Mouthpiece.

[iTuba]

I am a female tuba player and unfortunately live in a state that there are no music stores that have anything other than your standard starter mouthpiece for high school band. I own a 3/4 Jupiter, and play on a Schlike-Heleberger mouthpiece, and am not a huge fan of the sound that I get. I feel like the timbre isn't full enough. So I started searching for a new mouthpiece. It was suggested that I get a round cup instead of funnel, and for it to be shallow because I have a small mouth. I found an Allan Baer MMX F, and it's both of those things, but I'm afraid it's too shallow. Any help or suggestions would be great, because I'm kinda loss! Thanks!!

[Donn]

I have one of those Schilke-Hellebergs, and that's about exactly what I think of it. I wonder if the round cup advice came from the idea that what you have is funnel shaped, and if you don't like it, evidently the alternative is for you. I personally love funnel shaped mouthpieces, the Schilke-Helleberg just isn't a good example of one, for my purposes anyway, though it is not such a bad mouthpiece on my King 1240 specifically.

Anyway, if you're managing OK with it, apart from tonal subtleties, then there are plenty of mouthpieces that are large enough. I think it's smart to start experimenting with relatively economical mouthpieces, like the Faxx line or something.

[iiipopes]

Have you tried a standard Conn Helleberg 120S? Yes, we all seem to feel the same way about the Schilke Helleberg model. A few years ago I sat next to a gentleman in concert band that played a 3/4 tuba, and he could not get anything but a raspy tone out of it until he tried the standard Conn Helleberg 120S.