bruh

[iiipopes]

bloke, it's all in the perspective. If any of us mis-spends $200 or more on a mouthpiece, we turn around and sell it here, take a 50% lump on it, chalk it up and go on. A high school student who mis-spends $50 has wasted a considerable amount of either allowance or part time work earnings, and it takes him much longer to recover. So yes, this thread, from a sincere young man wanting to make the right decision, does matter a great deal indeed.

[nycbone]

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[Donn]

One factor that makes this funny is, there isn't a gigantic difference. See a thread from a few years back Isn't a Kelly 18 closer to a Bach 12 than a Bach 18?, wherein one of us who's competent to do this measured the difference between the Kelly 18 and Bach 12 inner diameters at 0.007 inches. Roughly, a gnat's eyelash.

Or one could go with the Kellyberg.

[tofu]

Bach and Blessing tuba mouthpiece for marching?

From the title the OP is looking for a marching piece - seems like a no brainer for a plastic Kelly - like the 18 or the Kellyberg. Cheap and easy to resell and recapture most of what was paid if a piece doesn't work or to keep as a backup or car glovebox spare. If it hits the ground no damage and anything that lowers the weight of the horn while marching/standing is a good thing in my book and can't be beat for cold weather work. Wished they were around when I marched in HS & College. I use the Kelly 18 now when I march with either a King or Conn sousie and a Kellyberg for the Helicon.

[WC8KCY]

Right... so if a school had examples of say:

12, 18, 22, 24AW, or 25 (as WC8KCY suggested; all very easy to find; Kelly produces three sizes; toss in the Kellyberg if you like for ~$150 total; get the entire set with a silver plated 12 and 22 for ~$350 or less)

a student could spend some time with a few candidates in consultation with the band director/teacher during a lesson or two, determine the rim size that best fits the face, produces a decent sound etc. (i.e., make an informed decision, rather than follow sketchy advice from a stranger on the Internet) and then buy their own. This way the student would have something suitable and can then try other comparable mouthpieces if they like as $ allows.

That's the approach I follow in consultation--I keep Bach 7, 12, 18, and 24AW along with a Perantucci PT-62 on hand for students to try.

WWBW occasionally has the Holton copies in silverplate for about $40.

[Donn]

Faxx copies are supposed to be excellent, for $50.

[iiipopes]

Right... so if a school had examples of say: 12, 18, 22, 24AW, or 25 (as WC8KCY suggested; all very easy to find; Kelly produces three sizes; toss in the Kellyberg if you like for ~$150 total; get the entire set with a silver plated 12 and 22 for ~$350 or less)

Yes, if the school had the $$$ to keep a range of mouthpieces in stock. But I don't know of any public school districts that would spend that money to keep a range of mouthpieces in stock, although if they did, one would want to add the two Conn Hellebergs: 120S and 7B, which actually seem to be more prevalent than the Bachs. Nice idea, but outside the fiscal possibility of public school districts, which are doing good to keep old sousaphones patched up with whatever mouthpiece can be scrounged up.

Again, the main reason I would not recommend the Bach is the inconsistency of manufacture, and because the throat is larger than on the Blessing version and the Conn mouthpieces. And all this, and they still charge more than they are worth to the budget of a high school tuba player.