where is a good place to go mouthpiece shopping?

[tubasinfonianJohn]

I am in need of a new mouthpiece and i don't know what i want yet and i was wondering where would be a good place to try out mouthpieces. by the way i live in west virginia so what is relatively close (no more than a 10 hour drive)

[tubasinfonianJohn]

i'm thinking of making a trip to wwbw pretty soon and last time i was there they just pulled mouthpieces off the shelf and let me play them so i think i'll just make a trip there the only mouthpieces they don't have that i wanted to try were monet but i can't afford them any way

[scottw]

Baltimore Brass should fall within your 10 hr. travel max. They have a lot of stuff to make your trip worthwhile! The owner is tubist with the Baltimore Symphony, so they specialize in tuba-related equipment.

[Dean E]

The (free) Army Tuba Euphonium Conference in January at Fort Myer, Virginia, normally has many vendors with a very wide variety of mouthpieces for sale. Take your horns.

[imperialbari]

All the places suggested sound very relevant. However, if you starting without any quite specific idea about your needs, you will run into problems.

Trying a large number of mouthpieces randomly will confuse your brain and make your embouchure numb.

One parameter, which I am quite set upon, is inner edge and rim contour. For me the edge shall be rather sharp and the rim shall be flattish. When I added smaller tubas to my large Eb’s and BBb’s, I thought I should go for a narrower cup. That didn’t work out for me. I shall stay with the same cup diameter, and then cup depth and backbore volume shall be related to the size of the tuba (I have no real BAT’s).

Your needs may be very different from mine, only you have to get yourself an idea about your needs. You are almost bound to do errors during this process, yet you need to go through it.

Klaus

[Doug Elliott]

If you end up going to Baltimore Brass, depending on what part of WV you're in, it might be convenient to come by my place in Silver Spring and check out my tuba mouthpieces. My system makes it very easy to try alterations in rim size and shape, cup depth, and different shank sizes - in a way that is unlike any other mouthpiece brand. Make an appointment if you're interested. I normally exhibit at the Tuba-Euphonium Conference too.

[iiipopes]

Wherever you go, take your tuba, take a friend who knows your playing, and take a tuner to compare relative intonations. Try a lot, and keep notes. Make a detailed list of exactly what you are looking for in a mouthpiece: different size, different tonality, different "feel," etc., a detailed explanation as to what you play, both instrument and repertoire, and how you play, and an even more detailed list about what you don't like in your current mouthpiece. Then contact someone like Dave at Baltimore Brass, Matt at Dillon music, Jeff at Custom Music, Roger at WWBW, Doug Elliot as above, etc., (sorry if I left anyone out) so you can get some professional feedback and proper fitting to match your playing to the right mouthpiece for you and your horn. This will save you many hundreds of dollars of "mouthpiece safari" trial and error, even for something that might "sound good" or "feel good" at a show, just to get it home in your personal environment and it doesn't do what it needs to do after awhile.

[SousaSaver]

SOME music stores will ship you mouthpieces on a trial basis to try, for a week or so. All you have to do is pay return shipping. Or so I have heard...

Do you have any idea of what you are after?

[tubasinfonianJohn]

thanks for all the help i have decided to go to wood wind brass wind because i have a pretty good idea of what i want. i want something with a funnel cup and a relatively sharp inner edge. i'm considering the the alan baer mmvi and trying some different giddings and webster mouthpieces i think the stainless steel will do wonders for my playing.

[iiipopes]

Make sure when you go to WWBW, you talk ONLY to Roger. He's "da man."