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What would be a good jazz tuba mouthpiece? Right now, I use a G&W Taku for everything, but for jazz, I'm wanting a bit more of a brassier, grittier, more 'in-your-face' type of sound. Does anyone know of a good mouthpiece for that?

No such thing. Just play, dude.

To Joe Average out there, you'll always sound like a tuba. Don't sweat the little details of tone. The in-your-face part, that's attitude and soul, not the mouthpiece. Seriously, stick with what is comfortable, and don't F around with equipment.

Bach 18, or a PT German series with a moderately shallow bowl cup.

For me, with the jazz and light stuff, it's more about the look than the sound. So, I have a NY Yankee, blue Kellyberg that I use on my 621CC for that kind of playing. It's gotten a lot of attention and it actually got me two cocktail hour dixie trio gigs. In both cases, the bride to be stopped because she saw the mouthpiece. Then, they listened. Then, they hired! GO YANKEES!!!

Kelly also makes an 18, as well as a 24AW and a 25 (I guess the KT50 just never really got off the ground), and in some ways, especially outdoors, I like the Kelly 18 better than the Bach 18. And you're right: there's about two dozen colors to choose from. I have a blue one, and I'm considering getting a maroon one to match the colors of the university community band I play in for their outdoor gigs as well.

TU23 ("C4") is another shallower choice. It brightens up my big Conn 56J sound considerably.

Cheers,

Q: What's a Yankee?
A: It's like a quickie, but you can do it yourself.

Brucom wrote:Q: What's a Yankee?
A: It's like a quickie, but you can do it yourself.

I have to remember that one. That will really get my NYNY buddies going. I'm still laughing. I can't wait to spring it on somebody from the frozen tundra.

Especially if the world series turns out to be an uptown -- downtown series!

I ordered a gold Kelly 24AW so it would look like I had money but the gold color doesn't cut it. The mouthpiece did give me what I needed for my Eb King-nice fat lows and a consistent Eb above the staff. It also helped with the zits that form on the second day after a long gig.
Brucom's quickie reminds me of a New York hotel doorman who stopped a hooker and asked her how much she charged for a hand job.
She replied, "$20, do you want one?" He said, "No, I just wondered how much money I'd be saving if I did it myself."

How about a Loud LM-10, the Tommy Johnson model? I got one after I tried one that a friend had. I really like how it brightens up my sound, but in a nice kind of way. It also seems to respond really nice as well, making articulation a little cleaner and easier. Something like this sounds like what you want for jazz playing. It is worth a try at least...

iiipopes wrote:And you're right: there's about two dozen colors to choose from. I have a blue one, and I'm considering getting a maroon one to match the colors of the university community band I play in for their outdoor gigs as well.

I have a blue and a clear Kellyberg I use for outdoor gigs when it's cool or cold.

Last weekend I was using the clear one on a gig and I guess the light was just right for me to catch a clear reflection of it on the side of the tuba. Clear enough I could see what my embouchure was doing inside the mouthpiece. Freaking distracting! Screwed up my concentration big time.

I have an outdoor gig this coming weekend and it's supposed to be cooler. I'll be using the blue one this time to maintain concentration.

Jim "somethings are meant to be heard - not seen" Wagner

I don't think I'd like to see lips buzzing and foam gathering in a clear mouthpiece on me or anybody else- unless observing a student.
My next Kelly will be bright colors for entertainment value.

I agree. The thought of using the clear one for anything but teaching and diagnostic was unpleasant. So I got Kelly 18 in my favorite color: blue. I can see that the DCI folks would really like them to coordinate with their colors and uniforms.