TubeNet

D) None of the above (except of course the blokepiece).

I prefer rims that are narrower than your standard Helleberg. Something in the "less than 7mm" range.
A little bit of an inner edge is preferred.

It sounds silly but I like the Bach 18 rim after it's roughed up with Scotch Brite. If the rim is too smooth, I can't get a good grip for the high notes.

Scooby Tuba wrote:
The other one is the mouthpiece Dave Houser is making from a certain "bloke's" F tuba mainstay. It seems to marry a traditional Hellebergish (maybe?) rim (flatter/sharpish/narrower) with an F type cup (TU23/C4 or PT64 maybe?). Has any one played seem this one first-hand? Seems to offer a combination not really found elsewhere. Is there anything out there like this?

I haven't actually played on one, but I ordered one of those mouthpieces. I haven't seen anything quite like it on the market before. Here are the spec's bloke sent to me back in March:

cup width - 1.3" (33 mm)
rim width - .27" (6.9 mm)
rim style - semi-flat / semi-thin
cup depth 1.18" (30 mm)
cup style - vintage/classic Waldkraiburg bowl
throat - .335" (8.5 mm)
throat style - extended reverse taper to flare
smallest diameter of backbore - .325" (8.25 mm)
backbore exit diameter - .44" (11.2 mm)
shank style - American
body design - lightweight

I believe he's cutting off orders for the first batch on October 1st. The cost is $140 + shipping, $50 deposit due before the cut off date. That's not bad at all for a custom piece. If you're interested in one, send him a PM ASAP! Joe (bloke) is a solid guy to do business with.

I like the somewhat sharp rim my Marcinkiewicz H2 has. It has a bit of "cushion" (not so much as a Laskey) which is really nice.

I find great success with the wide ( >33mm ) 'pieces. I feel like my Marcinkiewicz has all the good sound from the 120-S (and more) plus a more relaxed feeling for me. I don't find any facial disagreements with the big pieces that others do, though. I don't know what it is, really. I don't think my lips or anything is any larger than another average tuba player (harharhar).

If I could find larger mass Laskey 30H, there would be one mouthpiece I'd look at.

I don't get to choose between sharp and rounded...bonking is the major factor for me.

I'm currently using a Giardinelli 25 that some kind tubenetter sent me a while back; it is much better in the nose-bonking arena than anything else I have, and I can make it work. My druthers generally are for sharper inner edge, and a fairly thin rim.

MA

I prefer the rim of the Sidey Stainless Steel Helleberg. I played on a PT-44 for quite a while and was QUITE pleased to come across the Helleberg as I was looking for a rim of that nature. MY only problem was the wide inside diameter(33.46mm), but have since switched to the same rim but with a more manageable 32.6mm I.D.

My current main piece is the LM-5 with the SSH rim.

bloke wrote:

The Jackson wrote:If I could find larger mass Laskey 30H, there would be one mouthpiece I'd look at.

I believe you, in particular, might be looking for Joe Murphy's LM-7.

Like the mouthpiece shown above (not the Giardinelli) the LM-7 is made of stainless steel.

Unlike the mouthpiece shown above, the LM-7 is quite massive...and quite similar to a Laskey 30H.

http://www.loudmouthpieces.com

Thanks for that. I'll definitely check that one out. From my relatively small experience with stainless steel 'pieces, I like the feel of the stuff. Having those screw rims that LOUD offers might not be a bad thing, too.

Scooby Tuba wrote:TubaRyan is selling/sold this Giardinelli 18. Typically a contrabass mouthpiece with a flatter/sharper than it's Bach cousin rim. Seemingly an "if they mated" thing going on--- an almost Hellebergish rim with a Bach body. I bet it will be comfy. I've never dug the 18 cup, but a lot of people sound great on them. Notice the rim. I wonder if that rim will "allow" me to like the cup...

Indeed that is what it was like, very nice feel. If the backbore was a little more like the G&W Matanuska that I still have I would have kept it just for the fact that it looks cool. I didn't want to chance altering it, only to find out I couldn't make it the same, so I ebay'd it. I hope the new owner will be as happy with it as I am with the G&W......now, if G&W would, for a small fee, reshape old versions to look like the new versions that would be great (hint, hint)

Bass Flatulance wrote:It sounds silly but I like the Bach 18 rim after it's roughed up with Scotch Brite. If the rim is too smooth, I can't get a good grip for the high notes.

