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I'll plead ignorance here -- are Laskey mouthpieces out of production now? Are they getting harder to find, or is there any sort of rarity involved?

I'm asking because I recently acquired a Laskey 30H, that has a lot of plating wear on the rim. Seems like a nice mouthpiece, but with raw brass on the rim, I find it unplayable (ouch!). Trying to decide if I should get it replated, or just sell it and let someone else deal with it.

They have unavailable for purchase since Scott Laskey passed away.

I have a Laskey 30G that I intend on keeping forever. When the playing in the rim wears down, I'm going to have it replated in gold. If I can pick up another one for a decent price, or perhaps a 28C, then I'll definitely do so.

Have it re-plated of course. I suspect they will be back in production under new ownership sometime soon. The family found a buyer.

I have a Laskey 28H.... which was not my first choice, but it's the only one I could get my hands on. This was about a year or so before Scott passed away. He was an incredibly kind and knowledgeable person. (He was trained by R. Schilke.) Based on what tuba, how, and in what settings I usually played, he had personally suggested a 28G to me, but, at that point, no one had that particular mouthpiece in stock. So, I grabbed what I could get!!! I found this one on line in a store in Arizona. At that time, no one, anywhere, had his mouthpieces, and they were all complaining about unfilled orders from him...... probably due to his illness. That being said, I really like the mouthpiece better than anything else I've tried, so far. Very comfortable. However, I'm always open to something better.

I'm really glad to hear that they found a buyer for the company. I've talked to quite a few pro french horn players, and they all use Laskey mouthpieces. It would be a shame to simply have that company go down the drain!!!

You can buy my 30H for $200, but hurry fast, that's "buddy" pricing.

bloke wrote:Besides the original version (Schilke Helleberg II), aren't there - now - several more that have been issued as various artistes "signature" models?

...and no...
Brett claims that stainless steel "affects the sounds", so he should just play that properly-resonating brass mpc. as it stands.

I never said that. I said that i don't like the way that stainless feels (both the slipperiness and the "hardness" of it). I used a G&W mouthpiece for almost 5 years, and liked it ... but at that time, I (wisely?) only owned that single mouthpiece and didnt switch around gear all the time.

After that 5 years, I tried some brass mouthpieces again, and have never gone back to stainless for any extended period of time.

Joe, I really liked the Blokepiece that I used to own... but again, just didnt like the stainless. Any plans to.make them in brass?!

Couldn’t you just grow a mustache??

bort wrote:don't like the way that stainless feels

Can't say I liked it much either, but that's just going on one G&W that I also didn't like for other reasons. While looking around for info on alternatives, I see that there's some serious applications for bronze plating - or rather, "tri-metal" Cu/Sn/Zn, with maybe 40% tin, for a white finish that sounds like it's very durable and tarnish-proof. With less tin, the color is a golden yellow, and reportedly used a lot in decorative applications. Might be interesting to get a mouthpiece white bronze plated and see what it feels like.

Kanstul used to make 30H mouthpieces, are they the same as Laskey?

Not sure, but Jim New would be the person to ask.

And just to bring things full circle, I ended up giving this mouthpiece away to a friend.

Just got my laskey 30H back from Dan oberloh who restored it for me. It was worth the price and I am glad I got it done. If you have an old laskey send it to Dan and let him work his magic.

For those looking for a 30H, the Dillon Roylance is a 30H. Call Matt at Dillon music and he can help you. Feel free to PM me if you have questions.

I've been on a 30H for the past 7 or so years and have enjoyed it greatly. Then I stumbled upon the thread about Gaps and made me realize that my DS most likely requires a Euro shank (doh!). I've been looking around lately for something similar and would like to try stainless, so with that, a few questions:

I see the G&W Baer has similar dimensions to the 30H--how is the rim and how does it compare to the Laskey? Anyone have any experience with a slightly larger diameter Taku?

I really want to try a Blokepiece, I'm just afraid that 33.2 mm will be too large for me and I definitely don't want to go smaller than the diameter that I'm playing on now, so I'm not sure what to do on that end.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I wish the local stores allowed one to try before they buy

In the end I might just say heck with it and just play it safe with a Euro Roylance idk

hrender wrote:As mentioned, the Dillon Roylance is similar to a 30H. The Schilke Hellberg II and Hammond 30XL are similar as well. Blokepiece rims come in several sizes and configurations, so if you want to go that route you have several options.

