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Has anyone who prefers a Helleberg rim compared these two variants? What were your conclusions?

M.

The MF3 is way more rounded on the rim than the Helleberg, more like a Bach 18. The MF3H is most like the Helleberg in that the inside rim edge is fairly sharp. I prefer the MF3H. The MF3 and the MF3H are larger inner diameter than the Helleberg.....and certainly more so than say the Laskey 30H which is more of a Helleberg variant than either of the MF mouthpieces.

I really like the MF series, having switched from Marcinkiewicz H2 (yet another Helleberg variant). I'm using the MF3H on my B&S rotary valve 4/4 BBb tuba and a MF4 on a peashooter Creveny F tuba. The MF3 and the MF3H sound about the same to me, but I like the extra control I seem to get out of the MF3H rim. I really like the sound I'm getting ....especially on the B&S. The MF4 is the first mouthpiece I've used on the little F that allowed me to slot the notes with any security. I'd like to try an 'H" rim on the MF4 at some point.

Interesting chart here

I've found it really depends on which horn you plug them into. They're great mouthpieces!

Do you have a particular tuba you are comparing them on?

Mike Milnarik

Yes, a BBb Holton 345. Other 345 players have found that the MF3 works for them (viewtopic.php?t=8895&highlight=holton+345+mouthpiece ), so I'm going to give it a try.

Several other mouthpieces were recommended in that thread including the PT-48, PT-44, Warburton Jacobs, Marc N4, Dillon M1CB, and the 30H. I've tried a few of them and liked them for various reasons.

A few choices of my own were thrown into the mix--Conn Helleberg, Loud LM7 with 30H-type rim, and a Monette 94. One result is that I now like a Helleberg-type rim. Another is that switching mouthpieces has become easy (the only characteristic I have in common with Mr. Jacobs). The last is that there's a lot more mouthpieces in the rack than I ever planned to own, but my technical background is design and development engineering so tinkering was bound to happen!

Seems like most MF3 users have enjoyed "pluggin-them-into" 4/4 rotary valve tubas (Miraphone 186, MW-25, B&S, and the like), but I'm also using one in an old York 4/4.....nothing as big as the Holton you have, but the MF3H gives it a big-fat organ pipe sound.....'specially in the low octave. I played the York in church yesterday and the pedal-D's at the end of several hymns were right on the money....very cool.

Again...the MF3 is much more rounded on the edge than most any of the Helleberg mouthpieces I have tried, so you may wanna go for the MF3H is you like the edge.

Have you thought of sending an email or pm to Mike Finn, as he is a tuba player, and can tell you not only the differences, but why he has both models to choose from?

Yes, Mike emailed me just this weekend.