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I've been using a "standard" Conn Helleberg for years. Didn't like a recent try at Helleberg 7. What is a Helleberg II?

Schilke

By all accounts, an excellent mpc. I have never owned one, myself.

Paul Sidey's SSH (stainless steel Helleberg) is a fine mouthpiece of the 'funnel' shape variety. It is much more responsive than the big cup mouthpieces that I've worked with (like the PT-88, which is a great mouthpiece when you're looking for a big, dark presence.) The SSH is very reliable either nailing the high notes or popping in the low register. Very predictable, a classic attribute of the flat rim and sharp inner edge. When I was looking for nimble I found it with that mouthpiece. I play it 95% of the time with either horn. (and when I'm not I'm usually on the 88!)

Thanks. From the Werden table, I see that the Conn Helleberg 120S has medium depth, 32.5 mm rim 7.3 mm wide and an 8.1 mm throat. The Schilke is listed with a 31.8 mm rim (pretty close), but no other dimensions listed. Has anyone compared how the two play?

I see that the Sidey SSH is described on their website . . . "The SSH "original" is based on a copy of an original large Helleberg from the 1930s using a "truer Helleberg" narrower, flatter and sharper edge bite rim than is seen today. It has a more open throat than most other "Helleberg" mouthpieces and is slightly larger as well with an Inner Diameter of 33.45 mm. " The PT-88 is listed by Werden at 33.5 mm. Both of those, then, are about 1 mm larger ID than the Conn or Schilke . . . Doesn't sound like much, but I guess small dimensional changes make substantial difference.

I can definitely feel the difference on my embouchure.

Uhmm, honest question from an amatuer.. . Don't need snipers or gratuitous humor. . . . What actually distinguishes a "Helleberg" mouthpiece?

sailn2ba wrote:Uhmm, honest question from an amatuer.. . Don't need snipers or gratuitous humor. . . . What actually distinguishes a "Helleberg" mouthpiece?

It's basically the shape. The Helleberg is a deep, funnel shaped cup, with a narrow, flat rim. Other "Helleberg's" are based on the shape, with maybe a few changes or maybe none. I like the picture Mike Finn put up on his website to show it:



MF3 is a Helleberg shape, MF2 is more like a Bach mouthpiece, "German style," and MF4 is a shallow Helleberg style, as it were.