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I attended the 2nd annual Cleveland State University Tuba Day yesterday, which was even more successful than last year! It was a wonderful time with group warm ups, reading sessions, exhibits, vendors, masterclasses, and performances/recitals. While I was there, a friend came up and showed me his new euphonium mouthpiece. I'll be damned if it doesn't look identical to the standard Conn Helleberg, but for a large shank euphonium! I just ordered one for myself. I'll let everyone know how it plays when it arrives!

Conn has been making these for quite a while. I saw one first about 13-14 years ago.

Here's a quote from tromboneforum.com about it:

The Helleberg 5E came out in '05 or '06. It's the standard mpc that comes with King marching horns.

Big 10-4 on the narrow rim, deep conical cup, and dark sound. IIRC, it's around 25.65mm, so it's between a Schilke 51D and 52 in terms of diameter. The rim counter is not quite as rounded as a Schilke 52. Great euph piece; not so much for trombone. "Euphonium on a stick" is a pretty good description.

The System Blue mouthpiece is very much like this too. I do not like it for a British Baritone. My preference on that horn is the Denis Wick 6BS.

Too bad they do not make them in Euro shank I would love to try It with my Marzan

Would it be possible to cut the shank down? How much difference is there between large and euro euphonium shanks?

Any new about this one?

There isn't a huge difference in shank diameter between large shank and Euro shank, but I see more people change the receiver to fit the mouthpiece. Changing the receiver is reversible if the combo isn't to your liking.

So how does It plays?

I just returned to euphonium after a 45-year absence. I chose to end a half-century of playing contrabass tuba, and downsize.

The mouthpiece that came with my Dolce was okay, but I had tried a Wick SM 5 on a different euphonium, and was really excited to rush out and get one for my new horn. After sitting in a practice room at the local music store for the better part of an hour, trying mouthpieces, I came out with the Helleberg 5E. I wanted to want the Wick mouthpiece more, but as we read in Harry Potter, "the wand chooses the wizard."

I am still a recently-lapsed tubist relearning to play a euphonium, so my opinion may not have a lot of value, but I am very happy with the mouthpiece. Since it is a Conn, there are no quotable specs available, but it feels smaller than the standard Wessex mouthpiece that came with the horn. Small, but deep. I can shake the room with my pedal Bb, and have no problem hitting the F1 below it. Probably the residual legacy of 50 years of contrabass.

Ironically, in all my years as a tubist, I had never tried a Helleberg.

Correction: I was comparing it to a Wick SM4, not 5.