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I was going trough some of my old notes and came across a story I thought was worth sharing.

A couple of years ago I bumped into an old student of Jens Bjørn-Larsen. We started talking and of course I asked what equipment he was using. He played a 6 valve B&S F and a HB-50. Nice tubas!! I then proceeded asking him about what kind of mouthpiece he was using (thinking that I could sound the same on my B&S F if I used the same mouthpiece as he did). He pulled out a standard Helleberg and said he used that for everything. The only other mouthpiece he owned was a spare Helleberg.
I thought he would have given me a lecture on all the exotic mouthpieces he used, but no such thing. Only a basic Helleberg! Baffled, I asked him why. He explained that back in the day Jens and him had tried a few different mouthpieces and the Helleberg worked just fine. And he had never encountered a problem using that mouthpiece that could not be overcome by practising enough!!!! So why should he use anything else? I shut up, went home and wrote it down, and have not bought a mouthpiece since. Every time I have trouble, and think I need a new tuba or mouthpiece, I go a practice some more. And it works! I can overcome my problems by practicing!

That is the single best piece of tuba playing advice I have ever gotten, and I use it every day.

To your point, I'm in total agreement. I would only say that using different mouthpieces affords the player a wider range of sound color.

Yeah,but who wants to practice when you can just throw money at your problems? (and not solve them )

It never fails that any time I get an itch to switch horns (I've been playing a PT6 for 9 years), I just practice more.

Problem solved!

Well ... I don't know. The perfect mouthpiece is out there. It is vitally important that you find it. And you will never know until you have tried them ALL.

I´ve been thinking I was never going to need a different mouthpiece. Several times.
Each time I ran across something that helped me do things in a better way, or made life easier. Did i NEED a new MP, then ? Probably not. Did I switch anyways ? Yep.
Each time, it was upon taking a weekend of lessons with a well known tuba pro, who´d let me try out MPs from a box he had. So I never had to buy a NEW one.

We tend to forget we are the principal component in the sound. The particular tuba and mouthpiece just 'help', or 'hinder' in producing the sound in our head. Once one finds the combination that suits, then best to stick with it.

The thing is to recognise when we have found our 'best match'. Most people are always searching for something that little bit better, while what they so often get turns out to be inferior to the status quo.

Harvey Phillips once told me that he was using a custom-made bakelite mouthpiece until it broke just before a performance. He was able to borrow a standard Conn mpc from someone and that's what he stayed with for the rest of his career.

That is really neat. It just really just shows that practice will overcome any equipment "issue." I always have loved the stories of Arnold Jacobs playing amazingly on any random tuba or mouthpiece.

Practice. What a concept!

Practice. What a concept!

.... with the right mouthpiece, of course.

Yeah,but who wants to practice when you can just throw money at your problems? (and not solve them)

You are right!! I have not bought a new mouthpiece since, but a couple of tubas have mysteriously made their way into my "collection" anyway.