use it exclusively and have learned to use less pressure (more effective than Farkas "lay the horn on a table" method, eh?). I've got many nice compliments on the improvement in my sound! Much more open and with better projection.  Thank you!

There is one thing that I miss about my old mouthpiece (a Holton MDC): the gold plating.
Do you think that it would change the playing characteristics of the sterling silver mouthpiece
to gold plate it, or even just the rim?  Are you set up to do this?

Anyway, I'd like to order another to keep in reserve in case I Iose or damage this one.
Here is my information: follows credit card info.
  Thanks,
    Bruce Kelley
        Redmond

I finally recieved my mouthpiece a few days ago. So far, it's amazing. The thin rim feels very comfortable and fits snugly into my lower lip
without sliding all over. Articulation very clean and easy... The tone is very clear and flexibility is much improved. I don't have to think about my lips any more... just my air. Lip trills, for some reason, also come very easy with this mouthpiece. Over all it really made my Paxman feel less resistant. I wonder how it will work on a Conn. Using my Giardinelli feels like having a truck tire on my face now. I don't know how I played with that... Thank you for this great product!
--
Good Day,
© Aleks Ozolis
Verona, New Jersey

I continue to enjoy the mouthpiece, and I have played it almost exclusively since it arrived. You might be interested in some additional observations.

I find the mouthpiece greatly facilitates playing softly -- I can play it almost inaudibly. I am not sure whether I can project the same extreme fortissimo, but I haven't really had any need recently.

The thin rim is no problem. I recent years I have nearly eliminated mouthpiece pressure from my technique. The thin rim may be slightly more tiring, but not significantly so. It does make high range significantly easier, especially when playing softly. For me, it
makes high range about a minor third more secure.

Unlike most American hornplayers who use the trigger everywhere above second-line G, I frequently use the F horn at least to the top of the staff. Years ago when I started doing this, several of my colleague woodwinds complemented my solo playing, although they
had no idea what I had changed. The F horn is more alive than the B-flat, which is comparatively sterile. (Ask me some day for an
acoustical explanation -- I have one.) Of course, those same hornplayers are paid handsomely for their accuracy, whereas I can generally afford to miss a note once in a while...

Here is an interesting anecdote: Many years ago I had the finger hook removed from my horn and replaced with a "duck foot" so the pressure of holding the horn is placed harmlessly on the knuckle of the first
finger and the fourth finger is not restrained. I found this makes fingering more relaxed, that the hand is not spread unnaturally. But
once in a while I would practice without the duck foot, just to make sure I wasn't relying on pressure.

Two weeks ago after warming up for an evening concert I went out with my horn to retrieve something from my car in the parking lot. Upon
returning I discovered that my duck foot was missing -- it had fallen from the horn. Repeated searches in the parking lot and the hall had
no success. It is still missing. I can always replace the duck foot, of course, but I haven't missed it at all. I am now playing with no
finger hook, no duck foot, not even a leather hand grip. I hold the bare metal tube, and that is enough. I don't think this would have
been possible without the encouragement of the Pizka mouthpiece rim.

Greetings

Steve Haflich, Nov.2002
 

(alle Preise zuzüglich 16% MWSt. für alle Kunden innerhalb der E.U. , ab 1.Jan.2007  19%)

Die Wiener Mundstücke sind weiter gebohrt (5,0 mm) und haben einen schmalen Rand, allerdings mit sehr weicher innerer Kante. Das Mundstück hat innen keinen Bauch sondern gerade Wände (eigentlich leicht konkav). Der Innendurchmesser beträgt 17,5 mm, also das klassische Maß. Dieser Mundstücktypus ist die Fortentwicklung des klassischen Hornmundstücks.

Beachten Sie bitte, daß der Rand echt schmal ist aber nicht "beißt". Alle "Kanten" sind sorgfältig "entschärft".  Alle Mundstücke werden mit computergesteuerten Drehautomaten mit äußerster Präzision hergestellt und sind völlig gleich. Trotzdem werden sie von mir persönlich einzeln kontrolliert. 

Dieses Mundstück erlaubt den samtigen Ton, ermöglicht schöne Naturbindungen, das Gleiten von Oberton zu Oberton. Es ist das beste Mundstück für das Naturhorn und das Jagdhorn. Natürlich empfehle ich dieses Mundstück allen Hornisten. Es passt aufs Wiener Horn genauso gut, wie es beim Doppelhorn den Toncharakter entschieden  verbessert. Es hat bei vielen Bläsern dazu geholfen, den beschädigten Ansatz zu reparieren, da es weniger Widerstand gegen die Tonerzeugung bietet. Der extrem dünne Rand verhindert zu starken Mundstück-druck. Es tut nur einmal weh,  - und das wirkt nachhaltig. So bläst man einfach viel lockerer. Die Mundstücke sind aus Messing, jedoch stark versilbert oder vergoldet.

