TubeNet

What sound characteristic are you looking for? A large mouthpiece usually has a lot of fundemental - great for the 1812! A smaller mouthpiece brings out more overtones and (sometimes) might help with clearer articulations - great for solo work. There is no such thing as the "Perfect" mouthpiece, looking for one is looking for a hardware solution to a software problem.

There are those who believe in playing only one mouthpiece and others who will switch them looking for a particular characteristic. Take a look at
http://www.windsongpress.com/almost%20l ... uments.htm where there is a video of Mr Jacobs taking about this. The particular video is about 4 minutes into this!

You should try out moutpieces first, to see which onew you like, but a PT 50+ is a great mouthpiece for a 4/4 Tuba.

Woodwind&Brasswind has a policy that lets you order three and return two without paying a restocking fee, but you still need to pay for the three up front and get a refund when you return two. You also pay shipping both ways.

Better yet- make a trip to NJ and spend an afternoon at Dillon's. Having them nearby almost makes it worth living here. If you're not a traveling man, give Matt Walters a call and see what he can do about a demo by mail.

Bill Anderson

I owned a Kalison DS at one point and I have to tell you, it had a very bland sound with most every mouthpiece I have tried. This phenomenon has been discussed on TubeNet before. For ME, I liked a Dillon Sheridan O1. Try a bunch of mouthpieces and decide from there.

I believe it was Bill Bell who said, "Whenever I think about changing mouthpieces, I practice three hours instead".

Barney wrote:I believe it was Bill Bell who said, "Whenever I think about changing mouthpieces, I practice three hours instead".

A wise man indeed.

Before you go off spending lots of bucks on mouthpieces, or at least the postage and shipping required to try them on approval, think about what kind of rim diameter and profile works best with your embouchure, and the relative brightness or darkness of the tone of your tuba. Then you can narrow down the universe of tuba mouthpieces to only a galaxy or two, using one or more of the available comparison charts, not like a dart board to zero in on "the" mouthpiece, but to give you an idea of what may work for you, give or take a couple of columns either way. Chances are if you do this part right, you will get a mouthpiece that has the least amount of compromises for your particular playing situation.

But to your specific question: the new guy in community band tried my Wick 1 in his Kalison, and it was very smooth with good character.

when i was unhappy with my helleberg, i bought a pt-50, but ended up coming back to the helleberg design. try switching trypes of hellebergs before ruling them out. im using an R&S helleberg II with heavy walls (my personal defence mouthpiece), and it has been by far the most versitile thing i've tried out so far

Barney wrote:I believe it was Bill Bell who said, "Whenever I think about changing mouthpieces, I practice three hours instead".

EXACTLY!, one of the greatest things ever quoted.

I tried switching from the conn hellenberg to the conn 18..but the the more i asked around, almost low brass pro players/band directors said the conn hellenberg is EXactly wut i need, actually some even went as far to say it was perfect....



just my experience...

passion4tuba wrote:I tried switching from the conn hellenberg to the conn 18..but the the more i asked around, almost low brass pro players/band directors said the conn hellenberg is EXactly wut i need, actually some even went as far to say it was perfect....

Perfect for whom????

I have several hellebergISH mouthpieces, but find that a true stock helleberg just does not work that great for me. I find the cup inner diameter just a little too small for my huge lips (yes they really are, not kidding) and find that I play a whole lot better on a different style rim.

Perhaps you might want to try a G&W Baer - a great all purpose mouthpiece that is not too big in any dimension (unless you count the outside of the rim). The original CC ones pop up used now and then, and you can pick the shank size that will best complement your horn (if in doubt, go with regular)