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So, i've tried a few synthetic mouthpieces (due to metal allergy), i have a pretty good idea what's out there. I'd really like to try one of Ellis Wean's TruVu mouthpieces from a few years ago. He has ceased commercial production but I would still really like to get my hands on one to give it a blow. If someone has any ideas, i'd REALLY appreciate it. I've taken a Kelly 18 much farther than I ever thought I could, but I want to try one of these.. his sound is amazing, and while i'm no ellis, i'd like to see if it helps. let me know if you have any leads.

Cheers

If it is an allergy, why not try one of the many stainless steel mouthpieces now available? They are made with surgical-quality SS and should not bother an allergy. Alternatively, try a good-quality, heavy-plated gold one--no allergy there either.

scottw wrote:If it is an allergy, why not try one of the many stainless steel mouthpieces now available? They are made with surgical-quality SS and should not bother an allergy. Alternatively, try a good-quality, heavy-plated gold one--no allergy there either.

I don't know about you, but I don't have the money to spend on SS or gold...good thing I don't have an allergy!

yep, tried em all. gold is a lot better than silver, stainless didn't work either. I don't really know the "why"'s so I gave up on metal. I wanted to try adamantium but wolverine kicked my ***. i learned better than to mess with superheros and mythical metals. I am subject to a lot of great vampire jokes too doing some experiments with synthetic rims. hoping for the best.

I thought Wean's mouthpiece was a bit unusual, scooped out under rim on the inside. I had a student who played one and it tended to collect moisture. aaaaa....

Another possibility might be Doug Elliott mouthpieces. He sells a Lexan rim option with his mouthpieces, admittedly more expensive than the Kelly mouthpieces. Elliott mouthpieces come up for sale occassionally or you could post for one.

Hey, thedeep42 - I know what you mean. My son is also allergic/hypersensitive to metal touching his skin. Any metal. So I got lucky and found a NOS 3-pack of DEG nylon cup for his cornet for a "song." (Pun intended) Since the nylon is so soft, even though they are all the same nominal model, there are slight but noticable differences from mouthpiece to mouthpiece. So if you get a chance to try more than one of the same model of whatever you do decide on, do so to see which variation in machining fits you better. The great thing is that I set all three in front of him and asked him to just play around and buzz for the fun of it just to see which one he thought fit and sounded better. I then left him alone for awhile, happy to hear all the buzzing going on (He's still a couple of years out from actually starting band, but has a natural embouchure and is having fun with it.) Being a cornet, he naturally chose the one with the slightly smaller cup diameter for the feel on his embouchure, but of the two that had the same smaller cup diameter, he chose the one (I measured all three later) with the deeper cup. He told me it had a better tone! And it did! Later I also bought the matching trombone & tuba mouthpieces in case he wants to try low brass as he gets older.

How about a diamond-rimmed mouthpiece?

(maybe the next Monette... )

I have worked with some of the DEG Astro-nylon cup mouthpieces with the white Delrin bowl and rim, modifying it from original smallish Bach 25ish internal size to Helleberg dimensions or larger, and although they can be opened up to provide a lot of volume of tone, I feel that the Delrin is so soft that it absorbs a bit of the overtones and just isn't capable of the sound that a harder material will produce.

I have also played a number of gigs now on the Kelly mouthpieces, and would suggest that if you want to go beyond where the Kelly 18 will take you, that you should consider the KT-50. This mouthpiece costs more than any of the other Kelly tuba mouthpieces, but it is possibly the best tuba mouthpiece made of synthetic materials available. Mine has served me well this year. I don't play a synthetic mouthpiece all the time, but I find that I do have a number of uses for it, plenty to justify its cost.

I've used the Kellys too and really liked them. (Its weird to think of putting a $25.00 mouthpiece in a $5000.00 horn, but once you get past that they play well enough.) I love the Sidey SSH, by the way, and it is my #1, all-the-time mp, but the Kelly gets me through the cold weather gigs.

Lee, I agree with you. I had the same impressions when I blew through them. That's why I also use a Kelly 18 outdoors instead of the DEG. But you gotta start somewhere. For me, the Kelly. For my son, the softer DEG is currently better. We'll see over time if he either 1) outgrows the allergy/hypersensitivity, and/or 2) whether he'll be able to tolerate lexan rims on a standard mouthpiece in order to get some metal a little closer to the chops.

BTW, my DEG tuba mouthpiece, which actually I was able to find used, has the shallow bowl of a 25, but the cup i.d. is actually a hair larger than my Kelly 18! Go figure!

And speaking of worth the price, the $30 I spent was well worth it, even though I don't have too many outdoor gigs. Avoiding searing or freezing on even one gig to me was, and still is, worth it!

Josef Klier makes an extensive line of mouthpieces, any of which can be ordered in plexiglas... or in a two piece model with a delrin rim.

http://www.khbrass.com/JKmain/page10/jktuba.html

I have no idea of the properties in these materials (What's the difference between Lexan®, Delrin® and Plexiglas®?), but the plexiglas JK 4B I have plays great.... much better than the Kelly I have. They are more expensive than the Kellys, btw, but I think worth it.

I bought mine from Dillon Music, they might have some in stock.

I have one. email me at

tubabone at ptd dot net

and we can talk

As was menitoned above, it is an unusual mouthepice with the V cup and aluminum shank. just a little note, do not, and I mean DO NOT leave them in the reciever over night or you will not be able to get it out the next day. the aluminum reacts with the brass and corrodes making it nearly impossible to get them out with out major work. you can't use a mouthpeice puller either because the cup will pull right off the shank. Ask me how I know this....

ken k

I always bring up the fact that for $5 or so one can try "plating" the rim with nail polish. Revlon makes a less-toxic one that a friend of mine uses; she has a metal allergy but is not allergic to the nail polish. She has to renew it about once a month.

I tried nail polish, found I was allergic to the clear but not to the red. However, I found I was not allergic to gold so I use that now.

MA