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So I purchased a All-Weather tuba mouthpiece from Amazon since my second year of Marching Band is this Wednesday. I bought it for when it gets so cold, that are tubas will barley tune(This tends to happen when it's in the 40's). The mouthpiece I bought is called "DEG All Weather 25 Tuba Mouthpiece" on Amazon. I was wondering since the shank is metal, if this mouthpiece will sound like any other plastic mouthpiece, or will it sound more like a brass mouthpiece?

Welcome to TubeNet, Kevin!

I have one of those DEG pieces. It doesn't have quite the presence of a brass or stainless-steel one, but for that purpose it should be fine as long as it fits your embouchure and facial structure well enough. What mouthpiece do you normally use?

Heavy_Metal wrote:Welcome to TubeNet, Kevin!

I have one of those DEG pieces. It doesn't have quite the presence of a brass or stainless-steel one, but for that purpose it should be fine as long as it fits your embouchure and facial structure well enough. What mouthpiece do you normally use?

I currently use a Quinlan & Fabish mouthpiece. It's a 18 and has the model number "faxx18". This was the first and only mouthpiece I've owned until today. I got it in the 6th grade and i'm currently in the 10th grade. My school district uses Quinlan & Fabish because it is the best musical supply and repair chain in Michigan and North Western Indiana. I never got another mouthpiece since all other tubas in my band class and all tubas (except 1) in my marching band have a Quinlan & Fabish mouthpiece, so to keep the tubas sound the same as much as possible, I didn't want to use a different mouthpiece. This year however, I do plan on getting a Vincent Bach mouthpiece for my regular band class and maybe for the rest of marching band when I get one. I am also looking at different sizes, to see what would help fit my mouth better and provide a rich/beautiful sound.

I know, kind of a long story. xD

TubaPresident wrote: I know, kind of a long story. xD

We've all been through that- you're only the latest in a long, long, long, long line, which will continue as long as there are tubas and people who love to play them.

I'm not familiar with Q&F, but if they will let you try out different models that would eliminate a lot of the guesswork, at least as far as their stock is concerned.

Also, if you're taking lessons, you should ask your teacher's opinion. If you're not taking lessons, you really should.

There are two basic schools of thought regarding mouthpieces, which center around two of the greatest tuba players ever: Arnold Jacobs and Harvey Phillips. As I understand it, Mr. Jacobs had quite a few different mouthpieces which he used with different instruments and for different pieces, depending on the effect he (and his conductors) wanted. Dr. Phillips, on the other hand, simply used the mouthpiece that came with his tuba. And they were both awesome musicians.

Remember that you're still growing, and the piece you get now may not work so well in college and beyond.

I've played the DEG. I thought the nylon cup did not give good articulation, and so for the price, for an "all-weather" mouthpiece, I use a Kelly 18 instead with a strip of golfer's lead swingweight tape around the throat to stabilize dynamic extremes.

iiipopes wrote:I've played the DEG. I thought the nylon cup did not give good articulation, and so for the price, for an "all-weather" mouthpiece, I use a Kelly 18 instead with a strip of golfer's lead swingweight tape around the throat to stabilize dynamic extremes.

I did think about getting a Kelly 18, but because money is a really, really tight thing right now, I had to either wait a little while or just get the DEG. Since my marching band season is starting Wednesday, I didn't want to wait because my area's weather can be really hot one day and then be in the 50's or 40's one day during this transition between summer and fall. I will at some point this year invest in getting a Kelly 18 if I find the DEG to not be that great of a "plastic" mouthpiece because of the nylon. Plus to be honest, having one of Kelly's glow in the dark mouthpieces for when it gets dark during marching band would be pretty awesome, but I do realize that looks aren't as important as sound.

Plus getting a "plastic" mouthpiece for the cold wasn't the only reason I got it. I also wanted to get a cheap backup mouthpiece that I can leave in my band locker at school, so if I ever leave my regular brass one at home, I will always have a backup just in case.

FAXX mouthpieces have a pretty good reputation, so in my view you can enjoy that "Quinlan & Fabian" 18 without any concern that a real Bach would be better.

