Question about euph mouthpiece and intonation

[bearphonium]

The fellow in my comminity band who bought a YEP321 last summer came to me and said that after us all harping on him about being sharp, he bought a tuner and discovered that he was, in fact, WAY sharp. He wanted to know what he could do to assist with intonation.

I asked him what mouthpiece he used, and he said "I don't know, just what came with the horn". I know enough about Bach mouthpieces to send him looking at the 6 and a half AL or the 5G--but not nearly enough about Dennis Wick or Shilke to give him a starting point.

He has played euphonium a long time, primarily as a hobby, is older than me (which is 50) and has a 'stache.

Can I get some input to give him about a starting point for a different mouthpiece to help him play in better tune?

Ally"who knows just enough about this to be dangerous, and has a vested interest in him playing in better tune"House

[Rick F]

The Schilke 51D improved intonation on a couple of euphers playing 321s in our band. I used a 51D for awhile (Yammy 641), but liked the tone I got better with Wick 5AL -- but my 6th partials were sharper with this piece. I now play on a Doug Elliott setup (close to a Wick 4.5AL equiv.). DE rims are very similar to Wick's rims.

How long has it been since he had his horn cleaned out and the valve ports adjusted? Could be the valve ports aren't aligned just right.

Hope this helps.

[Bob Mosso]

In my opinion, I play on a 321... a differnt mouthpiece won't fix intonation.

-the 321 is designed a bit sharp, what this means is you must pull the main tuning slide more than you think, perhaps 1.5 inches
-the valve slides arn't that far off, perhaps 1/4 inch for 3rd, 1/2 inch or more for the 4th slide

A very large mouthpiece may cause the extreemely high range to go a little flat (above high Bb).

A 6.5AL has a better tone than than the 48 that comes with the horn, my opinion, I have both. I realy like the Denis Wick 4AY, it may be too big for some amatures, perhaps too small for tuba players.... FWIW I don't like the 51D, I don't like the tone when playing pp.

Bob

[windshieldbug]

... the heck with the mouthpiece, what Xena would do is tell him to use his ears and the tuning slide! They do move, you know (especially the slide!).

[or just tell him to set the tuner a few cents high... ]