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So I am starting college in the fall and I will be a member of my college's marching band. I'm extremely excited, but I'm going in pretty blind as to whether I need to obtain my own instrument or mouthpiece. Under the assumption that I need both (and the very real want of both), What would you suggest in terms of a practice horn and a mouthpiece suitable for a large college marching band?

You could email the marching band director or tuba instructor at the college to determine availability of practice horns. If you do want to purchase your own tuba, there are some very affordable secondhand tubas available - you can find a used Miraphone 186 BBb for less than $4,000 and some good-quality Chinese tubas for much less than that. Many students will factor the cost of an instrument into their student loans.

For marching band you can't go wrong with a Kelly mouthpiece, because you WILL drop your shiny $150 mouthpiece on asphalt at some point and say, "Why the @#$% did I stick a $150 mouthpiece in a sousaphone?" Kelly mouthpieces are made of durable Lexan plastic, don't kill your face in cold weather, and they come in a cool array of colors to match your school's colors. Consider a Kellyberg or Kelly 18. I believe they're available for under $40 new.

I've already emailed about the practice horn a few days ago, but the director is at a huge conference for the weekend. I'll be attending WVU. (insert cheesy college cheer here)

Actually, at the risk of being pricier, I was considering springing for the 24AW megatone. I thoroughly enjoyed the description bach provides. "Whenever a sonorous dark tone quality of enormous volume is desirable." Would it be suitable to use? or is it more of a novelty?

Alrighty. Thanks for the quick help!

You might try one of the Kelly plastics; they are good in cold temperatures and cheap enough to get a couple to see what works for you.

Yeah. That seems like a solid idea to me. I have been skeptical of plastic mouthpieces though. I sometimes noodle a bit on my buddy's ptrumpet. I put the plastic mouthpiece that comes with it in his yamaha and it just feels.. strange.

IMHO, heavy-shell mouthpieces are sort of a gimmick and the plastic Kelly mouthpieces sound just as good as their brass or steel counterparts. Your experience may wildly vary.

lol Noted. Thanks for the help. I'll probably do that. I can't argue with the price. If I feel strongly about it later, I'll spring for something more pricey.

If you wanted to reach out to someone for information that knows about both tubas and WVU, you might consider John DiCesare, principal tuba in the Louisville Orchestra. He's finishing up at WVU for doctoral studies. John is a great guy and would probably be happy to help if you have any questions.

I used a Bach megatone 18 in college for everything (marching band and concert band). It was what I owned, so it was what I used. I thought it worked great, and I never had a problem with getting a huge dark sound. I'm sure that's possible with a LOT of different mouthpieces though. The heavy mouthpiece thing is maybe a bit of a gimmick, but there are some mouthpieces where when I play them, I get some "buzz back" or vibrations in the mouthpiece... and that's extremely distracting.

For something like marching band, where you want big, dark, bass volume... I think it worked for me very well.

By comparison, in a smaller ensemble, solo, or more exposed band/orchestra stuff, I'd probably go with something that gives a little more color to the sound. Tried the Megatone 18 in my Willson a few days ago, and it was still the most familiar and automatic mouthpiece for me, but not the most colorful sound.

Only one real "negative" thing I can remember about it -- college band sousaphone necks are often not in good shape, and are loose and don't fit together well. The neck shifts around, and the bits can fall out. A heavy mouthpiece is just that much more weight being supported by the neck and bits. This isn't the mouthpiece's fault, but it can be a little annoying.

Fun fact -- When I was in college, Tom Holtz was working with our marching band. He saw my Megatone 18 and joked that it looked like a double shot glass.

windshieldbug wrote:You might try one of the Kelly plastics; they are good in cold temperatures and cheap enough to get a couple to see what works for you.

+1. I just finished putting together a Conn 5J and as usual... I like to take newly assembled horns to a few rehearsals/concerts to prove them out. My normal MP is a Mike Finn 2B... which is a very large and HEAVY MP. I was having a bit of trouble out of the 5J and some 1st valve partials and 2-3 combinations so I popped in a KT-50 (Kelly plastic copy of a PT-50) and the problems seemed to vanish immediately. Don't know if my chops suddenly acclimated to the horn or what. But... nonetheless... the plastic seemed to improve things.

bort wrote:The heavy mouthpiece thing is maybe a bit of a gimmick, but there are some mouthpieces where when I play them, I get some "buzz back" or vibrations in the mouthpiece... and that's extremely distracting.

Agreed - if I do use a heavy mouthpiece I do notice a positive difference in immediate under-the-bell feedback, but (not that you suggested it) I don't buy that a heavy piece will give you "a darker sound" or "more core" - those terms are so subjective anyway, and from the hall? It will sound like a tuba. Your internal plumbing is a much bigger factor. My 2¢ sidebar.

I used my PT50+ and Hammond 30XL mouthpieces for marching band, never dropped it. I even used them for drum corps and never dropped them. Don't be a dingus and you won't drop them.

Funny about light and heavy mouthpieces. The two extremes have been around for 60 years that I can remember. Conn 2 and Helleberg, and then the King 26 and the Holton 52 (Revelation) the latter 2 are heavys. So that much is really not all that new. All of the 4 above with the exception of the old Helleberg were outfitted with the sousas. Some of the real old timers like Del Negro with Sousa's band had very wide throats drilled, even moreso than today. Actually there are really only about a half dozen or so basic designs with a tweak here and their.

Me thinks many tuba players out their want to be somewhat individual and more custom equipment gives someone that distinction. That desire for something exclusive in almost any field of e ndeavor has also been around for millennia.
While it is fun to have something 'distinctive,' (that the other guy doesn't have) one might be surprised at what could actually get the job done.

I realize the OP was asking for helpful suggestions. I like Bort's response. (He used what he had at the time) Were I in your place I would look at a Bach 18, Conn Helleberg, Maybe a PT 50. These are all available in plastic as well.

But then there is a market for exactly that (distinctive MPs), and I admit to being a curious customer myself, although I've been finding that a basic mp that is practical is what I really need. But I do like toys.

the 24AW has a nice wide "cushion" rim on it also, nice for marching band when the mouthpiece moves around on the face a little bit. Many people do not care for that mouthpiece, but I like it.
I also believe Kelly makes a plastic version of the 24AW. If you get a plastic one, make sure it is blue or gold!
ken k

Paul makes a good suggestion...

"I realize the OP was asking for helpful suggestions. I like Bort's response. (He used what he had at the time) Were I in your place I would look at a Bach 18, Conn Helleberg, Maybe a PT 50. These are all available in plastic as well."

If you are not familiar with any specific mouthpiece any of these, or the 24AW, in their basic, even the generic copies, will do you well. In fact if you can afford one of each of these cheaper generics you could try them out, since they are all different styles. The Helleberg is the classic funnel shaped mouthpiece, while the 24AW, and I believe the PT50, have more of the bowl shaped cup, with the Bach 18 being somewhere in the middle. The Helleberg has a flatter rim with a sharper inner corner, the Bach mouthpiece rims are rounder, with the 24 AW being the fattest rim (the W in the model designation refers to the "Wide" rim.)

kk

^PT-50 is a big funnel. PT-88 is the large bowl equivalent

arpthark wrote:^PT-50 is a big funnel. PT-88 is the large bowl equivalent

thank you for the clarification.
k

I never liked the feel or sound of a Bach and grabbed a Conn2 for my own use in marching band 30yrs ago.

Today, I'd use a Kellyberg.