TubeNet

If your instrument plays anything like the 605 I got to try out today, you GOTTA try the PT82. See my posts about it in the Tuba World in Springfield Missouri thread. That mouthpiece really opened up the 605 I tried today. If I were starting over and 20 years younger, that is one of combinations that would be on the short list.

Another 18-style mouthpiece that is really good is the Blessing version, which is more like a Mt Vernon 18, and is, as others have commented, "The best 18 Bach never made." It has the 1.26 (32mm) diameter and medium bowl cup, and is good on a souzy as well.

I'll echo the Blessing 18 comment - really nice mouthpiece, especially for the price...

I like the Kelly 18 as well, but I use a Tone ring to compensate for the light weight. Feels and works great; it used to be my main mouthpiece on my 52J, when I had one

J.c.S.

Well, you haven't gotten a ton of response on this. Maybe not enough time has passed since the last mouthpiece question. I waited because the Bach 18 is not really my thing. I'll second the motion for the Kelly 18. Another Bach type mouthpiece I like a little better than the Kelly 18 is the DEG Astro Nylon.
http://tinyurl.com/6h9f56
From the official model number A03AW14, I think the "14", whether intentional or not, is a good indicator of where it fits in the Bach size ... if Bach made a 14. I find the rim to be very comfortable, not too wide, not too narrow, about the right roundness for when I want to play a Bach-ish style mouthpiece. I get an attractive, world class tone with it. That's why you haven't heard many other claims on Tubenet lately about world class tone. No doubt, they have heard me playing the Astro Nylon. Madonna heard me playing too. Why do you think there was all that news about her contemplating a divorce?

I agree about the Kelly needing mass to help stability and increase usable dynamic range. I went the cheap route and just wrapped a ring of golfer's lead tape around the bottom of the bowl where it meets the shank where throat is.

Part of the articulation & response dilemma may be that the 605 is really massive for a 4/4+ BBb tuba. I also found I had to "push" a little harder to get all the response out of it I wanted, but unlike a lot of tubas, that extra bit of "push" was rewarded with superlative intonation and consistency.

Allthumbs wrote: I have been considering an MF1 or MF2 after reading up on them here at TubeNet and looking over his site.

I have an MF2 with a rare Am. standard shank on the old Piggy that works great. Slightly different inside - little more funnel-like than the 18 I think, but works great. Big dark sound. Also have a Kelly 18 for trips to buzz on.

Ike

Bob1062 wrote:Are the MF contrabass mouthpieces American or European shank?

The MF2 I just got from Greg comes in at about 0.527 eenchiz.

Mike Finn will turn the shank however you want it. He's a great guy. Just shoot him an email. His website is http://www.mikefinnmouthpieces.com" target="_blank .