Es gibt zwei Versionen:

1  1) dünner Schaft, passend auf fast alle gängigen Mundrohre (Zero Morse Taper, USA Norm)    paßt auch bei Alexander Hörnern

2) Extra dicker Schaft: für besonders weite alte Wiener Horn Bögen (nur noch wenige  Exemplare) 

Preise:

Messing, glanzversilbert  EURO € 55.-  ,

vergoldet EURO € 80.-
 
plus VAT (MWSt.) 16% innerhalb der Europäischen Union19%/ ab 1.Jan.2007  - Versandkosten in Europa: € 7.- incl. EINSCHREIBEN (registered)

contact: hans@pizka.de

Kundenkommentare:

John Pirtle posted to the Hornlist:

I moved from a Paxman 4B to one of Prof Pizka's mouthpieces at the beginning of March.  It's been +7 weeks and I'm just now starting to feel like I'm close to getting back to where I was before.

I've been meaning to post a follow-up to my initial review of the mouthpiece, so here's a short one:

You know the feeling you have when you take off heavy boots and put on brand new lightweight tennis shoes?  Or sort of like major league batters swinging 3 bats before they step to the plate??

Well that's how the Pizka mouthpiece felt for the first 2-3 days.  I was up and down and all over the horn.  Then it went down hill.  Then I dug myself into a hole.  #1 - don't get too excited about new hardware and overplay.  I probably injured myself that first weekend.

I gave it a couple of days rest and that certainly helped.  The real deal is that the Pizka mp is very thin-rimmed and quite deep.  This necessitates
different muscles in your embouchure.  When I begin to tire, it's not the muscles around the edge of my lips; it's the muscles about a half-inch out
that I feel.  I've also noticed how much more work my lower lip does.

All this is due to the embouchure support that the thin rim requires.  The first 2-3 weeks fatigue set in sooner than it used to.  Now, 7 weeks or more
later, fatigue is not really a problem.

When you practice, it is important to stop/pause/ rest between etudes/studies/exercises/etc.  This is good for everybody.  But it is even more important for a thin rim mouthpiece.  If I just hammer and hammer away at a Gallay etude without stopping a few minutes I can feel a certain bit of numbness from the thin rim.  However, as I've built better embouchure support etc, this numbness is fading away.  Long tones are really good exercises for a new mouthpiece.

I'm still very pleased with the Pizka mouthpiece.  It seems to work well with my King Eroica.  Now: I'm just an amateur - any of you who play lots of horn everyday or every week please don't just jump from one mouthpiece to another.  This has been a big change for even me and I've probably got less skill than most of you.  My playing has sometimes been good, but often below par.  I've been trying hard to practice for close to an hour per day through all this.  I kind of expect that in the next 2-3 weeks my range and
endurance and all *might* be close to where it was when I changed mp's. Each mouthpiece has its characteristics and it *will* take time to learn
them.

And once I get my head above water - OH how FAR I still have to go....

No actually many things of my horn playing have tremendously improved over the past couple of months.  A lot of my slurs are nicer, some of my articulation is cleaner, etc.  The tough part has been clean slurs in the upper part of the staff - some of that is needing the support developed, but a lot of it is my own bad which a friend noticed and gave me some good advice which has been very helpful, thank you LC.

So, wait for a boring summer for big mouthpiece changes.  You'll need time to take your time.  You can't rush things.  I've tried fighting with this
mouthpiece and I always lose.  In the long run though I think I'll win because of the support and accuracy that I'm developing.

John Pirtle
thin-rim convert

Hans,

Received your mouthpiece today. I had no trouble with it at all. It was great! My embouchure seemed to rally up a couple of notches.. Thanks Hans....What a Christmas present! My wife and I went down to our church and she played the piano and organ....while I played the French Horn. I can not fathom the wonderful difference that this mouthpiece
has made. You should , indeed, be very proud of what you have offered to horn players. This mouthpiece and I simply CLICKED!
Merci.....MILLE FOIS!

Laurent (Larry Mischel), Los Osos

Dec.21th, 2002

I use one of Prof. Pizka's mouthpieces and I find it has helped me achieve a much fuller sound. It is also very responsive, allowing one to easily cover the whole range of the horn. One word of caution is that if you depend on any more pressure than the minimum required to achieve a good seal between the lips and the mouthpiece, the Pizka
mouthpiece is NOT for you. Also, be prepared to use more air than you may be used to since the bore is large. Overall I love it.

Just my 0.02 worth.

Mike D. Zean
 

Cesar Ahumada

Cordoba, Argentina