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Reply, the quest begins

My votes are currently the canadian brass arnold jacobs (best low piece) and the warburton 25S (best high piece.) Share your veiws here

bloke wrote:' gotta love Peak !

http://www.texashorntrader.com/peak-sil ... piece-18t/

That's for sure -- thanks for giving us a 'peak' at that! As regards high range, would you prefer the french horn 'piece or the one for trumpet?

I LOVE my stable of $300+ don't work for me. That way I can lie to myself and others about how awesome they are so I don't look and feel like a fool because I overpaid for mouthpieces that don't maximize my abilities when a $60-$100 mouthpiece would do the trick.

fh667873 wrote:I LOVE my stable of $300+ don't work for me. That way I can lie to myself and others about how awesome they are so I don't look and feel like a fool because I overpaid for mouthpieces that don't maximize my abilities when a $60-$100 mouthpiece would do the trick.

... or a $30 one ...

Every mouthpiece is the best mouthpiece ever.
No mouthpiece is the best mouthpiece ever.
Every tuba is the best tuba ever.
No tuba is the best tuba ever.

Now, let's ask the real question: of the commercially available mouthpieces, which ones seem to have at least acceptable results for a variety of applications and interfaces with various players and tuba models, and tend to work at least acceptably well in the face of such diversity:

Conn Helleberg
King 26 (old style)
A few of the more popular Perantucci models
Bach 18 (Mt. Vernon version)

These are the models on which almost all others are derived or at least have given inspiration in design. And each of these models has variations within the production range due to the normal variation of hand tooling.

(I limit my remarks to contrabass tuba, since I feel I do not have sufficient experience with bass tubas to make generalizations)

that piece is amazing!(for use as the murder weapon in clue mabye)

Not quite

the elephant wrote:

Finally, an answer I can agree with.

the elephant wrote:

I have this posted on my office window at work! I completely agree with Batman/Wade

If I play on a mouthpiece, it sounds bad. I'm playing on a mouthpiece. Furthermore, I'm not playing on all mouthpieces that aren't mine. By the logic presented earlier, the mouthpieces don't sound bad. Therefore, every mouthpiece I don't own sounds better than the one I play one.

After testing about 30 mpc last years on my tubas, helicon and sousaphone I found MY mpc: Paul Sideys SSH!

Now I am looking for a SSH with small old English shank- for Booseys and Besson tubas. Who offers one to me?

Best regards
Ulli

What

I

like best in the low range on my CC horn: Josef Klier 1A.


For the high range on my JBL I love my Jisef Klier 5E.

best mouthpiece ever? has to be the VB24AW, we may not stick with it, but it does open your ears and mind to other possibilities and to the effect a mouthpiece can have on your playing.
long tones, oh dear, they are what is known as a static warm up, a bit like preparing for a football match by standing still. they are part of the conventional accepted wisdom of playing, but really not much help, it does not get fingers, minds or breathing muscles actually doing much, and if you don't believe me, try this http://www.baadsvik.com/index.php/en/tu ... and-legato

A mouthpiece is a tool in the workbelt of a tuba player. Yes, it is very nessicary to be able to play on any mp, but every aspect of a mouthpiece does matter, that wasnt my question though. You can either switch mouthpieces, or switch horns.

Kevin Hendrick wrote:

bloke wrote:' gotta love Peak !

http://www.texashorntrader.com/peak-sil ... piece-18t/

That's for sure -- thanks for giving us a 'peak' at that! As regards high range, would you prefer the french horn 'piece or the one for trumpet?

hahahahahaha....Kevin you ARE the winner. Again.
You are breaking me up buddy.

Ulli wrote:After testing about 30 mpc last years on my tubas, helicon and sousaphone I found MY mpc: Paul Sideys SSH!
Now I am looking for a SSH with small old English shank- for Booseys and Besson tubas. Who offers one to me?
Best regards
Ulli

Which SSH? Paul now has five models. Have you contacted him to see if he will turn the shank down on one for you? Some years ago he had a batch of MF4's with a turned down shank, that if I played Eb tuba, one would be in my gig bag. That said, I've tried many, many mouthpieces on the Besson I used to own, and nothing worked better for intonation and tone than the Wick 1. It's about the same cup geometry, and about the same throat size due to Paul advertising that his has a slightly larger throat than the "standard" Conn 120S.

>Which SSH? Paul now has five models.<
The 'Original' SSH. (And I have a SSH II for my Eb Tuba)

>Have you contacted him to see if he will turn the shank down on one for you?<
Yes. He wrote, a Original SSH with small shank is not available.
Well, the american shank fits on a few millimeters too. But that's not 'the yellow from the egg'
Such a heavy MF4 and a Wick 1 I own too, the shank fits, but the rim - feeling it's not the same.

Taking a page out of Fletcher's book:

Which mouthpiece is the best ever for high range and low range playing? Mine.

End of story.

If you truly want an answer, go out and find it. Asking for opinions of mouthpieces is like asking what types of food you should like. Only one person can tell you that and they aren't on the TNFJ.

Kevin Hendrick wrote:

fh667873 wrote:I LOVE my stable of $300+ don't work for me. That way I can lie to myself and others about how awesome they are so I don't look and feel like a fool because I overpaid for mouthpieces that don't maximize my abilities when a $60-$100 mouthpiece would do the trick.

... or a $30 one ...

Ditto on the stable of pricey mps. However, being who I am, and that is a very sceptical and stubborn old man, I had to find out for myself what all the talk (hype) was about on the "designer" Mps. I simply could never trust anyones recommendations without confirming it myself.

Since I already had the basics, (Bach 18, old 1930s Conn Helleberg, Conn 2, 24AW, King 26, Holton 52, and the more modern flat rimmed Helleberg) I was looking for what I called extreme design. So 4 Wedges, a line up of 5 G&Ws, 2 Sideys, PT 88+, Monette 94 Prana and 94 F, Mirafone C4, plus a couple of custom jobs.

So what have I been playing the most? Two. A wonderful modified Helleberg style mp that came with the BMB with silver plate, and a Sidey HB Classic in Stainless with a Gold Titanium Kote. These are like peas in a pod albeit Stainless and Silver.

Both have a flat rim for which I was skeptical, but after a breakin period, I find it suits me in most situations. The rounded rims were problems when my lips got dry from allergies and sinus issues. (which anymore seems to be all too frequent) Then I would need to revert to the flat/sharper rim for security and peace of mind.

Bear in mind I do practice "quite a bit" now, more than I did when I was running from all sorts of part-time jobs that professional tubaists do to keep the bills paid. I really do not feel that I need a more rounded rim for comfort. It (rounded) only seems to get in the way when I need to get a little "wild" in my playing.

I found that either of these pieces work perfectly welll in the F Tuba and the Cimbasso. Not having to change set-ups between instruments makes life easier. Even with the totally different blow of the cimbasso, the only issue is dealing with the resistance of the horn. The MP has become a constant. Last week I had 9 services, of which 2 rehearsals and performances for a broadway and cinema concert. The cimbasso was used on 6 of the 10 charts. On some, a switch in mid piece. Very comfortable.

So what about that 2 grand worth of MPs? Well I do get them out and mess around from time to time. The old Arnold Jacobs adage was to cross train a bit so as not to get to comfortable with one mp, where in you start playing by the feel of the piece rather than shooting the right pitchand sound into it.

I found I do enjoy stainless the best. But anymore it is not that big of a deal.

Would I go on that safari again? In a heart beat. I learned tons of things about my playing that I would have never otherwise encountered. What do I plan to do with them? Heck, I dunno.