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What Eb tuba? Besson 981,2,3? New Miraphone 283? The answer will depend somewhat on your instrument and what kind of sound you are looking for.

Your choices are many. Don't go too big (imo, not a PT-88 ). Don't go too small. If you're not going to play solos, you probably don't need a shallow, bowl-shaped mpc (Miraphone TU-23 / C4, PT-64).

Based on your described use, you might try:

Bach 24AW, Bach 18, Bach 12, Wick 3L, Wick 2L, Wick 1L, Conn Helleberg 7B, Conn Helleberg.

I personally think the Bach 24AW and Wick 3L cups are a bit too narrow -- I'm more comfortable on something between 32 and 33mm cup diameter. But this will depend on what is comfortable for you.

Right now, I'm using the standard Conn Helleberg with my Yamaha YEB-381, which gets me about the "biggest" sound I can expect without picking a mpc that's laugh-ably large.

Good luck,

If you're playing in the Youth Brass Band, why not ask Tom Gibson, Robert Coulter, or a private teacher what they might think is best?

Do try a Wick 3 (small receiver) or 3L (American receiver) if you can. It is (was) standard issue with the Besson Eb, and those I know who have one really like them. The only reason I don't have one personally is that I'm using a 2, as I play an Eb part only about once every two years or so, and borrow an old stencil Eb from my undergrad college when I do. But that may change.

Hi Jake,

If you didn't like the 24AW, you probably won't like the Wick 3L. Both are fairly narrow, wide-rimmed mouthpieces.

I like the Denis Wick 2L for my Eb. You could also try a Conn Helleberg 7B or a Shilke Helleberg II if you think you'd like something bigger.

Good luck.

Here's the deal with Denis Wick mouthpieces: they use the same blank for the 1, 2 and 3 and their variants, so the o.d. of the rim is the same on all of these models. The difference is in how much it is bored out. 1, is, of course, bored out the most, so it has the largest i.d. to the cup. 2 is next, then 3. To compensate, the throat is a couple of hundredths larger on the 2, and the 3 has a larger backbore as well, SL excepted. (S is for shallow or solo, take your pick) From the website:

Model
Cup size/Shank size
Cup Diam.
Overall Diam.
Rim Width
Bore
Backbore

1
Ex. deep cup/small fitting
32.50mm
47.35mm
7.48mm
8.43mm
open

1L
Ex. deep cup/large fitting
32.50mm
47.35mm
7.48mm
8.43mm
open

2
Very deep cup/small fitting
32.00mm
47.35mm
7.73mm
8.45mm
open

2L
Very deep cup/large fitting
32.00mm
47.35mm
7.73mm
8.45mm
open

2SL
Shallow Cup/large fitting
32.00mm
47.35mm
7.73mm
8.45mm
open

3
Deep cup/small fitting
31.25mm
47.35mm
8.11mm
8.78mm
large barrel

3L
Deep cup/large fitting
31.25mm
47.35mm
8.11mm
8.78mm
large barrel

3SL
Shallow cup/large ftg.
31.25mm
47.35mm
8.11mm
7.62mm
small

I have actually found good fortune with the Dillion Music Pat Sheridan series, unfortunately the factory in which made those mouthpieces burnt down. They are presently trying to rebuild the shop, but if you email dillion music, they might still have a few in stock.

2 mouthpieces that I like a lot on my Miraphone 3+1 are the Josef Klier 2A and the Laskey 30C. I used the 30C when I was playing a Yamaha in the UK and it worked very well.

A Mike Finn MF2 is working well for me on my Besson 981. I am receiving good comments on the sound and it feels good on the lips.

All good alternatives. In my experience the Blessing 18 is just a tad shallower than the Bach (a colleague in shrine band loves his) so I can see how it would go with Eb. I hope Terry Warburton is able to gear back up to the tuba mouthpieces, as I've never had the pleasure of one of his tuba mouthpieces. I have tried his flugel mpcs, however, and they are superlative. I'd like to try a Mike Finn 2 one of these days, as well, when $$ permits.

I've been through a hoard of mouthpieces on Besson 981/982 and the Mike Finn MF 2 and MF 4 seem to really open these horns up and allow a lot of different color in tone. I use the MF 4 for solo high stuff, and the MF 2 for everything else. I've been through a slew of Wicks, PTs, Sheridans, tried the GW and Loud. I highly recommend the MF for Bessons.

Heres a previous post on the MF2:
viewtopic.php?t=16935