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have a 9th grade student planning to purchase a Cerveny 681, but I recall that the lead pipe doesn't accept the standard shank mouthpiece (he has a Helleberg 7B) and a little investigation reveals that the Helleberg does not come in the larger shank. I've looked for an adapter to use, but have struck out. I'd rather he stick with the Helleberg. Any ideas how to deal with this? If none, list a mouthpiece that is a close as humanly possible to the Helleberg that does come with a larger shank. I do have Steve at Tuba Exchange looking into this, but perhaps some of you have an idea? Thanks.

I have a friend that playes his 681 with a Shilke Helleberg. It seems to fit fine and does not leak. Cerveny 681s are funny. They look a Miraphone that got sent through the wash

[quote="tank"]I have a friend that plays his 681 with a Schilke Helleberg. It seems to fit fine and does not leak.

But what does it do to pitch? It has to sharpen everything if the mouthpiece is in an inch too far? I suppose it's all relative, just pull everything out, but you lose flexibility when playing with a group etc. that already tends on the low side.

I have one sitting here that I picked up yesterday for someone else. A regular euro shank fits it fine. Euro shank bloke piece symphony with a helleberg rim?

I must say that I like this tuba a lot. If I wanted another BBb, this would be high on the list. The position of the valves is a little high for me, but i could live with it. The sound is smooth and resonant, and it's pleasingly responsive.

I've played three 681s, (still have one after 20 years) and the receivers all fit standard US mpcs. Helleberg (unnumbered) and Bach 18 worked great with them.

Uhmm, one thing. If you insert an adapter, make sure it doesn't pull it too flat. My Cervs have always tuned with the slides all the way in.

RadDad2005 wrote:

tank wrote:I have a friend that plays his 681 with a Schilke Helleberg. It seems to fit fine and does not leak.

But what does it do to pitch? It has to sharpen everything if the mouthpiece is in an inch too far? I suppose it's all relative, just pull everything out, but you lose flexibility when playing with a group etc. that already tends on the low side.

the mouthpiece he has fits fine and does not fall to far in at all. It is possible they have it in a Euro shank.

A little confusing, some say a standard fits, others not. The tuba is on order, when it comes I'll know more, and perhaps have more questions. Thanks for all the input, the emails and all the messages! If nothing else, I've gotten smarter about all this!

the horn arrived and did indeed required the Euro Shank, however they ended up buying a refurbished horn (which I wasn't consulted on), so I don't know exactly how old it is. What I found strange though was that this refurbished horn arrived with a big crease in the bell, which they advertised, and a significant dent in the bottom of the instrument, otherwise it shined like a brand new horn. Valves like new, slides undented etc. If you are calling it a refurbished horn, why on earth wouldn't you remove the dents? The family got it for $1400 cheaper than a new one and figured a few dents were OK, but this is beyond that a bit. I told the mom that they would need to invest some of that $1400 they saved into repairing those dents or send it back.
Also, he had trouble getting the high C to speak(this is a HS freshman). Up to that note all was fine (and he was able to do C previously), the low register solid and pitch seemed good. We tried various fingerings and it didn't respond very easily (I played it, but never tried high C for some dumb reason) I told him to get rid of the mouthpiece that came with the horn and go back to the old one(which of course he didn't bring to his lesson), even if it doesn't fit right. We'll see if that matters.
So, if they invest $400 to fix the dents, they still saved $1000, which seems like a good deal. We got 45 days to decide. I'm thinking send it back, but am afraid the family may just say forget it and not pursue another horn. Thoughts?

the new price was significantly less than Cerveny's retail price,if that's what you mean. I did check multiple vendors and that was a competitive price

$2600 they paid.

My recommendation, apart from the condition, would be to send it back at their expense since it was advertised as being in better shape than when you finally saw it. Also the unplayability of the high C would be another concern to make me consider sending it back. These can be great horns (though the F at the bottom of the staff can run on the sharp side) but it sounds as though it's going to require a fair amount of repair work and even then the high C may not work.

Just my $0.02.

Roger

For that amount, Dan Schultz could supply a very nicely refurbished King with change left over. Worth considering IMO.

I use a piece of newspaper or an electrician's tape around my mpc shank.
Ulli

I never experienced a problem with the high C on mine - but I think the relatively large bore gives you less resistance (acoustic impedance) in the high range so there is a different feel. Plus the large receiver really works best with a euro shank so finding a familiar mouthpiece in the right size will make a difference.