Somewhere around here, you might be able to find Ivan G of G&W discussing what sounded like promising experiments with rim texture. So maybe not all that silly.

I have a PT42 with a little texture on the rim from getting dropped.

Eric B wrote:

Scooby Tuba wrote:
The other one is the mouthpiece Dave Houser is making from a certain "bloke's" F tuba mainstay. It seems to marry a traditional Hellebergish (maybe?) rim (flatter/sharpish/narrower) with an F type cup (TU23/C4 or PT64 maybe?). Has any one played seem this one first-hand? Seems to offer a combination not really found elsewhere. Is there anything out there like this?

I haven't actually played on one, but I ordered one of those mouthpieces. I haven't seen anything quite like it on the market before. Here are the spec's bloke sent to me back in March:

cup width - 1.3" (33 mm)
rim width - .27" (6.9 mm)
rim style - semi-flat / semi-thin
cup depth 1.18" (30 mm)
cup style - vintage/classic Waldkraiburg bowl
throat - .335" (8.5 mm)
throat style - extended reverse taper to flare
smallest diameter of backbore - .325" (8.25 mm)
backbore exit diameter - .44" (11.2 mm)
shank style - American
body design - lightweight

I believe he's cutting off orders for the first batch on October 1st. The cost is $140 + shipping, $50 deposit due before the cut off date. That's not bad at all for a custom piece. If you're interested in one, send him a PM ASAP! Joe (bloke) is a solid guy to do business with.

I ordered one of Bloke's mouthpieces and I'll let y'all know what it is like after I get mine later this fall.

-Matt

All the above, I currently play a TU-33, Kelly 18 and a Conn H'berg 7B. Whatever makes the horn in question play the best for me. I tried Conn Hellebergs several times and quit them pretty quickly, until I found them to work well for my last two American concert horns: a King 1240 and an Olds O-99. I guess I'm lucky to have tolerant chops/embouchure physiology.

Eric "who doesn't get hung up on rims too much" L.

Bobster, try a Bach 7 or a Miraphone TU33 on that 187 to open up the low end - it is there just waiting to come out. You're a big boy, use a bigger mp.

Eric "who gets a little misty remembering the low end on his former 187" L.

PT-88+, it gives me a big mouthpiece but not too big of a rim. (I have a smaller face in terms of mouth size). I find that while i enjoy the feel of a Miraphone C4/TU-23 the rim is soo large/wide that it hurts the underside of my nose (cuts into the cartilage/bone).

I like coarse rims. Maybe something like that fancy glass bead finish but on the rim instead of just the outside. Then again maybe I'm the only tuba player that dry shaves.

Speaking of facial hair...

Do any of you with moustaches find that Lexan mouthpieces actually hurt you more than a metal mouthpiece? I don't know why, but my Kellyberg causes me quite a bit of discomfort in my 'stache.

Just thinking out loud here

That is the very reason I find it hard to play on my Mirafone C4, that wide rim cuts into the bottom of my nose. I like big Mouthpieces with narrow rims .

Scooby Tuba wrote:MA,

Have you ever tried the Cooley Helleberg?

It's a smaller diameter mouthpiece and doesn't have that goofy wide rim that was stuck on the Conn Helleberg 7B. So, it's overall diameter is smaller, too.

Might be worth a look...

S"bonk=hurt nose"T

Since the thread is alive again....if I run into a Cooley Helleberg I'll give it a try. Currently got asked to sub back in brass band (Eric, you really should have said yes on this one,) and still find that my 184 CC works better on the Eb part than my 182 F. I can't just honk out the low notes that drive the tempo as well on the 182. Drive the tempo, you ask? There is a snare drummer who simply cannot find the beat (reason why I quit,) and the conductor "appreciates it" when I actually play on her beat instead of following the snare's alternate reality. I can drag the half of the band that is near me, with me, by doing this, but the other half is on its own.

But I'm back on my 7B for this concert, bonk or no bonk. There isn't all that much high playing, and I think I can handle a few middle Cs. If not...I'll take two stupid tubas with me to a stupid outdoor concert that likely will have 12 people at it. Or just play that nice "euphonium part" down an octave. Come to think of it...maybe I should play that "euphonium part" on a euphonium.

MA