TubeNet

Anyone try the LM-4 or LM-15 yet?
Any thoughts and/or opinions with your respective tubas?

I tried the LM-15 on my Besson 983. I found it to be able to be played in tune with the tuning slide slightly out, vs. having it in all the way with the Wick 3L that I was using. However, I found the sound to not be as full or dark as with the Wick 3, and others hearing me confirmed that the Wick gave me a better sound on the horn, so the LM-15 sits unused for now.

bloke wrote:The #15 is more conical and slightly deeper than my own old F tuba mouthpiece. The sound in the higher range might (??) not quite be as pure with the #15, but the sound seems (??) to really benefit with the #15 in the lower and very low range...

So it responds pretty well in the low register (as least on your tuba)?

cktuba wrote:I'm using a 4 right now. IMHO mine feels just a tad smaller than a PT 88. I think the sound is just as big but it doesn't feel like I'm trying to drive a semi on a formula 1 course like the 88 or other mouthpieces of similar size. The German style mouthpiece just seems to work better on my Rudy 4/4. Basically, if you like the PT88 but want to try stainless you should try the LM4.

P.S. Don't let Joe fool ya he could use whatever gut-bucket mpc he wanted to. He just doesn't need to.

I'm using a PT88 now.
Did you know notice any low register difference between the PT88 and the LM-4? What about the sound quality?
Thanks

Do you know his website?

wagtuba wrote:Do you know his website?

http://www.loudmouthpieces.com/
It is worth checking out!

I have been using an LM-7 for some time now and love it.

bloke wrote:Ya know, you can ask lots of questions, but the answers - no matter how detailed - are not going to mold themselves into the experiences of actually trying one. Joe M. offers a very reasonable return policy, according to his website.

This is an important point. What Joe or I or anyone else thinks about these or any other mouthpiece has zero impact on how they will work for you. I understand the human desire to get reviews of certain equipment before making an investment, but the answers will be of little to no value.

It's even less useful to ask someones opinion about a particular horn, because you have not only the variations in players, but horn to horn variation is usually great enough as to render another's opinion of a particular model less than useful.

I think that Jim Self and Roger Bobo are both great musicians and I can only hope to ever have 1/100th of their capabilities. I have tried both the Jim Self and Roger Bobo signature mouthpieces and I have no idea how anyone gets a decent sound out of these. Given that they have designed these presumably to optimize their playing, they obviously work for them. What better endorsement for a piece of equipment than to say that a great player uses it regularly. Regardless of what they say, I could never use that equipment and get any kind of decent sound. One can argue that maybe I would be able to use these if I were a better player or practiced more, but I think that it is more just a matter of personal differences.

The only way to know if something will work for you is to try it yourself.

The two mouthpieces in question are on their way to me as of today.
As for the questions, I've never been comfortable about buying a "pig in a poke" and having no one in range who has any of these, I turned to this BBS. I had already decided to try when I posted. I'm just trying to gather some info.
I've been around the tuba world and this board awhile. I know the worth of someone's opinion and what to consider when one is offered. No opinion given will convince me of a course of action. I ask for them to try get a little info about a decision I've already made (or am am going to make).
As for Joe Murphy, I spoke with him on the phone and he was most helpful. I always do my research before asking others. Especially on Tubenet.
Anyway, thanks for the advice folks. I do appreciate it.

I regularly use my LM-5; I hope this helps.

The mouthpiece I previously used regularly was a PT-50. Oddly enough, I found that I couldn't play quite as loud on the loud mouthpiece as on my old PT. In size comparison, the PT-50 is larger than the LM-5, although not by much. The first day I played the LM-5, I hated. After using it for about four weeks now, I love it. It produces a rounder, more charictaristic tone than my PT-50 did, although it is pretty flat in the upper register. Definitly try one!

The PT-50 Mega had been my main mouthpiece until I switched to the Loud LM-7 which recordings show giving me more response/projection and colour. I also do not need to pull my tuning slide out near as much as an added benefit

I thought the LM-5 was just too big for me and especially in comparison to the PT-50. I always considered the Deck-2 to be the closer match to the PT-50 and the larger Deck-3 is more the basis for the LM-5.

The LM-7 is more like a Schilke HII or Laskey 30H but with even sweeter response up high and more of a perfect match to me and my horn. I prefer an even flatter rim but am working on that as well since all Loud mouthpieces have a screw rim that is compatible with Elliott threading.

Bottom Line, (pun intended for those who know the Modern Jazz Tuba Project) I think there are some excellent variety of designs to choose in the Loud line-up to be worth giving them a trial.