Sousa mouthpiece question

[PaulTkachenko]

I've been slowly reverting to factory stock mouthpieces for all my tubas. Just seems to work better in terms of sound (to me at least). Sure, some other mouthpieces offer better low/high registers or more volume. The factory mouthpieces just seem to be more even ...

It was actually one of the guys at Miraphone that mentioned to me how he wished players would use the mouthpieces that were designed to be used with particular instruments.

At the moment I'm using a 24AW with my King 2370 sousa. What do these horns come with? It works fine (so why fix it, you ask) ... I'm curious.

Any other recommendations welcome too ...

[MrBasseyPants]

The 2370 comes with a King #2 according to their website. The 2350 comes with a 24AW.

To me everything sounds more or less the same on a sousaphone with the exception of a super deep cup MP like the Loud LM-3 or a super shallow cup like the Loud LM-12. The LM-3 makes for a nice fat sound whereas at the LM-12 is just ridiculous....the way a sousaphone should be! Then again I play on a Conn 40K and a King Jumbo....two large heavy horns. I am not sure how these would go over on a Fiberglass horn.....I am sure the LM-12 would be good though.

Maybe try a Kelly....I have the four models of their lexan tuba MPs and I like them all(24AW, 18, 25, and Helleburg)....but like I said....pretty ordinary.


jc

[bill]

When I played a rather small belled but wonderful King/H N White Sousaphone, 60 years ago, in Junior High, it had a King 26 and that worked very well. I have, to this day, a fondness for them and still try them on all instruments I play, as a first or second choice (Conn 2 being the competitor, here) and go from there. As I understand it (from George Black, a wonderful old New York, Bell-era player) Bill Bell said everyone should start with a King 26 (although Bell was of the school that if you pick a mouthpiece, you should stick with it). Personally, I have never found a 24AW that worked so well as many other things. Over the last 63 or so years, I have created a collection of about 40 mouthpieces and, still I use them one at a time, as everyone else does. I always carry 2 mouthpieces with a horn: The one working the best, for me, and another either the second best or producing either a more "solo" tone or a more ensemble tone.

[iiipopes]

Old King #26 for a King souzy.

[PaulTkachenko]

Are the King mouthpieces significantly different? Sounds like I might already have the factory mouthpiece with the 24AW - it works fine.

I've got a Kelly 24AW too ... It's the same as the metal one, but ... well ... plastic.

[GC]

The statement "one of the guys at Miraphone that mentioned to me how he wished players would use the mouthpieces that were designed to be used with particular instruments" gets straight to the heart of an issue that I've wondered about for years: how do the manufacturers decide what goes into their mouthpiece designs? What makes them think that their design concepts are the best? Is it anything more than the designers' personal preferences, or is it merely the desire to sell more mouthpieces?

[PaulTkachenko]

I don't know what his thinking was but I do know that I didn't find another mouthpiece that worked with the Starlight. Everything else seemed to compromise the tuning a bit.

As I seem to be reverting back to factory mouthpieces, I'm starting to think he might have a point. However, it might just be that my mouth fits their 'design' ... Handy.