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Hello, fair and beautiful denizens of TubeNet!

I've been throwing around in my head the idea of using multiple mouthpieces on the same horn for different applications. Specifically, I'm preparing for a mock audition that contains a fair amount of "Professional"-level excerpts and I do not believe I can make it all work on a single mouthpiece-horn combination.

I have only one horn (Yamaha YCB-621) and that will be my one horn for quite awhile. As I understand it, the majority professional-level auditioners have two horns, a bass and a contrabass.

Basically, I have a "big" mouthpiece for the "big" excerpts (Ride, Prok. 5, Bruckner 7) and a "medium" mouthpiece for the not "big" excerpts (Hungarian March, Symphonie Fantastique, Mahler 1). So far, it is working nicely to my ears.

So, I question is, is this kind of system not unheard of? Would doing this be harmful to me by giving me a "crutch" on different types of playing?

Thank you!

-Jackson Parodi

PS: If it matters, the big mouthpiece is a Marcinkiewicz CH H2 and the medium mouthpiece is a Dillon G5B

I do it. If I am playing stuff where I mainly need to be phat and strong, I use a bigger MP. If the set requires more control and elegance, then I use a MP that lets me do that.

Arnold Jacobs as a proponent of using different mouthpieces; the result can be heard on the CSO Low Brass album on the Tomasi "To Be or Not To Be." I remember telling a trombonist associate that Jacobs used only the York on the album and he didn't believe me.

You'll never make the small Yamaha sound like a BAT but you can make it sound like a 4/4 if you are good enough. Go for it!

That's what I did before I started playing F tuba. Right now, I only need one mpc per horn, but that might change as new performance scenarios arise... To loosely paraphrase the TubeNet mantra, "Use whatever works."

Thank you all very much for the replies so far!

Yes, I do believe that "whatever works best" is what it al boils down to. I was worried about whether or not doing this would be detrimental to my playing now or in the future.

Again, thanks!

Nice to see you're using the G5B

I do the same as well. Slightly deeper mouthpiece for orchestra, medium depth mouthpiece for band and quintet.

I have the Curry for general stuff, from quintet through small ensemble to large concert band, on my 186, and a PT34 for more solo/high range/I'm the only guy back there/cut through the mud/ stuff.

I have a PT82 for indoor and mild outdoor and a Kelly 18 for inclement outdoor for the 38K.

I have a Wick 1 for the Besson. Occasionally I use the Kelly 18 for Christmas-related outdoors.

Getting the *exact* same rim for multiple mouthpieces and applications, even within the catalog of a single manufacturer, is futile, unless the person is willing to send them all off to someone like Vladimir at Dillon's to have them matched.

That said, I have kept the same cup diameter for the various mouthpieces I use, as the 1.28"/32.5mm fits my embouchure the best.

Finally, after playing several mouthpieces, I'm not sure rims of exactly the same contour are even desirable. The different rims are a design element of what a particular mouthpiece is designed to do, and, with the exception of the Curry rim which, being very wide to start with, I had to have taken down to Mt Vernon 18 profile and width in order to fit my nose and chin, all of the differences in the rims have helped me focus on the reason I use the particular mouthpiece for the particular application.

Then there's Jake with his adjustible depth mouthpiece:

The Jackson wrote:I'm preparing for a mock audition

Is bloke giving up his seat!?

The Jackson wrote:"Professional"-level excerpts

If you use multiple horns, you will likely need multiple mouthpieces to make them sound their best... at least everyone I know does, so I wouldn't give specialization another thought. With the possible exception of the horn, the tubist is expected to cover the widest range of parts by far in the orchestra- and one does whatever is required to cover those parts!

If you want to use different cups on your mouthpieces isn't this what the screw rim mouthpieces such as the Doug Elliott or Loud mouthpieces be good for. Does anyone here use a screw rim with a single rim and 2 or more different size cups.