Each mouthpiece is provided with three different stems which are selected with the stem size slider. In some cases, the different stems will be for different instruments, such as on the trumpets where stems are provided for the trumpet (the default setting), the flugel horn and the cornet. Some of the larger instruments, such as the trombones are traditionally provided with different sized stems and these are catered for by the stem size setting, this providing settings for the different shank sizes found on mouthpieces for these instruments

Selecting the Stem Type Control

When the advanced button is clicked on the product page, followed by the stem button the following controls become visible. The stem is the portion of the mouthpiece which fits within the instrument’s receiver. It often referred to as the shank but, as that term may have other meanings, it is avoided here. For more details about the stem in general – see here

When the bottom slider is dragged, that’s the one marked stem type, the outer form of the stem is changed to another of the three stem forms available. The currently-selected stem size is named in blue beneath the slider. In the above case, a trumpet-sized stem is added to the mouthpiece while settings of sizes 2 and 3 would add a cornet or a flugel horn stem respectively.