Thanks for the response--I an familiar with those.

What I was saying about the blokepiece (and I might have mistakenly assumed it was easy to extrapolate with the given info) is that my laskey is right in between Bloke diameters at roughly 32.9mm. Bloke offers 33.2, which I fear might be too big, and the next size down at 32.6 is smaller than I would like to go. I very much like the diameter of the 30H, which is why I was asking about the Baer rim, but would try slightly larger at 33mm like that of a Taku or Dillon Olka.

But who knows! I might like the larger bloke rim

Not that any of these mouthpieces are likely to ever encounter my face, but ... how much we make of 0.15mm!

I happen to have a cheap plastic dial caliper at hand here, and I tried to crank it down to that just to see what it looks like - but there seems to be a little spec of dirt there, so it's stuck at 0.2. But I understand human hairs can sometimes be that thick, so there's an alternative reference.

Given a mouthpiece that's exactly 0.3mm larger - 33.2 vs. 32.9 - you'd find it hanging out 0.15mm wider on each side, that's where I get that number.

But here's the thing - did you get that 32.9 by measuring it? Did you happen to notice where's the perfect spot to measure? If your 30H is like any of my mouthpieces, there isn't one. It's a curved surface, that meets your chops in a various ways depending on how hard you're pushing in, etc. Another rim is going to be another curved surface, and not likely exactly parallel to the 30H. So measurements within one shop, like you'd get comparing the 28H to the 30H, are saying something, but measurements published by different manufacturers for different styles of mouthpieces are much less precise measures. Bach for example - is a Bach 18 really only 32.10mm? Well, sure it is, but let's not assume right away that it's a lot smaller than a 28H.

Meanwhile, put nail polish on that rim to avoid metal poisoning if you're playing on it. Yeah it feels different; I don't mind it.

Donn wrote:Not that any of these mouthpieces are likely to ever encounter my face, but ... how much we make of 0.15mm!

I happen to have a cheap plastic dial caliper at hand here, and I tried to crank it down to that just to see what it looks like - but there seems to be a little spec of dirt there, so it's stuck at 0.2. But I understand human hairs can sometimes be that thick, so there's an alternative reference.

Given a mouthpiece that's exactly 0.3mm larger - 33.2 vs. 32.9 - you'd find it hanging out 0.15mm wider on each side, that's where I get that number.

But here's the thing - did you get that 32.9 by measuring it? Did you happen to notice where's the perfect spot to measure? If your 30H is like any of my mouthpieces, there isn't one. It's a curved surface, that meets your chops in a various ways depending on how hard you're pushing in, etc. Another rim is going to be another curved surface, and not likely exactly parallel to the 30H. So measurements within one shop, like you'd get comparing the 28H to the 30H, are saying something, but measurements published by different manufacturers for different styles of mouthpieces are much less precise measures. Bach for example - is a Bach 18 really only 32.10mm? Well, sure it is, but let's not assume right away that it's a lot smaller than a 28H.

I've actually been meaning to go to my old shop and measure with calipers (I need to just buy one; I have enough use for it...), But no I haven't actually measured it and I have been going by manufacturers numbers, only. Fantastic points about the curvature making widths relative (along with other variables)! All very excellent points thank you for the feedback everyone, and sorry to hijack the thread

Subconsciously I think I was just looking for a nudge to take the leap into the more expensive modular lines. Luckily the wife just purchased entirely overpriced workout earphones, and I happen to still have some wedding gift money left over.

Going to reach out to the man himself and figure out the best setup for my Kalison DS. Thanks again! I'll let you all know how it goes.

Donn wrote:Not that any of these mouthpieces are likely to ever encounter my face, but ... how much we make of 0.15mm!

I happen to have a cheap plastic dial caliper at hand here, and I tried to crank it down to that just to see what it looks like - but there seems to be a little spec of dirt there, so it's stuck at 0.2. But I understand human hairs can sometimes be that thick, so there's an alternative reference.

Given a mouthpiece that's exactly 0.3mm larger - 33.2 vs. 32.9 - you'd find it hanging out 0.15mm wider on each side, that's where I get that number.

Well, according to the news today apparently there is enough of a difference...

Maybe I got this wrong, but I thought Joe just advertised that he's come out with a 32.9mm rim. Also, the Dillon Roylance does come in a Euroshank too.