smallish CC mouthpiece

[daktx2]

My private lesson teacher has suggested buying a second smaller mouthpiece for solo work and such, but he does not know the model numbers and sizes, and neither do I. What is out there? For reference I play a PT6 and use a conn helleberg.

[Kevin Hendrick]

My private lesson teacher has suggested buying a second smaller mouthpiece for solo work and such, but he does not know the model numbers and sizes, and neither do I. What is out there? For reference I play a PT6 and use a conn helleberg.

By "smaller", is your teacher referring to the inner diameter of the mouthpiece or the cup depth (or both)? A shallower cup should (generally) brighten your sound, and that would make sense for a "solo" mouthpiece.

Does the Helleberg rim work well for you? There are a number of mouthpieces out there with Helleberg-style rims of varying diameters and depths. You might want to look at the Schilke mouthpieces, the Floyd Cooley Helleberg, the Laskey "H" and "F" 'pieces, the Curry "DH" models, and the Marcinkiewicz "H" series. Doug Elliott also has Helleberg-type rims available for his tuba mouthpiece line. It might be wise to stay near the same I.D. on your solo 'piece, but with a shallower cup (something like a Laskey 30F, perhaps).

If a different rim would work better (or as well) for you, there are tons of options! I've been using a Marcinkiewicz ST4 (very shallow "student" mouthpiece), and have been getting good results from it (some surprised looks, too!). (I seem to remember Bloke getting one of these a while back ... wonder if he's still using it?) The Josef Klier "JK Exclusive" 'pieces are also available in a number of different inner diameters and depths.

Best advice I have is to do Web searches, print out the specs, take them to your teacher and see what he thinks. He's in a better position to know what would work well for you than we are. Let us know what you find out!