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OK quick question...
I heard that many people prefer a euro shank for everything they can shove it into. Is that the truth? Should the shank count? If the shank fits...should we play it?

I know of course there may be some conjecture on tuning and so forth. Just looking for some feed back.

A

This whole thing about Euro vs. American shank pretty much flies in the face of any attention to 'the gap'.

The use of a Euro shank makes 'the gap' larger. Don't know if this means anything or not. Just sayin'.

Hell... most mouthpiece don't fit right, anyway! Too much tolerance in the manufacture of the receivers and shanks.

Shove it in there. If it plays well for you... so be it. If it doesn't play well, you'll never know if it's the MP, 'the gap', or (shudder) your chops.

A good instrument-mouthpiece fit is so much more than stuffing your favorite mouthpiece in and hoping that it works. Here are my general observations about shank size and proper fit;

American-made tubas require an American shank mouthpiece, with the exception of some York and King models, and the Conn 5XJ series, which benefit from a standard Euro shank.

An American shank mouthpiece fits the vast majority if not all Mirafone tubas, many Cerveny tubas, Josef Lidl tubas, and some older Meinl-Weston tubas. The standard Euro shank is good for most if not all standard European tubas, particularly of the last 30 years. The Euro shank mouthpiece should fit just about anything built in Marktneukirchen, Hirsbrunner, Adams, Rudolf Meinl, Gronitz, and some Alexanders. There were some Alexander BBb tubas built specifically for the US market that had American shank-sized receivers, but most of the traditional Alexanders had enormous receiver size, requiring the use of a special oversized shank mouthpiece. Alexander offers adaptor blanks that can be machined to fit the receiver, and are machined to the standard modern receiver size inside, so that standard modern mouthpieces can be used. Besson tubas once had small receiver sizes, but have gotten progressively larger over the years.

These are general guidelines. The most important part is what works for the individual. To paraphrase Bloke, I can try a mouthpiece in an instrument, and very soon I realize whether it is going to work or not. The whole gap issue can be very confusing, as it may help one player overcome some obstacle, and be detrimental to the next. I like to find what works, and keep it very simple.

Hi!
As to American vs. European shank affecting sound, I have not experienced any obvious differences in sound/playability. I use my American shank Helleburgs and others in my Cerveney with an adaptor Dan Oberloh whipped up on his lathe in about 15 minutes. Much cheaper/easier than ordering new mouthpeices! As to the older Besson's, I usually just have a new receiver installed, though I have tried some Dennis Wick mouthpeices I liked...

Al

Hey there! was wondering what was 'The gap' that you guys are referring to?

And can American mpcs fit in German tubas or vice-versa?

I still do not know much about this topic. . Is there a one stop site regarding this matter?

Thanks!!