G&W Surgical Stainless Steel Tuba mouthpiece

[SirCharls]

Anyone have any comments on these?

I saw this and wondered wha the advantages are, and if there are any disadvantages...

G&W Surgical Stainless Steel Tuba mouthpiece

"Nurse, pass the tuba mouthpiece..."

sigh

[Leland]

I'd like to try one for myself sometime. Anyway, here's what's been said so far:

viewtopic.php?t=1794&highlight=stainless+mouthpiece

viewtopic.php?t=1510&highlight=stainless+mouthpiece

viewtopic.php?t=1389&highlight=stainless+mouthpiece

[wtuba]

Charlie, I recently started using one of the G & W mp's (the model called Williwaw) with my MW2145 and I am very pleased with it. To be honest, I don't know how much effect the stainless steel has, but the mp design is outstanding, in my view. Notes center well, articulation is clean, all registers are responsive, etc., etc. As a general comment, I guess I would say that what I like most is that it allows me to work with the horn to get the results I want, and instead of getting in my way, it actually makes things easier. I think the mp is excellent, and it was a pleasure to deal with Ivan Giddings, too..wtuba

[Lew]

SirCharls, I saw this recently as well and have been wondering. At USD$135, they are really quite expensive ... I'd say about CAD$210 or more once it arrived on my doorstep. Is the improvement worth it? Financing is my problem ... I need a new mouthpiece (larger than my Bach 12) and am very hesitant because I want it to last me for a long time ... through University at least. If I can't find anything that suits me perfectly then I won't switch.

There is a Schilke mouthpiece that I tried at Long & McQuade which I like. They didn't have a Bach 7. How does this compare to the Bayamo model? Both web sites list information that isn't on the other ( ). I definitely want to be able to try a mouthpiece before having to commit to purchasing it, and unfortunately for G W, shipping anything cross-border from the U.S. is quite expensive.

I don't know what you've been looking at, but $135 US isn't much higher than the cost of many tuba mouthpieces I have seen. The more important question is what made you decide that you needed something larger than a Bach 12? The Bach 12 has a diameter of 32.75mm, which is larger than most. It may not be as deep as others, but it's still a relatively large mouthpiece. If you like the Schilke, maybe the problem is that you are using a cup shaped mouthpiece and you are more comfortable on more of a "Helleberg" style. There is only one Schilke standard tuba mouthpiece that is as large as your Bach 12, the 69C4, and that's got about the same dimensions as the Bach. Talk to a good teacher about what you need before going out and spending anything on a new mouthpiece.

[Philip Jensen]

I have the Bayamo, the biggest one, and love it. Being curious as I am, I wanted to try them. At the time I ordered mine, only the larger models were in production. I wasn't really looking to buy a new mouthpiece for my large horn, I was quite happy with my PT-88. I liked the PT-88 for its power down low, well the Bayamo hands down outplays the the PT-88 in all aspects. Like wtuba said, it lets me do what I want with the horn.

What I have been in the market for is a new mouthpiece for my Eb horn so I just ordered the three smaller ones, the Churado, the Bora, and the Matanuska. I hope to have them by the weekend. If anyone would like to stop by and try them they are more then welcome. Send me an email.

I'll probably only be keeping one of them, but maybe I can get Ivan to let me hang onto all three for a little extra time if I know some people are coming to try them out. Heck, I'm hosting a pig roast on Aug. 7th, if you need another excuse to vist central PA. I can feed you well, but I've got other guests coming so I can't put you up for the night unless you want to pitch a tent in the back yard.


Philip "trying to decide between a keg of Bitburger, St. Pauli Girl, or Spaten for the pig roast" Jensen

[Mark]

As to cost, I don't know where YOU'VE been looking.

$135 is just slightly above average. PT, Dillon, and Miraphone mouthpieces run about $95 for silver. Doug Elliot's are about $180 for a complete mouthpiece, Mike Finn's are $125, Warbuton's are $150, Parke Ofenloch is $250, and Monettes are, of course, $350.

[Philip Jensen]

The three I ordered I hope will arrive today if I'm lucky.

If you can't find a good excuse to stop by here in central PA to give them a test, here's another possibility if someone wants to give these a short try. I'm going to be visiting in-laws in Manhattan (upper East side) from Aug 3rd (eve) until Aug 5th (morning). If anyone can come up with a reasonable plan I can bring the mouthpieces with me. The in-laws apt. is out for testing and I don't want to travel very far and it will have to fit in with our not yet formulated plans. Best bet would be the evening of the 4th. My wife will kill me for suggesting this so it has to be a good plan.

Alternatively, if Ivan will let me hang on to them a little longer (as I said I'll probably only keep one) I will likely be in Laurel, Md. the weekend of Aug. 14th visiting more in-laws. We'll be staying in a hotel so they could probably be tested there (not ideal of course accoustic wise). Again my wife will kill me for suggesting this so it has to be a good plan. Best bet here would be mid-morning before we've gotten our acts together coordinating the day's activities for 6 adults, none of which are particularly early risers.

I'm not sure of the dates for the Md trip yet, we could be coming down as early as the 12th (eve) and leaving as late as the 16th. All these trips are chauffering around my brother-in-law who will be visiting from Germany. He's works for a small opera company so any plan that might be musically interesting to others would be good. No, I'm afraid the average person does not consider listening to someone play test mouthpieces as a thrilling activity, as hard as that is to believe. Any plan would not have to involve the wife and in-laws, but it can't take me away from to much "family" time. They arrive in NYC on the 1st so any dates for the Md trip won't be determined until after that.

If you're interested and can come up with a good plan, send me an email.

[Leland]

If you can't find a good excuse to stop by here in central PA

You're actually kinda local --

We'll be performing at a show in Hershey, PA, this coming Sunday (nothing like a mouthpiece "trial under fire".. lol). I could also make myself available on the Saturday of the weekend you'll be in MD.

So, yeah, I'd like to see what they're like, as would some of the other players in my group.

[Philip Jensen]

Leland wrote:

You're actually kinda local --

We'll be performing at a show in Hershey, PA, this coming Sunday (nothing like a mouthpiece "trial under fire".. lol). I could also make myself available on the Saturday of the weekend you'll be in MD.

So, yeah, I'd like to see what they're like, as would some of the other players in my group.

I'm about 2hrs from Hershey and I too have a concert on Sunday so that's out. My wife would really kill me for arranging something then!

During the MD visit is a real possibility. If it is just yourself, I would probably suffer little family ill will if you stopped by the hotel for a test (probably early-mid morning). The somewhat oddball nature of testing a tuba mouthpiece in a hotel would likely appeal to them. If you know several local people who want to give them a try (ie. more time needed), then in the interest of family harmony the best bet would be to borrow them for a day. That way we'd only have to arrange pickup and drop off times.

If you can line up several people who want to try them, I'll see if I can get Ivan to send out a Williwaw so I would then have the full line available.

Any real planning would have to wait until after we pick up my brother-in-law the 1st week of Aug.

Send me an email and we can discuss further

The family wrath would not be much. The trips are to sibling-in-laws, we live in town with the parental-in-laws (who think I'm fantastic), and we all get along great so I get cut a fair bit of slack - as long as I don't push it too much.

[Allen]

What are these "surgical steel" mouthpieces made of? The term "surgical steel" does not have a definition as there are a number of different alloys used in connection with surgery, both for instruments and for implantable objects.

Stainless steels generally have a hard layer of chromium oxide on the surface, which serves to prevent contact with the nickel which is part of the alloy.

I would like to have someone publish the stainless steel alloy number for the material used to make these mouthpieces (for example, type 316?).

Allen Walker