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Hello all,

so, out fo my 50-70 mouthpieces there are two mouthpieces that make the skin around my lips start itching.

One is a Volare and the second one is a Laskey 30F.

The silverplate is intact, so that is not the problem, I have other Laskey mpcs as well and with them there are no problems.

What could the problem be? Impurities in the brass or the silver plate? Would re-plating the Laskey solve the problem?

What do you wise people out there in Tubaland think?


Thanks!

Could be the plating is thin and/or could be the underlying brass stock.

You could redo the plating. In the case of the Laskey, they should be getting ready to make the 30F anytime now if they haven’t started production already. Maybe a newer one would work out better? (Considering the cost and hassle of sending the existing mouthpiece off to be refurbished.)

I wish you had not mentioned the brands.

I have no idea where most makers get their mouthpieces plated.

Sometimes, antimony is added to silver plating to make it harder and more wear-resistant. I have no idea whether it was added to the silver plating on your mouthpieces, nor whether you might be particularly sensitive or allergic to it.

Finally, the last thing I would want to do here would be to trigger all of the hypochondriacs, as events over the last two years have created so many of them.

It seems to me that a simple solution would be to shine them up, clean off any polish with detergent, wipe them off one last time to remove smudges, and send them to Anderson to be silver plated over the plating that is on them.

https://www.google.com/search?q=allergy+to+antimony&

bloke wrote: ↑Mon Aug 30, 2021 7:21 am I wish you had not mentioned the brands.

I have no idea where most makers get their mouthpieces plated.

Sometimes, antimony is added to silver plating to make it harder and more wear-resistant. I have no idea whether it was added to the silver plating on your mouthpieces, nor whether you might be particularly sensitive or allergic to it.

@Jma78 If Anderson doesn't use Antimony, here is the solution:

It seems to me that a simple solution would be to shine them up, clean off any polish with detergent, wipe them off one last time to remove smudges, and send them to Anderson to be silver plated over the plating that is on them.

Cheap, easy, timely. No-brainer. Straight silver (or gold) If (for some bizarre reason) that didn't help, you could always have a custom stainless steel mouthpiece made (not cheap) if you just HAD to have that exact mouthpiece, or you could buy something similar (if it exists) in stainless steel, as stainless doesn't produce an allergic reaction.
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Finally, the last thing I would want to do here would be to trigger all of the hypochondriacs, as events over the last two years have created so many of them.

Pardon the rant, Joe: It's like how a large part of the US population now arbitrarily decides, without medical diagnosis, they have a gluten allergy and want everything gluten-free. Sorry, Charlie... but most people's ""gluten intolerance" is just a need to be trendy, hip, in the know, popular, woke, be accepted, etc. Mindless herd members trying to belong and fit in. My bride has Celiac disease, but the trendies don't. She was diagnosed with it before it became trendy and popular to have a gluten allergy or intolerance. Dealing with REAL Celiac includes avoidance and maintenance, as there is no cure. There is no permanent fix. But if there is a real issue with a mouthpiece (not imagined), the fix is easy, cheap, and permanent - get it replated in silver or gold, or buy a mouthpiece made of different material.

Rant extended: And if someone thinks replating or buying new mouthpieces doesn't sound "cheap," they probably shouldn't be playing the largest, most expensive instrument in the brass section. It doesn't have to be a rich man's game, but you have to pay to play. It goes with the territory. $#!+ happens - save your dough. They should be glad they don't have to buy violin bows.

It's probably the buffing/rubbing compound the manufacturer uses in the finish process. Happened to me on a brand new Giddings and a used piece they used the same type of compound on. All the other answers here are valid however, YMMV...

Doc wrote: ↑Mon Aug 30, 2021 8:31 am It doesn't have to be a rich man's game, but you have to pay to play. It goes with the territory. $#!+ happens - save your dough. They should be glad they don't have to buy violin bows.

I bet not many fiddlers have 50-70 bows.

KingTuba1241X wrote: ↑Mon Aug 30, 2021 9:07 am It's probably the buffing/rubbing compound the manufacturer uses in the finish process. Happened to me on a brand new Giddings and a used piece they used the same type of compound on.

Was there a solution?

donn wrote: ↑Mon Aug 30, 2021 11:26 am

KingTuba1241X wrote: ↑Mon Aug 30, 2021 9:07 am It's probably the buffing/rubbing compound the manufacturer uses in the finish process. Happened to me on a brand new Giddings and a used piece they used the same type of compound on.

Was there a solution?

sure: Clean it off with gasoline.

donn wrote: ↑Mon Aug 30, 2021 11:26 am

Doc wrote: ↑Mon Aug 30, 2021 8:31 am It doesn't have to be a rich man's game, but you have to pay to play. It goes with the territory. $#!+ happens - save your dough. They should be glad they don't have to buy violin bows.

I bet not many fiddlers have 50-70 bows.

KingTuba1241X wrote: ↑Mon Aug 30, 2021 9:07 am It's probably the buffing/rubbing compound the manufacturer uses in the finish process. Happened to me on a brand new Giddings and a used piece they used the same type of compound on.

Was there a solution?

Return the new mouthpiece. If it was a used piece already, then sell it. I tried many different methods, but nothing worked. For me, I just got severe migraines immediately from it, no skin reaction luckily.

With horn players I suggest they coat the rim with nail polish. It does change the feel, but as long as they are not also allergic to the nail polish it works fine and is not costly. I react to silver, and gold is expensive, so my tuba rim has nail polish on it and I use a Kelly in the euph.

