"Herco" mouthpieces

[TheHatTuba]

I have one thats very similar, if not the same. It is raw brass and has Herco Professional (Professional is written in cursive) and a big "Eb" on the opposite side of the cup. Small Boosey shank.

[opus37]

I have one that came with my 1912 Martin Eb. It is fully plated, except for the rim where the plating has worn off over time. The mouth piece plays rather well, but I like stainless steel better.

[Tom Coffey]

How about the manufacturer, itself--does anyone know who, or where, or what "Herco" was? Or,is?

[pigman]

Made at Miller automatics Brooklyn NY . Miller also made the blanks for Rudy Muck, Giardenlli, Parduba , Jettone Al Cass and others . Herco was Hirshman musical products 49 st NyC.
I belive its now owned by Jim Dunlop The guitar pick maker .. It was a cheap student mouthpiece . Most had visable lathe lines some players actually liked them !

Ray

[J.c. Sherman]

I have a Herco Professional "BB" mouthpiece which I use in my Kalison DS. Great fit for that horn (Yamaha receiver transplant). I found it in bare brass and silvered it. I just got two Hercos in original condition in my shop - the two barely resemble each other!

J.c.S.

[Rick Denney]

So, I'm visiting in Houston. And as I was walking Sunday through the garage where I grew up, I head a THUNK! as I bumped something and caused something heavy to fall to the top of a washing machine. I looked, and it was a Herco Eb mouthpiece, complete with strange and incomplete plating, visible lathe lines, and signs of rather severe experience.

My suspicion is that it was once inserted into a Besson Stratford Bb tuba, that served time sitting in a plastic bag in that garage some decades ago. It has thus languished in obscurity since no more recently than 1984, and perhaps unseen since 1976.

That it should announce its presence the very day this thread appeared on Tubenet suggests to me that these are made of some secret material that is mutually attractive. Probably, these were made of military unobtanium disguised to look like crappy, low-grade cheapie mouthpieces made back when they didn't know how to make them from plastic. Or something like that.

Rick "a little freaked out" Denney

[Tom Coffey]

I appreciate the information--I have wondered about these for years.

[bububassboner]

What all different horns did they make mouthpieces for? I have a Herco Professional "Baritone" mouthpiece that I'm selling in the for sale section but have wondered if it was just a low brass thing.