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I am searching for a change in mouthpiece, having tried many of the "signature" pieces. What advantage do the expensive highend pieces offer? How did they help your setup? Such as Griego, Wedge, Curry, etc.

Thanks

I didn't know any of those companies made euphonium* mouthpieces

Dear Eupho,

A good mouthpiece does not have to be expensive. To demonstate this and together with David Thornton and Michael Howley, two highly-experienced British artists and Fred Meyer who was a member of the US Army Band Europe at the time, we developed three professional models now available as:

Model RT-5C Cup Diameter 26.00mm / Throat Bore 7.32mm REF 51D
Rim Width 6.75mm / Slightly Rounded Inner Edge
Open Backbore
Full Cup balanced for a rich and resonant sound with a clear center.

Model RT-6C Cup Diameter 25.00mm / Throat Bore 7.15mm REF 4AL
Rim Width 7.0mm / Slightly Rounded Inner Edge
Long Throat with flat taper backbore.
Deep Cup, moderately rounded. Rich Euphonium tonal character with clear response in all registers.

Model RT-7C Cup Diameter 26.00mm / Throat Bore 7.52mm REF 3.5 SM
Rim Width 6.75mm / Large Backbore
Deep Cup provides great volume and depth of tone.

The "REF" indications refer to similar types. Robert Tucci mouthpieces are available from our dealers as shown at http://www.robert-tucci.com" target="_blank

Leave it to the experts: a good mouthpiece does not have to be overly expensive!

Bob Tucci

"High-end" vs low-end is the wrong way to look at mouthpieces. Expensive = lots of promises about making you sound amazing. The truth is, there are a boat load of sub-$100 mouthpieces that are going to serve you just as well as the $250 magic bullet mouthpiece.

Monette?

Ok expensive is perhaps the term I might have chosen. Yes I agree that a mouthpiece that works great for you is a good one, period. I just would like to hear from players who may use one of the more expensive or any other mouthpiece and got the the results they were looking for. I used to love a Schilke 52E2 on a YEP-621 but not on the euphonium I purchased after that one.

PS: A simple question is not necessarily an ignorant one.

Have you considered the Warburton Demondrae Thurman?
http://www.warburtonstore.com/dethmo.html

Or, have you considered calling Doug Elliot and having him recommend something based on what you've played and liked. I believe he is able to work with a player with their setup. A friend of mine had a full DE setup for his 7 instruments. (From alto horn down to tuba) Dave can find something that will work for you. The cost has always been a bit rich for me, but I've only heard good things.


Personally, The only mouthpieces I've played on seriously (Besides, Bach 5g, Yamaha 53H, Willson TA1) are the Mike Finn PS Solo (Which was great but probably too close to the 52e2 for your liking) and the SM3 (only because it's readily available). The SM3 is one of those mouthpieces that works surprisingly well in many different models. I use it on a Yamaha, but it's been fine in Bessons (duh), Willsons and Hirshbrunners.

I've plugged great trombone mouthpieces (like the Greg Black 4g) in my euphonium and they results have been "meh" at best. I'm also not a fan of using 1 1/2G sized mouthpieces on euph. For me, the best euphonium mouthpiece size is somewhere around a 3g.

Dave Werden's forum may yield some better recommandations.

Why are you searching for a change?
What do you feel is missing from your sound, playing, timbre?
What mouthpiece do you like?
A certain rim, cup, shank, style?

When helping my students pick a mouthpiece cost is not an issue since they have already been successful with the stock mouthpiece.

Northernlb wrote:Why are you searching for a change?
What do you feel is missing from your sound, playing, timbre?
What mouthpiece do you like?
A certain rim, cup, shank, style?

When helping my students pick a mouthpiece cost is not an issue since they have already been successful with the stock mouthpiece.

Yessir ^^^^

The only time in the last thirty years I went searching for a better-mouthpiece-at-all-costs was when I took my euphonium bugle to Doug Elliot's house to see if he could help fix some wild intonation issues it had. After a couple hours of swapping rims, cups, and shanks and, eventually, machining a shank to fit even better, the horn played pretty well.

That's an outlier, though. OP, keep playing what ya got. I always think of the story of someone asking Arturo Sandoval about mouthpieces years ago: What do you play on for jazz versus classical? "I don't understand the question..." Which mouthpiece do you play on for jazz, and which one do you use for classical music? *Arturo pulls the mouthpiece out of his trumpet and holds it up* "This is my mouthpiece, and this is my trumpet. I put them together and make music."

bloke wrote:

bort wrote: [a brand]

If it doesn't work out, you might have the opportunity to be told that you (and your ponytail) suck, and not the mpc...

I've been using the wrong chair, that's for sure!

IT'S THE SHOES!!

I love my Griego- Alessi 5E for Euphonium.
I am not a fan of many of these heavy weight Mouthpieces I see around. The sound loses too much of the higher overtones.

I used to play a Schilke 52E2 on my Besson. Then I wanted something a little bit bigger. I looked and found the Schilke Symphony series and tried the D5.3* :

M5.3 K A Medium Shallow Cup that provides more brilliance with a larger rim diameter than the 5.2 models.
D5.3 K A Standard cup shape that provides a deeper bottom to the sound core.
D5.3* K Standard Cup with tapered throat. More open than D5.3

And it worked well. Schilke had the Symphony Series in 5.1 (52), 5.2 (52), 5.3 (53), and 6.0 (60) sizes.

See:
https://www.schilkemusic.com/products/m ... y-trombone

I hope this helps.

eupho wrote:Ok expensive is perhaps the term I might have chosen. Yes I agree that a mouthpiece that works great for you is a good one, period. I just would like to hear from players who may use one of the more expensive or any other mouthpiece and got the the results they were looking for. I used to love a Schilke 52E2 on a YEP-621 but not on the euphonium I purchased after that one.

PS: A simple question is not necessarily an ignorant one.

Well...can't help you with your specific question, but wanted to point out to the TNFJ that you did say you changed instruments and what you were using before does not seem to work as well on your new instrument.

It took me a long time to find one that worked for me on my (french) horn, and it was one of the more high level ones (a Lawson, but I got it used.) The hardest thing was finding a rim that worked for me, and when I finally did, it mattered. Given your options, if you can afford it, I would go the Doug Elliot route and see what he can fit you up with. I ended up with a box full of mouthpieces for horn, and while there is one other I can use in a pinch and get similar results, the Lawson is "it" for me on that instrument. On tuba, I have just one I have found that works, out of a box full, and it again was just because I bought it used and it happened to work. On euph, I am just fine with a Kelly 5G, which was cheap but once again won out over a number of others, all purchased. That's why the DE option might work for you, allowing you to "try this try that" until something clicks, and avoiding buying mouthpiece after mouthpiece until "the one" finally makes it into your possession.

I tried a few of the Dennis Wick Steven Mead models they range in sizes from SM-2 to SM-6 and got a Rich deep tone on them. They weren't different enough from what I had been using to make me want to switch, but they are definately a good mouthpiece. They aren't terribly expensive (can be bought for about $100 each). I would give them a try if you are looking for something different. The Rim sizing from what I could tell was similar to Bach's of the same number.

Unless a person is a professional with specific requirements and/or an endorsement contract, what is wrong with one of the standard Wick offerings, at least as a start? And if they aren't "good enough" to make the OP want to switch, then what is the OP exactly looking for?