Love my G&W stainless steel mouthpiece!

[Philip Jensen]

I’ve had my stainless steel G&W mouthpiece for about 3 weeks now and all I can say is WOW! I ordered the Bayamo and the Williwaw (largest and 2nd largest respectively) to test out on my King BBb. I had been using a PT88 up until now and was fairly happy with it. I had played a stainless steel mouthpiece once before and liked it quite a bit so I wanted to check these out.

http://www.gwmouthpieces.com

I played the two G&W mouthpieces and my PT88 for two people whose opinion I highly trust and value (yes I trust and value our conductor’s opinion). Both liked the G&W mouthpieces over the PT88. All three of us liked the Bayamo better for literature and the type of groups I play in. Describing sound is very subjective. One of my victims probably said it best when they said it just had more presence – and this is compared to the PT88!

I used the Bayamo for a dixie gig last weekend and the trombone player, who sits right next to my bell, said my sound was just more there.

Between the Bayamo and the Williwaw I personally find the Bayamo broader and richer sounding. What I found most striking about the Williwaw was its sheer power. The sound really cuts through. The Bayamo has more power down in ledger line territory, but the Williwaw surpassed it in the staff and up. The Williwaw was just a little brighter than what I was looking for and I couldn’t afford two mouthpieces. If you want a "German" sound out of an American tuba, I suggest you give the Williwaw a try.

For me, I kept the Bayamo and am loving it. I find my articulation is better with no loss in flexibility. The stainless steel feels smooth on the lips. In swapping back and forth mouthpieces while comparing, I didn’t notice a difference in slickness compared to the silver plate.

I’m saving more gig money (money in from tuba playing = money out on tuba "stuff") so I can give their smaller mouthpieces a try on my Eb horn. The big ones were just too broad sounding for a quintet horn. I never have settled on a mouthpiece for my Eb horn yet. I’m hoping one of the G&W small ones will end that.

[bttmbow]

A Williwaw? What a great name.

[Bove]

Williwaw.... hmmm... if I'm not mistaken, that would be the term describing a sudden violent gust of cold land air common along mountainous coasts of high latitudes...

[Chuck(G)]

Hmmm...isn't that part of an old song ?

Hut Sut Rawlson on the Williwaw and the Brawla Brawla Sooit...

[Philip Jensen]

Jay,

I’ve never played a gold mouthpiece so I can’t comment on how that feels in comparison. I realized last night after posting that I hadn’t really thought about the feel since it was so similar to silver. So last night I paid more attention. The slickness was pretty similar to the silver. What was pretty evident though was that the stainless steel felt warmer. Being I science kinda guy I looked up some thermal conductivity tables and sure enough, brass has twice the thermal conductivity (I assumed that of the silver was negligible since it is so thin). Therefore brass will conduct heat twice as fast from your lips and feel cooler (as long the air temp is not 98.6 F - Ahhhh, fun gigs)

I subjected one victim to all manner of scales and etude snippits. It came down to I sounded better down low on the Bayamo, but better up high on the Williwaw. I’m still making good strides in my lessons so we figured with a little more face time I can improve my high range on the bigger mouthpiece.

My other victim was more lucky, he only got limited punishment. With him out in the seats of the auditorium I played the 8th note run from the Great Gate of Kiev. The two G&W mouthpieces were much cleaner sounding than the PT88 so we set that one aside. Then for a power test, I played from the same piece, the bit near the end with the 2 triplets, a duplet, 2 triplets, a duplet, with rests on the 2nd beat of the duplets. They both gave plenty of power. I played this several times on each, eventually playing as loud as I possibly could. The Williwaw made the place shake. As I said above though, I preferred the broader sound of the Bayamo.

So to summarize, I find the response to be excellent. I can tongue cleaner and slur better. Tone is hard to describe. It is very similar to that of the PT88 but as the trombone player said, it’s just more there. Hmmm, maybe if sound were humidity, the PT88 would be 75%, and the Bayamo 95% humidity- You just notice it more.

I hope this helps some

[Dylan King]

OK. I'm sitting here playing the Yorkbrunner with my new Bayamo mouthpiecs. It has a much faster response in the low register, and the most comfortable feel I've ever had in a mouthpiece.

The thing barely fits into the receiver of my horn. It has about 1 1/2 cm of room. I would like to see them make one with an even wider shank. The sharp shank is a good improvement, but I think they can ever go bigger!

