Thor mouthpiece confession

[MikeMason]

Ok. I really haven't experimented with mouthpieces since I got my Thor last summer.I just assumed my trusty pt50+ would be the way to go.I've used it for several things and was doing ok,but starting to feel my sound and low register response is regressing,maybe from lack of practice or just age(that argument didn't really hold water.I'm 38 and many of our heros didn't hit their stride til much after that,but hey,you rationalize the best you can).So,I've decided to try some mouthpieces just to see if that might be a factor.Well,my back up piece is a G&W Caver just riding down in the door pocket of my work van.We did a pops concert Sat. night(with the 50+.A little depressed with the way I played).Sunday we did a rehearsal for a TV documentary we're doing.The tune is Tcaik. Francesca Da Rinimi,a little known tone poem with a pretty decent tuba part.So, i says"just for fun,let me do a little comparison during my warm up.Wow. I just wasted about 8 mos. by playing that 50+.Now what kind of idiot would spend 9k on a horn and then not try to find the best mouthpiece match? So,I'm not saying the Caver is the best mp for this horn and I'm going to try several.But i do know the 50+ ain't it...



Mike"chest puffed back out again" Mason

[josh wagner]

I use a pt-50s, it is nice and it lightens up the tone a little

[kingrob76]

I've had two Thor's on trial. One worked REALLY well with a Deck 3 (which, contrary to popular opinion is based on the Rose Orchestral and not a 24AW) and the other needed something much shallower - a Doug Elliot P cup - to get the right color.

[pwhitaker]

You might want to try a Mike Finn MF3-B. It's a little smaller than the Pt-88+ but the rim is very comfortable. It goes nicely with my 5/4 Rudy BBb. The German horns' lower register seems to respond better with the bowl shaped cups.

[SplatterTone]

... I'm going to try several.

Thus the quest begins.

If you can identify the inside diameter with which your face works best, that's a big part of it. For example, my magic number is 33mm. It is often the case that a MP will not be great for you now, but a year from now, when you go back and try it again, your face might have changed so that the MP works well. So, you should never, ever sell a mouthpiece
...
except to me at an insanely low price. Like, for example, that PT50, which I do not have, because nobody has been insane enough yet.

I'll point out the Tubaryan12 has a Bach 12 on Ebay that has a beyond insanely low bid on it right now. This thing is just crying: Snipe me! Snipe me!

[KevinMadden]

I'm personally a huge fan of the Caver, It works great with my YM, and from what little Thor playing I've done (hanging out at Dillon's, a little at USABTEC) I like the way it fits there too.