Helleberg mouthpiece question

[dsfinley]

I saw a post today about a 1970 120s Conn Helleberg that said it was larger than the 120s Helleberg of today in rim diameter. Measuring at 32.75mm instead of 32.50. And if this is so does anyone know where I could get one? My Helleberg is an amazing mouthpiece but I find it to be a little small. I love the extremely sharp rim on it and I want something just slightly bigger with that same feel.

[Donn]

Good luck, there are probably quite a few Hellebergs out there of that approximate vintage, but to be sure on the size thing, someone would need to have a steady hand with the calipers. If you get one, let us know how it works out - that's about 1/100 of an inch radius difference, so you'd have reasonable claim to win or place in the Princess and the Pea mouthpiece sensitivity category.

(Edit -) You might like one of Paul Sidey's Helleberg clones. I haven't seen one, but I have the impression somehow that they're faithful copies by someone who really liked the Helleberg from the '70s. (You'll see "Helleberg" in the description of many mouthpieces, but none that I have personally seen really bear much of a resemblance.)

[dsfinley]

Well I'd really prefer something around the size of a PT50 but with that same extremely sharp rim. I don't know, I just feel a little constricted with the Helleberg. Nothing wrong with it so I should probably just bit my quitching but it never hurts to try.

[J.c. Sherman]

The Yamaha CB mouthpiece is a nice Helleberg cut with a wide rim... check it out!

[thattubaguy]

I think that you are looking for something like a Canadian Brass Arnold Jacobs piece; it's basically a carved out Helleberg which has a very large throat, a 32.72 ID and the same sharp rim. It's my favorite mouthpiece, followed by my Warburton TG4(which is a modified Helleberg.) It's awesome for low register stuff and just sound great. I happen to have an unused one(for sale), but they are also available on the horn guys website.

[J.c. Sherman]

See above... that's what the Yamaha CB mouthpiece is... but the signature replica is much more affordable.

J.c.S.

[Donn]

... and Kelly makes a largish silver plated Helleberg clone in 3 shank sizes, and in the pictures the rim looks somewhat like recent versions of the real thing.

I've never seen it, nor the Yamaha/Canadian brass version. How close is the internal shape to the Conn original, on these clones? Schilke and Marcinkiewicz have taught me to be a little skeptical of mouthpieces that reference Helleberg in one way or another. Not that they're bad mouthpieces, but if the rim is different and the internal shape is different ... ?

[J.c. Sherman]

True... tons of variance in Hellebergs...

I believe (can't prove) that the CB mouthpiece is a copy of Chuck's ancient Jake Helleberg... thingy... old school... something or other. I would imagine it similar or identical to other Canadian Brass models, including Kelly.

It's freaking amazing, BTW.

[thattubaguy]

Well, basically Jake needed a better low range mouthpiece, so he went to schilke and had his helleberg customized. Now, the Canadian brass ones that I have are made by Warburton while the other ones are all different, especially the throats.

[thattubaguy]

No, not the same; and the Dillon music/horn guys CB AJ piece is different from the other ones, and those are made by somebody else, but only my piece is made by Warburton (dallenbach and Warburton had a falling out)

[Heavy_Metal]

Might be worth checking out a Marty Erickson ME4. That has a bigger rim ID than anything else I've seen, including the CB Jake, but I'll be the first to admit I haven't seen everything

[Doug Elliott]

If you like the flat sharp Helleberg rim, I make it in several sizes that fit onto all of my cups.

[dsfinley]

Are the Elliot Helleberg rims more rounded than the regular Helleberg rim?

[Doug Elliott]

I guess it depends on the particular Helleberg rim, since I've seen variations, but I have tried to make a faithful copy with a totally flat area on the rim.

I also make a "Narrow" rim that is the same width, but rounded. That one is useful for players who need a narrow rim because they have a small face, or place the mouthpiece close under their nose and don't like the sharp outer edge of a Helleberg.