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Hello Tubenet!

I recently acquired an 1960's Reynolds Contempora BBb tuba from a fellow tubenetter(thanks, btw) and am having trouble finding a mouthpiece I like using on it. The tuba model is TB-14 and can be found on http://contemporacorner.com/other/lowbrass/" target="_blank

It's feels huge compared to the yamaha 321 I've was playing for my highschool for the last 4 years, and neither my Bach 7 Mega nor my 22 give me the sound I want.

With the 7 I just can't support my sound on this horn, and the 22 just seems very muddy.


I'd love to have a mouthpiece that will help with my articulation and support.



Any suggestions are appreciated!

Thanks, George

These horns, with their .687 bore, do best with deeper funnels, but not too large a rim diameter or throat. I showed a guy who owned one as his doubling instrument (primary instrument bone) how much more tone a player could get out of it using something like a Schilke HII rather than the 24AW he was using.

Sounds like a great tuba. I don't know if there's any way to guess what mouthpiece would be ideal for it, or for you, but the good news is that practically any mouthpiece you could get will lie somewhere in between the Bach 7 and 22, and most of them will be an improvement. I had a 7, years ago, and let it go along with a big rotary valve tuba because the buyer (and I) liked it the best of the two mouthpieces I had at the time. Which is to say, here's why it may be difficult to select a mouthpiece based on someone else's preference - for every mouthpiece in the world, there's someone who likes it, so if every mouthpiece in the world hasn't been recommended to you, it's only because you haven't yet asked enough people.

Maybe you could start with a couple of mouthpieces that have worked for many thousands of players over the decades, like the Conn Helleberg and Bach 18. Or an inexpensive replica like Faxx's, or even better Kelly's polycarbonate plastic versions, which will continue to have `special applications' utility even after they've been replaced by other mouthpieces for every day use. A Kelly makes a great `coat pocket spare', it's good for cold weather, etc.

Those two represent the main cup shape dichotomy in tuba mouthpieces, the Helleberg "funnel" vs. the "bowl", and also a couple of rim styles - flat, vs. rounded. Since you already have a couple Bach mouthpieces, the Conn Helleberg is going to be the most interesting contrast. I personally like the Conn 7B, a smaller Helleberg that's a lot like the old Conn 2 with a flatter rim.

Donn wrote:Those two represent the main cup shape dichotomy in tuba mouthpieces, the Helleberg "funnel" vs. the "bowl", and also a couple of rim styles - flat, vs. rounded. Since you already have a couple Bach mouthpieces, the Conn Helleberg is going to be the most interesting contrast. I personally like the Conn 7B, a smaller Helleberg that's a lot like the old Conn 2 with a flatter rim.

My recommendation as well; the Conn2 was later called the UMI2 for a few years.

got a playing buddy who absolutely delivers the goods from his 2341 King using a Conn Helleberg....he went to great lengths searching for what he considered the ideal fit for him and his horn-

MartyNeilan wrote:

Donn wrote:Those two represent the main cup shape dichotomy in tuba mouthpieces, the Helleberg "funnel" vs. the "bowl", and also a couple of rim styles - flat, vs. rounded. Since you already have a couple Bach mouthpieces, the Conn Helleberg is going to be the most interesting contrast. I personally like the Conn 7B, a smaller Helleberg that's a lot like the old Conn 2 with a flatter rim.

My recommendation as well; the Conn2 was later called the UMI2 for a few years.

They changed the name (and external profile) again, her it is now:
http://band-orchestra.musiciansfriend.c ... sku=462260

I must respectfully disagree with the Conn 2. I have one of these new ones. It has a smaller cup diameter, like a 24AW, and the bowl just doesn't give a good tone on any tuba I've used it on. It lives with a friend who plays euph who keeps it for occasional section doubling only.

This 4-valve model, if you can get both the upright and the recording bells so you can play both indoors and out, is one of the most underrated tubas out there for the $$. Like bloke said, it's like a King, because the King tubas were designed by Reynolds when he was a young man right after he came over from York to work for H. N. White.