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Hi all,
Yesterday I have once again been trying out the different mouthpieces I own on my 20K sousaphone. My findings have convinced me there must be something better out there. These where my experiences:

Wick 1XL:
This is the mouthpiece I usually use. I like it's smooth broadness of sound, and the fact that the rim makes it virtually impossible to fatigue the embouchure. Very comfortable.It also seems to allow louder playing before breaking up. Downside: more difficult to control in the high range

Bach 18:
Very functional, clear, fast attack, easy control all across the range. But it sounds smaller, and lacks the broadness of the wick.

Bach 7:
Overall fairly good, but rather uncomfortable to me, and I seem to need a lot more air. Also seems to make the horn break up sooner at higher vollumes.

Yamaha Bobo symphonic:
This is the mouthpiece I usually use on my Yamaha 822 F. Best controll and attack of these four. Very agile.But the sound seems very muffled to me, especially in the mid range.

So I am basicly looking for something that combines the ease and agility of the Bobo with the sound of the Wick. All suggestions and tips from those of you who play this horn would be most appreciated.

Mark

I have no firdst hand knowledge of the Bach 7. The others appear to be smallish compared to what I use (the Sidey Classic in brass) and used (PT-50) on my comparable 40K.

Have you tried the Conn Helleberg?

Klaus

46K wrote:
So I am basicly looking for something that combines the ease and agility of the Bobo with the sound of the Wick. All suggestions and tips from those of you who play this horn would be most appreciated.

Mark

Have you tried the Wick 2L or XL? It's a tiny bit smaller than the 1, which makes higher playing easier, without compromising the low range.
I play a DW 2L myself.
Also the 2.5CC seems to be quite good. Haven't tried myself, but someone I know is very pleased with it.

Wim

My marching mouthpiece of choice is my GW Diablo, except in cold weather, in which case out comes the Kellyberg or perhaps my newly acquired KT-50. Massive sound, no complaints in any register. On the other hand, may be a bit pricey for a solely marching mouthpiece. Take good care of it if you do.

I have used a PT-42 and LOVED it on the 20K. It's a pretty large mouthpiece but not as large as some. I think you'll get the sound you want with that mouthpiece. A Conn Helleburg works great for me too.

46K wrote:Hi all,
Yesterday I have once again been trying out the different mouthpieces I own on my 20K sousaphone. My findings have convinced me there must be something better out there. These where my experiences:

Wick 1XL:
This is the mouthpiece I usually use. I like it's smooth broadness of sound, and the fact that the rim makes it virtually impossible to fatigue the embouchure. Very comfortable.It also seems to allow louder playing before breaking up. Downside: more difficult to control in the high range

Bach 18:
Very functional, clear, fast attack, easy control all across the range. But it sounds smaller, and lacks the broadness of the wick.

Bach 7:
Overall fairly good, but rather uncomfortable to me, and I seem to need a lot more air. Also seems to make the horn break up sooner at higher vollumes.

Yamaha Bobo symphonic:
This is the mouthpiece I usually use on my Yamaha 822 F. Best controll and attack of these four. Very agile.But the sound seems very muffled to me, especially in the mid range.

So I am basicly looking for something that combines the ease and agility of the Bobo with the sound of the Wick. All suggestions and tips from those of you who play this horn would be most appreciated.

Mark

I have tried a Curry D cup, a Bach 18, a Wick 1L, a Kelly 18, a PT34, a Blessing 18, a Conn 120S, a Conn 7B, a DEG nylon that was close to a Bach 12, a Wick 3L, a Wick 2L, a LOUD 7, Schilke 67, Conn 2 (new style) and probably a few others I can't think of right now on the 38K, which has a similar bugle to a 20K, but the conventional valve block.

The winner is: none of the above. After trying a PT605/GR51 tuba with its large bell throat with the recommended PT82, I had Jeff Rideout send me one to try on the 38K. It had all the advantages of all the mouthpieces listed above, and none of the disadvantages. It's as close to a "perfect fit" mouthpiece/horn combination as there is, right up there with a Besson BBb Comp/Wick 1 combination.

As with your experience of the Wick 1XL, the PT82 has great breadth, but is still great in the high register. A band director of decades experience, upon hearing me play "E Pluribus Unum" and "Them Basses" with the range, said it was the best he had ever heard it played.

As with your experience with the Bach 18, I had a similar experience: the PT82 is clear, responsive and projects will, but without losing the breadth or going "grainy" as the Bach 18 did for me.

With the PT82, the horn just does not break up, has clarity and consistency over both the pitch and dynamic range, never sounds or feels "small," and I can use the 38K, depending on how many people show up, to back off for a few, or let it out to single handedly support a 35 piece band on the final strain of the trio.

About 20 of us in Shrine Band showed up to play the National Anthem for the local AA baseball team last Monday, and as I walked out of the park with the 38K after the game, we got numerous sincere compliments on how well the band sounded, all anchored by the 38K/PT82 and my section mate with a Conn Cavalier (predecessor to the 14K) and a Conn 7B.

And this 38K has the leakiest valves you can imagine, but it just doesn't matter. Centering is never an issue. I just play.

Finally, it has the same cup diameter as the Wick 1XL you're used to, and a similar comfortable rim that does not fatigue me, either. The throat diameter is a moderate 8.2mm; the cup is a tad shallower than a Wick 1 with just a little more rounding, but bottom of the cup/transition to the throat is still smoothed out somewhat and never "backs up" on me.

PT82. (And it never hurts to have the Kelly 18 handy as well for extremely cold or hot weather)

I use a PT48 when I play contrabass tubas, so when I play my unit's 20K I use that though I used to use my Bach 18. Really, I don't notice much difference except that I get more into a contrabass mindset when I play the 48 (play the 18 on Eb). I generally don't notice much difference between mouthpieces that aren't radically different. I still play and sound like me.


I think my ideal 2 mouthpieces would be a 48 with a slightly wider rim (like a Bach 18, but the same size as it is now), and a shallower Bach 18. I really am not a Helleberg fan at all.

Bloke is correct that what comes out of the bell may not be affected much by choice of mouthpiece. But I interpreted your comments as to how it feels to you, and finding a mouthpiece to suit you, the player, and based my comments accordingly. What feels best to you will give you more confidence to play what you want to play.

I played on a 20k for my entire highschool experience and after alot of searching I still had to go with the helleberg. The horn is large and tends to spread easily at high volumes, but the only mouhtpiece that held together better than the conn for me was the MF3. I still chose the conn because of clarity. It was easier to hear differences in articulation in the stands with the helleberg than on the mike finn.

Although it is cleche, my vote is for the conn helleberg