Donn wrote:FAXX mouthpieces have a pretty good reputation, so in my view you can enjoy that "Quinlan & Fabian" 18 without any concern that a real Bach would be better.

I actually did a little searching of the faxx 18 and I saw someone had left a review saying that it was an super, SUPER close copy of the mouthpiece, but cheaper. I did some research on this and found it to be true.

FAXX18:
BACH18:

If you're looking for a Bach 18 clone, Blessing makes the best 18 Bach never made.

See if Kelly would still do a PT50 clone. I had Jim copy mine years ago (wow, must've been at least ten or twelve years back) and the sucker plays almost exactly like a PT50. That'll get you a fat sound—if it works well with the horn and within your tuba section—without freezing your face.

No shame in using a plastic mouthpiece. Warm lips play better than frozen lips. Common sight among the military bands when they play at Arlington Cemetery in the winter, too.

iiipopes wrote:I use a Kelly 18 instead with a strip of golfer's lead swingweight tape around the throat to stabilize dynamic extremes.

Hi iiipopes

Could you post a pic of your "taped" Kelly? Thanks. Just to se how and where exactly you taped it.

Regards
Butch

Having been a military musician for years (marching in all sorts of weather), I tried what was available at the time, including the DEG Astro-Nylon mouthpiece and the Giardinelli tuba mouthpiece with a plastic rim. Both were a little small for me, the DEG in particular being a copy of the Bach 25. In 2002, I took a DEG mouthpiece to the lathe, and cut the thick nylon cup and rim down to the dimensions of a Helleberg, creating a large-enough mouthpiece for cold-weather use. Soon thereafter, I took the mouthpiece with me to a music convention, where I met a man named Jim Kelly, who was showing off his new line of mouthpieces. Jim's Kellyberg accomplished everything that I had wanted, and at $30.00 each were significantly less expensive than what it cost to buy and modify a DEG mouthpiece.

In A/B testing, the Kelly 18 and the Bach 18 had a lot in common. The biggest difference was that at high volume levels the Kelly did not start to exhibit a metallic "ring", but the sound remained dark and focused. The Kellyberg has been his best-selling tuba mouthpiece. He did also make a limited run of the KT-50, in clear only, that were excellent mouthpieces. I have played one myself, and have sold a number of them. If there were enough interest, he might make another run of these. The Kelly 18 is also a good mouthpiece, as is the 25.

Lee, I agree it stays in tone, but my experience is that there is a broadening, bordering on a blat, at the highest dynamics that the Kelly 18 does until you stabilize the throat.

butch wrote:

iiipopes wrote:I use a Kelly 18 instead with a strip of golfer's lead swingweight tape around the throat to stabilize dynamic extremes.

Hi iiipopes. Could you post a pic of your "taped" Kelly? Thanks. Just to se how and where exactly you taped it.
Regards
Butch

Butch, thanks for your post. Here it is:

iiipopes wrote:Here it is:

Thank you, I gonna try that!

bloke wrote:A lot of NOLA musicians use duct tape on their sousaphones. I'm certain it's for the obvious acoustical benefits. Someone should probably tell them about the Kelly's and the duct tape, though...

Got email addresses or Facebook pages?

bloke wrote:As you can see, he is also using the "Over-Under" fingering strategy (discussed at length by Jean-Baptiste Arban in his [lost] SECOND treatise) to help (simply) PREVENT occurrences of those pesky Gb's.

Wow! Even after playing a souzy for 38 years, I still have so much to learn! BUT...I don't have a 20K! How do I get my fingers to fit properly and not move vertically, destroying the lateral stability, on conventional valves?

I don't know about the DEG 25. I have an Astro Nylon. It feels and plays for me like somewhere between a Bach 18 and 12 ... Maybe a Bach 15 (if they made one). I believe the shank is aluminum (or alumnium if you say nucyooler). I like it mo better than the Kelly 18.

The shank of a DEG Astro is nickel.

My DEG Astro Nylon cup has an aluminum shank. It is many years old and I only used it for a few outdoor gigs in really cold weather. No problem with leakage probably due to minimal use. Of late I have used a plastic mouthpiece made by a local plastics manufacturer. It is sort of Helleburg copy.
ScottM