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I do a little bit of euph playing in lessons and have gotten myself a nice,older,cheap yamaha 321.I'm currently using a 51d.I think I want something a little bigger.What mp would you suggest to get the most "real euphonium"sound out of a small shank,non-comp yammie?One weird thing about my euph playing, i have a hard time with response in the low register,but no real issues in the high register.Is the 51d a really small mp and i'm just not familiar enough with euph mp's to know it? Thanks...

I've heard the Schilke 51D was designed especially for the Yama 321. It's fairly large, as small shank mouthpieces go, and deep as well.

What would be larger? Schilke 53 comes in a small shank. A Bach 5G is about the same size, I think. A Bach 4 would be a larger diameter, though not quite as deep. A 3 would be even wider... about the same size as the 53 above, though not as comfortable for me. I'm not sure if the Wick 4A comes in small shank, but that would be a good choice as well.

No matter what the mouthpiece, I'm not sure you're going get the same depth of tone out of Yama 321 you could from a bigger horn. That horn has a wonderfully flexible sound, great in a lot of ways, but I personally could not get the same sound I do from my Sterling. Just as good, yes, but not the same.

John
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You might look into the Perantucci PT-4. The rim is 51-sized but somewhat rounder. The cup is deeper and has a really large throat (8mm). It's the darkest sounding mouthpiece I've encountered when paired with the 321. If I recall correctly, this mouthpiece was originally designed by Lucas Spiros when he was with the Marine Band back in the '70's.

The Schilke 51 is slightly larger than a Bach 6 1/2AL and the stock Yamaha 48 which comes with the 321, but it's not particularly large.

Check out the euphonium mpc comparison guide compiled by David Werden.

I'd recommend a Denis Wick 4AY, bigger inside diameter, but it's not as dark as the 51D. The low range will be easier and bigger sounding. The high range may be a little more difficult ...

100% agree on Denis Wick 4AY , ( Y ) for Yamaha

The largest they make in the SM series, small shank, is the SM4B (B for baritone). It sounds exactly the same as the 4AY but the inner edge is more rounded on the SM4B. I like the 4AY better, I have cleaner/easier articulations and easier high range because of the sharper inner edge.

I've played on a Perantucci 2A for almost 2 decades now on my 321 (and everything else). Great mouthpieces. I love mine, all, my students have free will, and have all chose one for themselves. However, I can't find anyone who sells new 'Tucci euph mouthpieces anymore. Any thoughts?

J.c.

I played with a Schilke 52D when I had the 321. I liked the deep cup, finding it gave me the darkest sound on the smaller horn.

Indeed. Schilkes do tend to give a better tone on Yammy euphs, whether it be a 50 for a beginner, a "standard" 51D, the 52D mentioned above, or a variant otherwise.

My comeback euph friend who plays a Jupiter 470, a copy of the non-comp Yammy euph, gets excellent results on a Schilke 50. Another career friend of mine sounds fantastic on an older version of the 632 with a Schilke 51D, as do a legion of other players.

So not necessarily a particular model number, but I'd definitely lean towards the Schilke catalog for a mouthpiece for a Yammy euph.

When I can get people to play slightly under pitch, I use a 51D Kelly on my King 2280. Now the King is certainly a student euph, but the low range on it sounds just great with the 51D, almost tuba-like. I can't imagine needing a bigger cup, but that's me.

If you're having low register response problems, I'm going to guess that it's not the mouthpiece but rather still needing more time for your chops to figure out how to play low on a cup diameter that is smaller than a tuba mouthpiece.

MA

After my Yamaha 321 wore out (yes, wore out) I bought the King 2280 as an interim horn until I was able to get a Besson Sovereign. I liked the Schilke 52D so much with the 321, I got the large shank 52D to use with the King. LOVED the sound. And not so much the depth of the low register, but the upper end of the horn was so easy as well.

My 2 cents worth.