Denis Wick
Mouthpieces, Mutes And Accessories
Designed By Brass Players, For Brass Players As company slogans go, Denis Wick’s “Designed by Musicians, for Musicians” is as true as they come. Its founder was principal trombonist of the London Symphony Orchestra when he started making mouthpieces in 1968. Starting with a single trombone mouthpiece, he developed a product line that now includes a comprehensive range of mouthpieces, mutes, and other accessories. The company has sold more than two million mutes and mouthpieces, and its products are used by the finest brass players all over the world.
With its founder now 80 years old and less involved in day-to-day operations, Denis Wick Products Ltd. is run by engineer and m.i. veteran General Manager Brian Miller and Director Stephen Wick. Before joining his father’s business in 2006, professional tuba player Stephen Wick performed and recorded with the likes of Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, and Frank Zappa and on many film soundtracks including Star Wars, Batman, and Gladiator.
Located in the south of England, the Denis Wick factory employs both highly skilled handcraftsmanship and high-tech machines. Its metal mutes are all handmade by a process called “spinning,” which takes many years to learn but produces mutes that are highly resonant and yield a sound that projects very freely. Machine-made imitations lack this unique sound. In addition to its best-selling straight mute for trumpet, the company also makes a broad selection of cup, extending-tube, practice, plunger, wooden, travel, and fiber mutes.
Denis Wick mouthpieces are shaped on state-of-the-art CNC lathes, then polished by hand and finished in brilliant silver or gold plate. Designed by musicians and crafted by master technicians, they both are comfortable to play and make a beautiful sound.
Exports account for 80% of Denis Wick’s sales, particularly to the USA, Canada, Europe, Japan, and Australia, with significant recent gains in Eastern Europe, Russia, and China. Stephen deems 13% sales growth over the last 12 months “a good result given the low level of economic activity in the U.K.,” while acknowledging that the weakness of the British pound has spurred the company’s exports. He also points out that sales of accessories have fared better than other product categories, saying, “A musician might think twice about buying a new instrument but is happy to give his playing a boost with a new Denis Wick mouthpiece or mute.”
Along with global economic challenges, the company has been dealing with a steep increase in commodity prices, especially copper, silver and gold. Despite efforts to maintain prices at a steady level, Stephen says “some price increases were inevitable last year, especially in gold-plated items.”
Denis Wick is investing heavily in both machinery and additional manpower, including new spinning trainees and CNC technicians so the factory can run extra shifts. Stephen says, “We are definitely planning for continued growth, and we are constantly developing new products.”
Denis Wick products are distributed in the USA and Canada by DANSR Inc. All other trade inquiries should be directed to tradesales@deniswick.com or through http://www.deniswick.com/.
http://www.deniswick.com/
http://www.dansr.com/
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