TubeNet

You might also look into Loud mouthpieces. I have a Loud LM7 that will give you broad sound and Amazeing intoneation on just about any horn. I use it on our Conn 20K souzy, a Conn 20j,My Kalsion DS cc and anything else i play on.

I'm sure I'm not going to make friends with Paul Sidey right now, but since you are so new to the instrument why not give yourself, and your face, a year to get used to it. You can buy a Bach 18 or a clone and a regular Helleberg or a clone both for the price of a SSH, most mouthpieces are variations on the bowl (Bach) or the funnel (Hellebeg) and will give you an approximation of what serves you best. Let your chops settle in and then find someone in your area that is a tuba player of good caliber,take a lesson, and mess around with his/her mouthpieces until you find the right fit. You will be saving yourself a ton of money and you will put off the oncoming fetish of "That mouthpiece will do the magic" that so many of us have been through. YMMV.

Chuck"thinking of all the cool stuff he could have bought if he didn't buy a mouthpiece he thougt gauranteed him to instantly play better"Jackson

Chuck Jackson wrote:I'm sure I'm not going to make friends with Paul Sidey right now, but since you are so new to the instrument why not give yourself, and your face, a year to get used to it. You can buy a Bach 18 or a clone and a regular Helleberg or a clone both for the price of a SSH, most mouthpieces are variations on the bowl (Bach) or the funnel (Hellebeg) and will give you an approximation of what serves you best. Let your chops settle in and then find someone in your area that is a tuba player of good caliber,take a lesson, and mess around with his/her mouthpieces until you find the right fit. You will be saving yourself a ton of money and you will put off the oncoming fetish of "That mouthpiece will do the magic" that so many of us have been through. YMMV.

Chuck"thinking of all the cool stuff he could have bought if he didn't buy a mouthpiece he thougt gauranteed him to instantly play better"Jackson

Heed Chuck's words. Chuck Jackson is wise.

Ah heck. I say buy the four sizes of Kelly, see which one suits you the best, then go from there. The sizes you don't end up liking can be given to your trumpet playing friends. A trumpet mouthpiece in the shank of a tuba mouthpiece makes a fine mini-bugle. bzzzzt. bzzzzt.

Well, a SSH Helleberg is kinda different from an 18 Megatone. Are you sure that's what you want?

I'd say the best thing you can do know is to try out as many pieces as you can. Use your likes and dislikes from each to find out what exactly you are looking for.

Also, definitely take lessons from, or at least consult with, a good tuba person in your hood on the matter. I'd bet they could give you a lot of help on this.


Is there something with the 18 Megatone that you don't like? If it ain't broke, don't fix it, but still keep your eyes open and try out as many as you can.

I don't think you'll have to worry about a mouthpiece lasting through your college days. Any one from a generally established place (Not an eBay one with "new silver color") will last if you take proper care of it.

I think a good tuba player, or even a low brass player, could help you out with your embouchure. This sounds to me more issues with your embouchure. At my school this year, two sax players switched to tuba for marching ("WE NEED TEN TUBAS"), and they account to me how different tuba is from saxophone. A new mouthpiece looks like the magic thing that will solve your probems, but it's really not save for a very small amount of cases. Be patient with your tuba playing. You'll get there.


I can appreciate, though, that you have to get your own mouthpiece soon. Especially since you don't know a lot about tuba mouthpieces, go around and learn all you can about them. When I was looking around for my new one, I looked all over (mainly the internet) and read everything I could on brass mouthpieces, how they work and what the differences are between them. If you can't really try out many other pieces, don't go for a shot in the dark.

What kind of tuba are you playing, and do you want a different mouthpiece for outdoors vs indoors, or are you limited in budget right now to just one mouthpiece?

Since you're already on the "second rung" so to speak of tuba playing, a good mouthpiece for concert/symphonic band on any 4/4 sized tuba is a Conn 120S Helleberg, or its Faxx equivalent, as it is a decent mouthpiece with decent tone and range, relatively easy to obtain, at a relatively inexpensive price.

For outdoors, I use a Kelly 18 exclusively for all the reasons you will find in all the other threads about Kellys.

The LOUD LM-7 is a great mouthpiece, especially for situations where you need great projection and razor sharp intonation and articulation. Depending on the tuba you play, it might actually be too clean and direct to get a broad tone necessary for supporting a concert/symphonic band.

Because of it's weight, I think you'd find the LM-7 more similar to the Megatone. Because of that, the fundamentals are really shown up. My Marcinkiewicz is very much likes that, and supporting the band works so well, especially on a great horn like a Miraphone 186.

ok. This is a toughy. I played on a shlike Helleburg once during marching season (accedently left the LM7 in my concert case ). And It was a very nice mouthpiece. It compaired vell to the LM7, but I did notice a loss in intonation and clearity. Not that it was bad, I beat a bach 24aw by a long shot. But the LM7 is alot better in the high register and produces nice clear low notes. So, It's really up to what you're used to. The LM7 has a nice deep cup while the Helleburg had a more rounded shallow cup. The LM7 works on any horn I put it on. weather it be an old beater 3/4 yammaha or my next to new Kalsion. And, it works good with CC tubas so it'd be good for colladge. I would recomend the LM7. But thats just me. Where are you located? If you're anywhere near NW Arkansas then i'll let you give my LM7 a blow and see what you think.

