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I have my eye on a Besson BBb tuba with a stock, small shank mouthpiece receiver. Are the shanks on the Perantucci 'S' (e.g., PT-50S) mouthpieces 'S' enough to be used with these horns? The description at Custom Music states that the shanks are 'slightly smaller' than standard versions.

Thx.

bighonkintuba wrote:I have my eye on a Besson BBb tuba with a stock, small shank mouthpiece receiver. Are the shanks on the Perantucci 'S' (e.g., PT-50S) mouthpieces 'S' enough to be used with these horns? The description at Custom Music states that the shanks are 'slightly smaller' than standard versions.

Thx.

IIRC, the "Perantucci standard" shanks are the larger European size, the "S" shanks are American standard size, and (I think) there's an "XS" shank available that fits the small Besson receiver.

EDIT: this may help ...

http://tubamania.com/Mouthpieces.htm

... scroll down to the bottom of the page for the shank descriptions. The dimensions given are considerably larger than one would expect -- probably taken at the large end of the receiver rather than the tip of the shank (subtracting .050" should get you in the ballpark for the mouthpiece itself).

I know you are considering a Perantucci, but I will tell you that I tried many, many mouthpieces on the Besson 3-valve comp 17-inch bell New Standard I used to own, including almost every Perantucci that had a 32.5 cup diameter and a throat 8 mm or larger. In spite of that, the mouthpiece that worked the best was the Wick 1 (no letter) for consistency of tone, intonation, range and response. None of the Perantucci's came close. One would have great intonation, but problems through the range; another would have a great low register, but not high, and vice versa, and nothing came together like the Wick 1. This includes the PT32 (stuffy), PT34 (the "14A4a of tuba mouthpieces") (great high range, inconsistent intonation lower), PT68 (went flat in the upper register), PT82 (grainy on a Besson, THE mouthpiece for a GR51, GR55, Conn 20K, 38K, 40K), and probably a couple of others I don't remember the numbers right now. Surprisingly, a Kelly 18 sounds great, only slightly brighter, and it doesn't matter that it does not insert as far into the smaller receiver.

I do concede that I didn't try some of their more popular mouthpieces, like the PT50, because I don't play anything larger than a 32.5mm cup diameter. Since the Besson likes deep funnel mouthpieces (not necessarily Helleberg mouthpieces, however, and the PT50 is the Perantucci version of a Helleberg, including the sharp rim), that might work if you like a 33mm cup diameter.

Seriously - if you don't like the Wick 1, try a blokepiece Imperial with your choice of rims and an extender. This gets the same smooth consistent tone and range on my Bessophone that the Wick 1 did on my Besson, but with the different throat and backbore doesn't require nearly as much air as the Wick 1. I'll even loan you my spare extender if you want to try one out, or the entire mouthpiece if you can wait until after December 7th for the fall concert and can get it turned around in a couple of weeks. Don't worry about it not inserting in as much into the small extender.

Here is a link to the Perantucci chart:
http://www.tubaforum.it/Perantucci/Pera ... pieces.pdf" target="_blank" target="_blank

As usual, YMMV.

Thanks for the replies.

re: measurement data
That's very helpful. Thanks for the link.

re: Wick 1 and the like
My face doesn't work with mpcs with smaller than 33mm rim width, but thanks for the suggestion.

re: changing to standard shank receiver
I think that would be the best option.

bighonkintuba wrote:Thanks for the replies.

re: measurement data
That's very helpful. Thanks for the link.

re: Wick 1 and the like
My face doesn't work with mpcs with smaller than 33mm rim width, but thanks for the suggestion.

re: changing to standard shank receiver
I think that would be the best option.

There is one other option if you want to save a few bucks and use an existing mouthpiece you have/like and that is to shave down the shank to fit.

I agree with iiipopes comments ... I also have a Besson 3 valve comp, but with the 24" forward facing recording bell.

The Wick 1 is an excellent mouthpiece for this Tuba ... but at the end of the day, if you feel that the "fit" of anything less than 33 mm doesn't work for you and is the deciding factor for you, then you have to go with that.

If you do change receivers, let us know how that works out for you ... also, Bloke's mouthpiece for the Besson ... I'm always "open" to new ideas / new things

I had a 1989 besson EEb sovereign and Steve Rosse of tubamania sold me a perantucci mp with an 's' shank. Worked well FWIW