But I don't care.

The mouthpiece is solid. It feels heavy in my hand and looks like it's from another planet. I'm color blind, but I've had friends tell me it looks blue and green. At least it looks different. And you can use it to decorate watermellon on the 4th of July.

The contour in the mouthpiece is flawless. It is amazing what human engineering is doing these days. The combination of the steel alloy and sharp design of the mouthpiece gives it a tone and response that is sharper, thicker, and performed with less effort.

At first the high range was different. I had to learn to put a lot less pressure and strain on the lips, and just let my lips naturally vibrate in a certain location in the huge cup of the mouthpiece. Once I got a feel for it, even the high notes have gotten better. And the chops never seem to get tired. I wish Arnold Jacobs was around to try this mouthpiece.

I have trouble hitting the high G, 3 lines up, with this Bayamo mouthpiece. I have had the thing for 9 days. The Shilke Helleberg II still does a better job on that. I now there's a spot that will do it. And even get higher. On a few occasions I was able to get an octave over middle C. But so far, it's inconsistant.

I am going to be the sound of the great killer robot in "Tom and Jerry and the Great Space Chase" this Monday. I am only bringing the Bayamo for the CC. I will also have my Rudy and my C4 on stand-bye in case things get highand mighty. It's going to be a mighty interesting session. We'll see if the Bayamo live up to it's name. I think it will.

I think the Bayamo is the best tuba mouthpiece in the world. At least the best I have ever tried.

I am not being paid to make this statement. The people over there at Giddings and Webster have done a heck of a good job!

DK

[MikeMason]

Do you mean the shank is too narrow? the mp has some wobble room? on my holton , the pt series fits great but bach and conn helleburg are too small. also curious about the bayamo...what would be the closest comparison to common mp's ?

[ai698]

I've had the Bayamo for a few weeks now and played a gig on it the second day I had it. I have been playing a Monette 98 for a while and love it, but the Bayamo has the same clean articulation but the low register speaks better on my Rudy 4/4 CC. BTW, I'll sell the Monette 98 if anyone is interested. I still use a Monette 94F on my MW F.

[Philip Jensen]

Mandrake,

I would fall into the strong low register, weaker upper register category myself. I still went with the Bayamo, even though it was easier to play high on the Williwaw.

The Bayamo is fine in the staff, easy to play. The Williwaw felt different there, seemed to magnify my output. If you want to play loud in the staff and up, this is the mouthpiece for you. At the top of the staff and up, the Williwaw was easier.

Me, I really like playing the low stuff. I'll take the lower part every time (except when playing my Eb). I went with the Bayamo for the superior power it gives me below the staff - really B-r-o-a-d sound. I love it.

The Bayamo gives me what I wanted down low, and I figured with some work the higher stuff would get there. I've worked hard to have a great low end, and now that I'm reasonably happy down there I've been paying more atention to the other end. Going with the Williwaw would have meant a bit more work to get the low stuff where I wanted it. However, it was time for me to start working on my high chops instead. Now over 4 months later, my upper range doesn't suffer at all playing on the huge mouthpiece.

As for shipping, the cost really is minimal. It was less than $10 to ship two to me and it was less than $5 to send one back (in the nice mailing tube they came in). Of course, you have to pay for both up front and get a refund when the one you don't keep is sent back.

If you have anymore questions let me know

[Dylan King]

I just recorded with the Bayamo on my Yorkbrunner for the first time on a Tom and Jerry feature. There were some pretty serious low register solos as the killer robot attacked the world in the last act of the movie. I have never felt more confident in the low restiter and pedal range when recording. The composer's were quite pleased.

I'm starting to figure out the high playing as well. The metal is warmer and smoother on the lips, and when not straining up high, plays with comfort and ease. I just can't tell you guys how fascinated I am with this mouthpiece.

-DK

[Philip Jensen]

Yeah, anything across the border is going to cost more - but, I'm pretty sure the cost difference between sending one versus two mouthpieces is not that much. It is the 1st one that makes up the bulk of the cost.

Of course there is the return expense.

Why not send Ivan an email. I'm sure he could tell you what the shipping costs would be for either scenario.

I'm sure you'll enjoy whichever one you get!

[Arthur plays tuba]

Can these mouthpiece ship to places such as Hong Kong? And what's the shipping cost?