Tools of the Trade: Mercer & Barker
I first became aware of Mercer & Barker mouthpieces when people around me started talking about 'The Beast'. I didn’t initially realise it was the name of the mouthpiece, thinking that people were just describing it as such. I read up about it and was intrigued but as I wasn’t really playing at the time, and when I was it was mostly tenor, I couldn’t justify buying the mouthpiece just because it sounded cool and looked even better. A couple of years later however, I made my move onto bass trombone and, whilst I instantly realised it was the right thing to do, the mouthpiece with the band’s instrument was from a ‘mainstream’ manufacturer which I have never got on with. In my head then I knew which mouthpiece I’d like to move onto and was able to try it out at the next contest where there just happened to be a Mercer and Barker trade stand. It didn’t take much testing to know that The Beast mouthpiece was for me and I’ve been recommending them to my friends ever since. Here t...
