Product Review: Messina Mouthpiece Pouches

Brass players tend to have a plethora of mouthpieces…and we don’t ever get rid of the extras. I’ve seen pictures of musicians with shoeboxes and shelves of mouthpieces that they have collected over the years. Many of us have certain specific mouthpieces just for the right occasion, and the unfortunate issue is the cases for our instruments do not typically have enough holders for the mouthpieces. If you are like me, who uses a double trombone case for my tenor and bass trombones, there are accessories pouches included with the case, but the mouthpiece(s) can easily get buried underneath the pencils, slide lubricants, and valve oil.

Even though a quick Amazon search of mouthpiece pouches gives you the standard ProTec pouches that are either closed by zipper or velcro, let’s be honest, those pouches may not hold up and the seams may separate sooner than you would like.

Enter Messina Mouthpiece Pouches.

One of my colleagues in the Huntington Symphony Orchestra, trumpeter Erika Howard, has been a part of a small company that produces high-quality cases, bags, and mouthpiece pouches for any kind of musician. From the Messina Covers website:
…our mouthpiece pouches come with the following features standard:

• 1000 denier DUPONT Cordura
• 10,000 lb. (Seatbelt grade) Nylon Webbing
• B69 Nylon thread (seatbelt grade – so strong you’ll slice your finger trying to break it)
• 3/4 inch foam padding with a flame-laminated soft polyester fabric.
• 100% American materials
• Made by hand in Louisville, KY.
• Lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects (separating seams, rips, tears, and breaking). If
• there’s ever a construction problem, we’ll repair it for free.
• All sorts of custom color and embroidery options available.
• Contact us for any questions you may have.

Upon first glance and feel, these pouches have a lot of padding. Whether it’s the one-mouthpiece or the three-mouthpiece pouch, each mouthpiece will have plenty of cushion to not be hitting the other mouthpieces they are sitting next to.

The zippers may look small, but don’t be fooled – they are strong. As you close the pouches, the zipper’s pull tab actually brings the teeth and fabric together so you don’t have to squeeze or pinch the teeth’s chain while zipping up the pouch – an issue, unfortunately, experienced with those pesky Protec pouches that tend to have the teeth sewn in place.

Since Messina Covers is a small company, you have more flexibility with receiving custom work. Their 15 years of expertise allow for brass players to get that 7-mouthpiece pouch in their favorite color scheme with many options for embroidery on the side of the pouch. The company is owned by active musicians that can easily make a variety of cases or covers for all instrumentalists.

If you are looking for an affordable, highly durable mouthpiece pouch that supports a small but thriving company, please check out Messina Covers.