As far as the gluten stuff.... not everyone who has a real problem is celiac. Some will have very high anti-gliaden antibodies, indicating an allergy (which is not celiac disease) and must also avoid gluten. I am one of those and am not particularly fond of being labeled as someone who goes after fads, because I don't. When you have extreme intestinal distress over a long period of time and eliminating gluten because you had high anti-gliaden antibodies fixes it, you need to avoid gluten even though you are not celiac. Nothing is black and white.

Mary Ann wrote: ↑Mon Aug 30, 2021 2:24 pm As far as the gluten stuff.... not everyone who has a real problem is celiac. Some will have very high anti-gliaden antibodies, indicating an allergy (which is not celiac disease) and must also avoid gluten. I am one of those and am not particularly fond of being labeled as someone who goes after fads, because I don't. When you have extreme intestinal distress over a long period of time and eliminating gluten because you had high anti-gliaden antibodies fixes it, you need to avoid gluten even though you are not celiac. Nothing is black and white.

I hear ya. There are folks who have genuine problems (Celiac or allergy), and a whole bunch of others caught up in fads. If you have a bona fide reaction, then you certainly aren't one of those "other" people. My commentary is about the bandwagon-jumping hipster dip$#!+s who need to be part of the "in" crowd and find value in being a victim of something. Trends come and go, and these people get on and off the bandwagon as necessary.

For the record... If I consume enriched flour, I get terrible heartburn, so I avoid it. It's not Celiac, and it doesn't seem like an allergy. It doesn't matter - I simply cut it out of my diet. And, of course, bread and pasta are carbs that my fat @$$ doesn't need, inflammation and other effects notwithstanding (a good topic for another discussion). But I am loathe to speak about it, lest I be thought of as trendy or hip. I just leave the stuff alone and keep an antacid on hand for moments when dumbassery overtakes me. My wife occasionally dabbles in said dumbassery, but she REALLY pays the price.

Via repeated testing, I've found that bullsh!t and alarmism are toxic to some of my brain's receptors.

I believe it's probably time to return to the original topic...

But I am loathe to speak about it, lest I be thought of as trendy or hip

Nothing wrong with being RIGHT and healthy because you made a good choice for your body. Who cares what hipsters do anyway, if you feel better silently jump on the bandwagon

KingTuba1241X wrote: ↑Mon Aug 30, 2021 4:45 pm

But I am loathe to speak about it, lest I be thought of as trendy or hip

Nothing wrong with being RIGHT and healthy because you made a good choice for your body. Who cares what hipsters do anyway, if you feel better silently jump on the bandwagon

I try not to jump on anything these days. I can’t afford to pay for everybody’s crap I might break!

bloke wrote: ↑Mon Aug 30, 2021 3:03 pm I believe it's probably time to return to the original topic...

Ok…

Joe, is this scale accurate or am I mistaken:

Least expensive: replate in silver
Next least expensive: replate in gold
More expensive: buy mp made of other material
INCREDIBLY EXPENSIVE: commission your own one-off reproduction of your brass mp to be made in some other material

The least expensive might (??) be "generic Benadryl", but possibly not the BEST solution and - well - personally, I'm pretty stubborn about not being coerced into putting dubious sh!t into my body, just because some presumptuous microphoned person in a lab coat - or behind a podium - is attempting to bully me into doing so.

WHOOPS !...OFF TOPIC, ONCE AGAIN...
BACK TO YOU, CHET !!!

bloke wrote: ↑Mon Aug 30, 2021 5:48 pm The least expensive might (??) be "generic Benadryl", but possibly not the BEST solution and - well - personally, I'm pretty stubborn about not being coerced into putting dubious sh!t into my body, just because some presumptuous microphoned person in a lab coat - or behind a podium - is attempting to bully me into doing so.

WHOOPS !...OFF TOPIC, ONCE AGAIN...
BACK TO YOU, CHET !!!

Doc wrote: ↑Mon Aug 30, 2021 5:31 pm

bloke wrote: ↑Mon Aug 30, 2021 3:03 pm I believe it's probably time to return to the original topic...

Ok…

Joe, is this scale accurate or am I mistaken:

Least expensive: replate in silver
Next least expensive: replate in gold
More expensive: buy mp made of other material
INCREDIBLY EXPENSIVE: commission your own one-off reproduction of your brass mp to be made in some other material

Least expensive is go buy some nail polish you're not allergic to and coat the rim with it. That's what I did, when I joined the trend of people who think they react to silver but are really only chasing a fad.

I get a weird taste in my mouth when I play on Yamaha mouthpieces regardless of the plate. Did you buy those mouthpieces new or have you let anyone else play them? Did they come from the same distributor?

I use stainless steel because the mouthpieces I like are only available in that. It is also quite easy, if you have an allergy, to get Giddings Mouthpieces to make you a copy of just those in stainless steel.

You have to decide how much you like that 30F, or if you want to try another 30F.

A replating job will start around $60 + shipping. Look for Dave Friedman in Bellingham, WA.

Higher cost custom work, like threading the piece for rims (so you could use a lexan screw rim), could be a significant cost. That's another option.

I developed a metal sensitivity/allergy several years ago. Kelly Lexan, Giddings Stainless steel/Titanium mouthpieces have worked well for me. Doug Elliott mouthpieces with a Lexan rim also are an option. However, for me, even those caused flair ups after extended rehearsals/jobs. Good luck on your search. It's worth trying out some of the alternatives. Definitely no fun to play with irritated lips/face.