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tubafreaks7 wrote:I'm loking for a mouthpiece for my sons Besson BBb. I haven't been able to find a student model mouthpiece. Will the smaller shank on a US made Eb tuba fit? I don't even know how to shop for a mouthpiece like this. Any help would be cool. The cup size is not that important. He now plays on a Bach 22 or 24 but not the AW. Hes only been playing a short while, he's a trombone and Bass Violin player looking to be a tripple threat.

An old small-shank Eb tuba mouthpiece will fit, but you probably would be best picking up something like a Denis Wick 2 (not a 2L), which has the smaller (bass-trombone sized) shank.

(I'm assuming that you have an older Besson here with the small shank).

Kellyberg. At $30, you can't go wrong. Great mouthpiece for a big BBb horn. Reload this web page until an ad for Kelly Lexan Mouthpieces comes up somewhere, and click on it.

If Chuck’s assumption is right, which it would be unless your son’s instrument is a post-1983 Besson 992, 993, or 994. then the Kellyberg will have a too large shank.

Chuck’s suggestion of the DW2 isn’t bad at all. But there might be a question of style involved.

If the sound concept of your son is rooted in the trombone, then a DW3 might be better. If it is rooted in the double bass, then I would suggest the DW1.

Klaus

tubafreaks7 wrote:Will all of the Wick tuba moutpieces fit an old Besson?

Only the ones without the "L" designation will fit. The L models have American shanks.

tubafreaks7 wrote:

johntg wrote:javascript:emoticon(':lol:') Dennis Wick is the mouthpiece you want and need. Try to find a store that will let your son try them out and find the one with which he is most comfortable.
Finally a post that makes sense

Unfortunately that's not an option. I'd have to travel at least a hundred miles. Money is an option. He has tried several mouthpieces, likes them all, and sounds good on them all, but the shanks wont fit his new horn.
Are there any other small shank mouthpieces I could look for?

AFAIK, Schilke, Doug Elliott and a few other brands can be special-ordered (I have a Bach 18 in small shank that was special-oirdered maybe 15 years ago; I don't know if you can still order custom from Bach). But the DW2 is what "comes with the tuba" and is a good all-around compromise mouthpiece.

Occasionally, you can find a small-shank "Besson" mouthpiece on he-bay; they're usually 14's or 24W's.'

Or you can have the receiver replaced with a large-shank one.

Or, if you can borrow a no. 5 Jarno taper reamer, you can enlarge the receiver if you work carefully (ask Dan Schultz about this).

http://www.mouthpieceexpress.com
http://www.wwbw.com
http://www.dillonmusic.com

all carry Wick tuba mouthpieces, and I believe all three have a return policy that is useful. If you do have to purchase new, as it looks like I'm going to have to also, it sounds like he needs a Wick 2 if he's used to a pretty big mouthpiece, or a 3, 4 or 5 if he's not, depending on the size of his lips and jaw. You can review the specs at

http://www.mouthpieceexpress.com/specshub/index.html

I believe it was you who ordered the DW2 from me today.... let me know how it works out. I wish I had read this before, I could have been more help when you ordered, but there is plenty of great insight in this post.