TubeNet

the vincent bach 18 mouthpiece i think is a very good mouthpiece. i almost always play on a pt-50 or the 50+ mouthpiece, but in brass quintet, i was finding i needed something that had a little bit different texture and feel to keep the sound i was looking for in the quintet setting. the 18 is very close to that of the pt-50 mouthpiece. if you're not afraid to spend a little money, the pt-48 mouthpiece is pretty good as well.

dennis wick mouthpieces seem to be very interesting to me because it seems to me they are either loved by their players or hated. personally, every wick mouthpiece i've played on has been a rather odd experience. i just didn't like it. in contrast shchilke might be a worthwhile investment. i don't play (and have not played) any schilke tuba mouthpieces, however schilke is the only brand that i will touch with my trombones. i use the 51 for my tenor and a 60 for my bass. each have a very nice feeling on the mouth and have good response. i imagine the same holds true for the tuba mouthpieces.

I would have to personally recommend the Schilke 69C4 - It is a great mouthpiece for the EEb as well, coming off the 2L, but now I use it exclusively as my CC/BBb mouthpiece. It really allowed me to get those super-low notes so often required in the modern Brass Band literature.

It would also be worth your while checking the other Schilke mouthpieces out. I would recommend you go to Phil Parker's store in London with the horn and spend some time checking the whole range of Schilke mouthpieces out.


Simon McCauley
Still extremely satisfied with customer service from 2 years ago!!

Does your Boosey have a full sized mouthpiece receiver or the smaller receiver? I know the DW1 & 2 have the smaller sized shank (as opposed to the DW1L or 2L). It may be difficult finding other brands of mouthpieces that will fit the smaller receiver. Other than the DW models I do not know any others with the smaller shank. Why do you want to change form the DW? I believe they are designed for the Boosey instruments. I have just bought a DW1xL and love it but again it may not be available in the smaller shank size. I beleive the 1X has a larger throat and perhaps a slight;ly deeper cup than a regular 1.

An interesting mouthpiece you may want to try is the DW3. While it has a smaller rim diameter than the 1 or 2, it has a huge cup. It is similar to a Bach 24AW minus the wide "cushion" rim.

I recently have been playing a R&S heavyweight Helleberg which I really enjoy.

ken "DW fan" k