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Dear F/Eb players,

I have recently purchased a PT64 mouthpiece to use on my Besson Eb. I have read and heard that this mouthpiece is one of the more popular F-tuba mouthpieces on the market and I figured why not give it a try.

I am not sure if it is my horn or me but I consistently blow out of tune with this mouthpiece on my Eb horn. I admit, I have a small Besson 700 3 valve Eb. But with another mouthpiece (bobo solo, conn-helleberg) I blow just as true as can be.

Do you have any advice? Is this mp really more for the F player than the Eb guy? I'm just curious.

Thanks,

A

It is all pot luck with MP's. If you have a piece that plays in tune, keep it! Some horn's don't care what you stick in it, you may notice other horns are very picky with intonation vs. MP's.

I don't have a suggestion for you as to what is optimal for your horn. I can say, when I look for a MP, I look for a few things

1. Intonation
2. Uniform sound through the register
3. Clarity of articulation (uniform across range & dynamics)

If it meets these 3, I will stop and be happy... Rim shape tends to influence #3 for me, so I start with the shapes I like. My ears tell me the rest.

I tried a PT-65 for a while on my F tuba. I liked the response and sound, but intonation was a little "off" with it. I figured that was more a mismatch of me, mouthpiece, and tuba, so I decided to not use it. I sold it because I like the G&W Baer F better.

Aside here: (as Bort is wont to provoke )

I have a range of PT MP's. I have found the 64 & 65 are not at all similar as advertised on the web. Most descriptions I have read imply the 65 is a 2nd generation of the 64. I have found the intonation of the overtones and response factors to be quite different... Neither is a bad piece. I use the 64 with my F, 64XS with my 184, and the 65 with my 163 (I also use a certain bloke's pieces on these horns if I desire other playing qualities). I used my above posted guide to get to this point. It is very handy to have many MP's around. Find a friend close by and go to town!

I can't really speak too much about F-tubas as I've only played a few and not for very long. I got a PT-64 when I bought my first Eb, an old Amati with 4 clockwork rotors. I really liked it and it caused no intonation problems. The horn itself had some pitch and centering issues. The issues remained with other mp's I tried. I later purchased a YEB-321 and continued to use the 64 until I discovered "bloke's" Solo #2 and Symphony models. The sound on both horns but especially the Yamaha really opened up and there was a much greater "clarity" and "breadth" to the sound than I'd ever felt. Again, no intonation issues. I asked several friends to try both the blokepieces on their F's (They both use/used 64's) and they were very impressed by them. FWIW, I'm sold on the bloke's pieces. On the downside though, I can't blame the equipment now for any problems.

Could be that the shank on the PT64 is too large for the receiver on the tuba. How far does it stick out?

hugechunkofmetal wrote:Could be that the shank on the PT64 is too large for the receiver on the tuba. How far does it stick out?

I would think an 'S', or 'even 'XS' shank would be required to fit a Besson 700 properly. The standard shank is made for German tubas with larger receivers than a Besson.

You may have a point but it is only negligible the pt64 goes in just shy of 1" and the bobo solo for comparison goes 1"&1/8
I'll try to get the pictures up