Is it possible to be allergic to a mouthpiece?
bushsop
I am having a problem when I play for long periods of time in a single
day. I develop a kind of rash around my lips where my mouthpiece
touches. This doesn't happen in my daily practising, but then I am only
playing for an hour or so. I know I have nickel sensitivity. Do regular
(silver-coloured) mouthpieces have nickel in them? Would a gold-plated
mouthpiece help, in which case should I get my present mouthpiece gold
plated or should I buy a new gold plated mouthpiece? I play on a Bach 1
1/2 C. I know there has been a problem with consistency with the sizes
of the Bach mouthpieces. Has that been solved? I am afraid to switch
mouthpieces because that one works so well for me.
Thanks for any help.
Dr. Trumpet
Hi,
Silver mouthpieces do have some nickel content in the silver. Event the
gold has a minute amount of nickel in the plating to get the plating
process to work. You might find that gold works better because the nickel
content is smaller. Another alternative is a delrin rim made by Schilke
to most of the sizes available. (Cue Jin Donaldson to discuss
inconsistencies of Bach mouthpiece cuts and superiority of a good Schilke
mpc.).
Another alternative would be to contact Scott Laskey and see if he can
make one. As he was the numero uno mouthpiece maker at Schilke for years,
no doubt he can help.
Good luck,
AL
RobinsonP
I have a friend (a trombonist) who started developing the same kind of rash you
describe. He thought that it was a brass sensitivity from the nicks on his rim,
so he had his mouthpiece replated (in silver). It helped for a while, but then
the rash came back. Then he had the mouthpiece goldplated. That, too, helped
for a little while, but the rash came back. Then he bought a delrin rim, and
all hell broke loose with the rash. Finally he went to an allergist, and they
discovered that he was extremely allergic to a chemical that is used as a
hardening agent in almost all plastic and synthetic rubber compounds. What was
causing the problems on the silver/gold mouthpiece was that he was storing it
in a black plastic mouthpiece pouch. Just that small contact was enough to
trigger symptoms. He now plays on his metal mouthpiece, and stores it in a 100%
cotton flannel bag.
-Robin
Robinson Pyle
Arlington, MA
Dr. Trumpet
robi...@aol.com (RobinsonP) wrote:
> A small word of caution about delrin rims.
<snipped for space>
>Just that small contact was enough to
> trigger symptoms. He now plays on his metal mouthpiece, and stores it in
a 100%
> cotton flannel bag.
Robin,
WOW! That is interesting. Great things to know, too. Never would've
guessed that, but it makes sense.
AL