Shank Sizes and Their Effects on Playing

[Tuba Boy]

Hey ya'll,
I was wondering, since I've been looking at mouthpieces, how do shank sizes affect playing?
What are the trade-offs of going for a larger shank vs a smaller one?
What are the effects of using a shank that doesn't fit the tuba(e.g. using a Euro shank for a horn that typically is used with an American shank)?
I've been getting conflicting information from sources that both seem to be reputable and am hoping I may find some consensus with greater amounts of input.

Thanks a ton!
Maxim

[Doug Elliott]

The playing effect is a combination of shank size/fit, the mouthpiece backbore, and the style of receiver. Some receivers have a smooth transition from the taper to the leadpipe; some have a "gap" if the start of the leadpipe is smaller than the receiver; and some have what I call a "reverse gap" where the start of the leadpipe is larger than the receiver. So the transition from backbore to leadpipe may be fairly smooth, or a combination of steps in bore size, up or down.

In other words, it's a complex situation with no clear answer. That's why I make a variety of shanks for my mouthpieces, as part of my system for fine-tuning the various mouthpiece parameters to your needs.