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I have a 60's vintage 184 on trial right now and have a question about response in the middle of the staff between d and f. This horn is flat there and I need to use alternate fingering and the response reliablilty goes out the window when I do. I'm using a Laskey 30G now and will try some other mouthpieces. Anyone else experience this phenomenon/ have different mouthpiece suggestions? Thanks.

I played D 1/3, Eb 2/3, and E 1/2 on my Mirafones. Once i got used to it intonation didn't require pulling or pushing.

I agree with Doc. You may have a mismatch between your horn and mouthpiece. I have had very good success with a Wick 3L, and Mirafone C4 and Rose Orchestra, but found, say, a Conn Helleberg, suboptimal. 3rd line d is no problem on my 184 with these former MP's, but 3rd space e has always been best when fingered 12 regardless. No biggie - it's the same deal on lots of CC's.

Get a Laskey 30F or 30C, Miraphone TU21 (C3) or TU23 (C4) or any of the C4 variations/copies/whatever (Yamaha Bobo Symphonic, Schilke 69C4, etc...).

If I were you, I'd get a 30F or TU21. A 184 comes with a TU21. Pitch is easier with it.

I use an American shank Laskey 30H or Schilke Helleberg II F.

My D is fine, Eb is close enough that I subconsciously lip it. open E requires effort to lip up. I usually play it open unless I'm running out of air, then I play it 1+2.

I don't have problems with using alternate fingerings. 30G may be large for the horn, but so far of what I have, it's the best match. I plugged in a 30F and didn't care for it. I'll try again. I have a 30C and will try that as well. Schilke 67 worked OK too. The horn had a Jim Self Marckinewicz in the pouch and I have yet to try that. I played the 30G in quintet last night and so far so good. I'm playing a gig tonight.

When I use the alternates, pitch isn't a problem, so back to the original question about response. When I use true fingerings, no problems, with the alternates, things are really hit or miss. Is this common for this vintage horn? My newer CC tuba doesn't drastically change response based on fingering.

You may not be accustomed to the tuba yet. I find that stuffiness is often perceived when we are trying to make a tuba play a pitch other than in the center of where it wants to respond. (Stellar example being low C on F rotaries.)

I have the same pitch variation of the E in the staff being flat, un-lippable for me most of the time, so I usually use 1-2. I use a PT-64 and it works well. My 184 is probably early 70's vintage.

You might find that the openness of the low register, between low C and pedal C, makes up for the adjustment you have to make in the staff.

MA

I've got a 184 BBb and it's pretty good across the entire range. Is this another one of those cases where the intonation on the BBb version is better than the CC?

cjk wrote:My D is fine, Eb is close enough that I subconsciously lip it. open E requires effort to lip up. I usually play it open unless I'm running out of air, then I play it 1+2.

Mine, too

http://www.miraphone.de/

BBb-84 (BBb-184 3V)
BBb-84A (BBb-184 4V)
CC-84A (CC-184 4V)
CC-84B (CC-184 5V)

MaryAnn wrote:You may not be accustomed to the tuba yet. I find that stuffiness is often perceived when we are trying to make a tuba play a pitch other than in the center of where it wants to respond. (Stellar example being low C on F rotaries.)

MA

That most likely it. I want to put the pitch where it should be VS where the horn wants to put it. I used the Jim Self Marcinkiewicz last night and just missed too many notes for my liking. Still searching...

You might try as C3/TU21 if you can get ahold of one to borrow. That's the MP that they send out with the CCs, and it might give you a good baseline.

I tried a bunch of mouthpieces, PT 20,64,65,82,99, Helleberg, Schilke and Conn, Miraphone TU23, and 24AW when I got my 184 BBb a couple of years ago and settled on a Yamaha Jim Self to my surprise. Yes the 5th partials are a bit flat but not so much I can't lip them up if I want. I do use the same alternate fingers in slow passages. I seem to have more clams with the alternates, more tubing = closer harmonics = more clams. I have more problems with the 12 combos.