I'm our only tubist also. we have some where around 40 people so, It'll provide the solid back ground or the gentle solo. just see if you can try them both out. The helleberg I played wasn't Stainless, so that may improve it quite a bit.

Get a Kelly 18 and play it for a year at least before you think about trying anything else. Focus on playing, not on the mouthpiece.

What do ya'll think of a Bobo Symphonic Replica for him? I know of one with a price that can't be beat!

What do ya'll think of a Bobo Symphonic Replica for him?

Got it. Don't like it. Jim Self replica is OK. But it's on the biggish side (but not BIG), so difficult to recommend to a relatively new player and to somebody who has trouble getting past D in staff with a Bach 18.

Kelly 25. Cheap. A little deeper sound than Bach 25.
Conn 7B. If you must have a "Helleberg".

Yamaha 66D4 kept me going for my first couple of years. Fat cushy rim gives new embouchure a lot of support and, along with big throat, is easy to play in lower half of range, but rim does get in the way somewhat on higher range.

By the way, I don't care what the literature says, I'm convinced a Bach 22 is just a fat rimmed Bach 18. I done did the measurements. Looks the same on the inside but goes out wider. Sounds the same too. I never got along a Bach 18. Still don't.

Oh yeah ...
What ever happened to the TU23 guy?

I started out as a baritone saxophone player, and always wanted to play tuba and string bass exclusively. I was very fortunate to be able to study with a fantastic Houston based professional tubist. With him, I was using a Conn Helleberg and a Miraphone Rose Orchestra mouthpiece. I had asked him prior to our first lesson, would these mouthpieces be alright to use and he approved. I was using these with a VMI 2103 BB-Flat. The point is, if you can get a private teacher who plays tuba,  get one as soon as you can. Bad habits can set in quickly, and this can set you back in your playing.  If you have a Miraphone 186, this horn will not stop you by any means. I hope this helps. You have a lot of work ahead of you, but no player really "arrives", it takes constant work and practice, even for the greatest players. Best wishes to you in your tuba playing and studies.

my only problem having consistency of getting notes past D(in staff). I also think the cup in diameter is kind of big cause I have to pinch sometimes to get the higher notes and it doesn't sound pleasant.

Don´t worry too much about this. After a half year on tuba, your embouchure and face muscles (these two are not necessarily the same) are far from fully developed, which will be the main reason for inconsistencies or flaws in sound.

I have one mouthpiece it took me 1.5 years to get close to a nice mid range (and after 17 years of tuba playing, I´d consider myself to be an accomplished hobbyist).
By now I consider a PT50+ my SMALL MP for chamber music use.

At your stage of playing (judging from the time you´ve had on the horn) I´d guess the differences between MP-sizes are not that important to your sound.
I´d say stick with the advice given by many already: get your own not-too-big MP at low price and keep up the good work.
There is no real need for different MPs for different playing situations, neither. Not at this point.
By the time you´ll WANT to change to a different MP you´ll most probably have your own funds to pay for it.

If I were you I'd buy a Faxx Helleberg and a Faxx 18. They are truly fine copies of a Conn Helleberg and a Bach 18 and they're only $35 each.

http://www.wwbw.com/Faxx-Tuba-and-Sousa ... 3701.music

Art Hovey wrote:Get a Kelly 18 and play it for a year at least before you think about trying anything else. Focus on playing, not on the mouthpiece.

That's some prime advice right there. Focus on your playing, give your chops some time to develop. If you must own your own mouthpiece, an 18 is a solid all-around mouthpiece. The kelly's are also made of plastic, right? GREAT for outdoor playing in cold weather . . .

The Jackson wrote:I don't think you'll have to worry about a mouthpiece lasting through your college days. Any one from a generally established place (Not an eBay one with "new silver color") will last if you take proper care of it.

I think a good tuba player, or even a low brass player, could help you out with your embouchure. This sounds to me more issues with your embouchure. At my school this year, two sax players switched to tuba for marching ("WE NEED TEN TUBAS"), and they account to me how different tuba is from saxophone. A new mouthpiece looks like the magic thing that will solve your probems, but it's really not save for a very small amount of cases. Be patient with your tuba playing. You'll get there.

Da Jackson been payin' attention! I think that is great advice.There are a lot of muscles that have to get used to doing a job they have never been asked to to before.

Mouthpieces? Right now, you don't have to get too fancy. If you have to march around outside where it is cold, a Kelly would be great- plastic doesn't get cold easily. If an 18 has been working for you, get an 18. You can be more particular when you get a little better on the horn.

I'd like to solve the puzzle:

"Elkhart"?

"hart". It could be the Bob Newhart model. In which case the naked lady would, of course, be Suzanne Pleshette. (RIP)