Megatone purpose

Steve Inman · Post by **Steve Inman** » Thu May 31, 2007 10:33 pm

tubashaman wrote:yes Greg I have, and i am looking for it to be a solo mouthpiece as well, i have heard it gives a real rich tone in the upper registers as well

My teacher is leaving it up to me, he plays on a shilcke 68 I believe, but is also more of a professional euphoniumist. So would the megatone make a good solo mouthpiece?

You may wish to own more than one (or two, or three) mpcs. I'm an adult amateur who has been playing for a few decades, and I've bought several and rarely sell them. I probably should sell a few, but it's nice to have options. I'm sure I have more than a dozen. Compared to the price of your tuba, mpcs are cheap.

With a 1291, I doubt that you'll find that one mpc will provide you with both a large, weighty, "orchestral" sound AND ALSO be a great solo mpc. But if you find one that fits well, and practice a lot, then it may do reasonably well for almost everything you do (i.e. -- with a single mpc and a good practice schedule ... "I could be proven wrong" ...)

Buy a PT-50 or PT-50+ or a PT-88 or one of the larger "LOUD" mpcs, AND buy a standard Helleberg or the small Helleberg or a Schikle 69C4 or a Wick 1L (XL) -- something larger/deeper and something "average".

The Wick 1 (probably 1XL for the 1291) isn't too large in diameter, but is quite deep and has a very open throat. The 32.5mm diameter is a bit more comfy for me in upper register playing, but it doesn't suffer on other aspects. The Wick 1L / 1XL, the standard Conn Helleberg, or a Bach 12 Megatone (not the biggest one, which is the Bach 7) would be my personal choices for a single mpc solution. FWIW.

Cheers,

Steve Inman · Post by **Steve Inman** » Thu May 31, 2007 10:38 pm

tubashaman wrote:thanks, the helleberg 7B is what i play on, its too small for the horn, but i own a helleberg S, a bach 18, bach 7

I am asking about the PT 50 and PT50+, i like the rim of the 7B and the sharpness of it, and was also wondering if the PT50 and the 7B have similar rims as a guy had said on another post

Does WWBW (and/or other shops) still provide a ~10 day trial? I think they used to send you up to 3 mpcs that you could test drive and return.

Cheers,

iiipopes · Post by **iiipopes** » Thu May 31, 2007 10:42 pm

If you're seriously considering a PT mouthpiece, consider purchasing it from militarymusician.com as Doc Fox is a great guy who has worked with me to make sure I got what I needed on prior occasions, and now he's a PT dealer.

Blake Dowling · Post by **Blake Dowling** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 1:18 am

personally i would try out a bunch of mouthpieces before i buy, and if you can try them at the same time. a very wise band director who used to play tuba for fsu told me that you buy the best horn you can and then you find the best mouthpiece for that horn. i love the PT-50+ because it is the best i found for my kalison. when i tried other horns like the HB-21, PT-20, or the PT-606, (dreams all wonderfull dreams), i actually preferred the PT-50 as they projected much better than the
megatone. My teacher used a PT-48 on her 1291 BBb, eventhough she really likes the 50,50+, and the 88 (euph is her primary, but the way she plays you wouldn't know it

Wilco · Post by **Wilco** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 1:25 am

I use the GW Alan Baer model on my 1291 BBb. The AB has a shorter than normal shank AND it goes in less deep (a lot less compared to a PT mpc). My guess is that part of the magic of the AB mouthpiece is in the insertion depth. Try taping up your regular mouthpiece and see how you like that.....

Leland · Post by **Leland** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 1:27 pm

The purpose of a heavyweight mouthpiece, as I understand it, is to provide a darker sound, more efficiency (less mouthpiece vibrations = more tone out the bell), and better "slotting" of pitches.

Now... When the Canadian Brass first came out with their signature line of instruments & mouthpieces, they talked about having tested heavyweight versions of their mouthpiece prototypes. They said that the sound was indeed changed, but they didn't like how it was changed -- the resonant overtones weren't as pleasant or colorful on a heavyweight mouthpiece as with the regular, Helleberg-style mouthpiece shape. They ended up adapting that Helleberg exterior shape to the other brass voices' mouthpieces.

So, as usual,

your mileage may vary.

I've come to choose which mouthpiece to use based on a few things -- will it blend with the section sound, are there enough other players to cover lots of stagger breathing (that is, can I trade efficiency for a meatier sound), and what kind of sound do I need.

When the rest of my section was using Helleberg-style mouthpieces, I used a Helleberg. When I was doing solos & quintet stuff in college, I used something smaller (Hirsbrunner M1, I think), which could put out a brighter sound per amount of breathing effort, letting me play longer phrases while still keeping up the right tonal character. Currently, my section is more on the darker, thicker side of the sound palette, so I've got a G&W Bayamo.

IMO, get whatever makes you feel best -- you'll feel better as a player, and you'll enjoy it more.