What's your favorite marching mouthpiece?

[NerdyTubaGuy]

Just curious. I'm going to march in college next year and I want to know what works for people. I play on a Blokepiece Symphony and I LOVE that piece. But I don't want to risk marching it. I've heard that PT-88's work well. And Dennis Wicks. What do you guys think? All info is vastly appreciated!

[jamsav]

love love love, the response I get from my King 2350 when I stick a Laskey 30G into it...I suspect I will have this MP as long as I have a sousaphone...

[ShoelessWes]

Just curious. I'm going to march in college next year and I want to know what works for people. I play on a Blokepiece Symphony and I LOVE that piece. But I don't want to risk marching it. I've heard that PT-88's work well. And Dennis Wicks. What do you guys think? All info is vastly appreciated!

Giddings and Webster "Bayamo" was my go to mouthpiece of choice for marching band.

Before that it was a Tuba Exchange Old Model H1... I've never found one like it, it was super thin walled and was the biggest mouthpiece I've ever played on. I'm not sure if I got an accident mouthpiece or what, because I tried for many years after that to buy a Tuba Exchange H1 and I never found one that remotely resembled it. (literally, it had to have been an accident that they accidentally gave me). Whoever stole that mouthpiece from me got a one of a kind gem!

I miss that thing.

[ShoelessWes]

Did it look like this Marcinkiewicz H1 ?

Nope, and when I called them and asked for one, that's what they tried to send me.

The body of the mouthpiece looked like a very large helleberg, there was no backbore to speak of, it was extremely funnel shaped, it had a flat rim that was very sharp towards the funnel and sweeping away from the funnel. Right where the funnel and shank met, on the outside there was a threaded ring about 1/8th of an inch thick.

The markings were Tuba Exchange H1, but it resembles in no way any of the others I've seen.

[SRanney]

I've played a number of different mouthpieces in a concert setting, but when it came to marching, I only used a Bach 24AW. When it was cold (well, cold for north GA), I used a no-name plastic piece of crap that came with the used 186 I bought.

Why the 24AW? 1) Cheap, 2) I didn't mind if it got beat to hell, 3) if I lost it, I really didn't give a rat's ***, and 4) why would I want to use my PT-88 on the field?

It's been a while since I've marched and no doubt others will view me as a neophyte-has-been that doesn't know anything about sounding good while I played on the field or stands. However, a Bach 24AW worked well for me through four years of high school marching band and two years of university-level marching and pep band.

Steven

[bort]

^ Ditto.

My answer was going to be "anything cheap." I used a heavy Bach 18 for everything in college (on- and off-field) and it worked just fine. I mean maybe something else would have worked better, but the Bach 18 worked well enough that I never felt the need to change.

[bobo]

Giddings and Webster "Bayamo" was my go to mouthpiece of choice for marching band.

+1

[bearphonium]

Kelly 18 in a fiberglass sousy.

[arpthark]

Kelly 18 has saved my face at some cold rehearsals and games. Can't go wrong there. Looking back, I think I would have preferred a Kellyberg though.

[ai698]

When I marched ump-teen years ago, I used a Bach 18 for marching band and drum corps. My daughter marched drum corps last summer and destroyed her PT36, so I did get her one of the Chi-Comm PT copies. She says it feels similar to her PT36. For marching band, she used my yellow Kellyberg. If you're careful with your mouthpiece, use what works. If not, use what's works and cheap.

[circusboy]

If you're looking for something inexpensive and to some extent disposable, then you have many suggestions above already. (I'd vote for the Kellyberg.)

If you're looking for something that might help you to make the best sound in a marching context, I'd add the G+W Caver to your list to try. When I tried one, that was what occurred to me immediately: I wanna stuff this in the small end of a sousaphone and play it in the wide open spaces.


Please let us know what you choose. It brings a nice closure to these threads.

[TheHatTuba]

Anything thats not a 24 or 25... But specifically, a pt88 or 50

[tclements]

Anything that won't piss me off when I drop it! EXCEPT A 24AW!!!!

[cjk]

Isn't this thread the equivalent of asking everyone what their favorite flesh eating virus is ?

[TubaRay]

Anything that won't piss me off when I drop it! EXCEPT A 24AW!!!!

From this, and other threads, I get the feeling Tony doesn't like 24AWs. I'm not sure what gave me that idea, but it just seems like it.

[muttenstrudel]

Josef Klier Exclusiv 5E. Best working mouthpiece on my old F.

[john paul]

for me the best marching mouthpiece was a loud LM-12.it gave me the desired marching band sound, "ripping sheetmetal".

[iiipopes]

Another for a Kelly 18 with the throat wrapped with a circle of golfer's lead tape to stabilize the mouthpiece for dynamic extremes.

[big_blue_tubist]

I have to go with a Conn Helleberg. The sharp inner rim helps with articulation on the field.

[ken k]

the 24AW has a very wide cushion rim which is very comfortable and secure to use while marching. It also has a huge bowl cup which gives sousas a big fat sound. You can also get plastice Kellys in a 24AW size I believe so if you wanted to go with a plastic kelly you could use that. The inner diameter of the rim is a bit small but because the rim profile is so wide it also doesn't move around as much while marching and the bowl is huge as I mentioned.

These seem to be patterned the old King 28(?) mouthpieces whcih were made for their sousaphones

I also like the idea of the lexan rim for the sellmasnberger you presently have.

If you like the helleberg Kelly makes a stanless version too, you may be albe to find an inexpensive one here onteh TN for sale forumk