Kelly 18 Making Its Seasonal Debut

[iiipopes]

Today, another suburb near where I live is having its fall festival, and its community band will play at 11:00 on main street. Temperature at downbeat will be @ 50 degrees fahrenheit. It will be a concert for the Kelly 18.

Again, at only @$30 to $35, I encourage everyone to purchase a Kelly to have for outdoor concerts in inclement weather, and to have as a spare.

[bighonkintuba]

I've been experimenting with a handful of Kelly tuba mouthpieces for the past few months. Some observations:

There are two versions of the 18:
One (two examples in solid colors in my case) with a flattened rim; the other (a 'crystal' color) with a rounded rim. They sound the same to me while playing and in recordings using a TASCAM DR-05 (4-5' away at ear level). The flattened rim feels better.

There are two versions of the Kellyberg:
One with a scalloped outer section where the cup meets the shank (like the 18); the other that is smooth throughout the entire length (purchased new directly from Kelly a few weeks ago). The rims appear to be the same. I feel like I have more precise articulation with the scalloped version, but the smooth version sounds better in recordings. As an aside, quality control of the (presumably) new/smooth version has suffered: blurred/uneven silkscreened 'Kellyberg' label; imperfections (tool marks?) on the outer cup.

18 vs. Kellyberg:
I feel like I have a better bottom range with the 18 and a better higher range with the Kellyberg. The Kellyberg sounds better than the 18 throughout the range in all recordings.

So, I'm sticking with the smooth version of the Kellyberg (in all weather conditions ).

It's interesting how feel/sound quality at the mouthpiece doesn't translate to sound quality at a distance from the horn, which I guess is what counts.

FWIW. YMMV.

[iiipopes]

Not only that, but there are variations from run-to-run of the same mouthpiece. I have two Kelly 18's, purchased a couple of years apart, and they respond and react differently. One seems to have a little smoother transition to the throat, and a corresponding slightly darker tone and more fluid response; the other seems to be slightly more rounded going into the throat, and has a bit more edge to the articulation. The rims are the same, the slightly flattened. I keep both because every instrument I have played in the last few years sounds better with one or the other, but not both. One will sound great, the other stuffy, and it is not the same mouthpiece from instrument to instrument. My Bessophone sounds great with the smooth one, but stuffy and harder to center with the rounded one. I borrowed a 2J once a few years ago, and nothing felt good for me on it other than the rounded one, which really brought out everything the horn had, while the smooth one did not have good articulation or intonation. OTOH, the smooth one sounded great on the Reynolds souzy I used to have, but the round one sounded edgy, and so on for the other instruments I have played over the last few years.

If bloke ever makes his Modified Helleberg 32.6 mm rim in lexan in a deep version, that will be a consideration for the next purchase for my Imperial blokepiece, as I actually prefer the feel of the slightly flattened Kelly 18 rim. It is very similar to my favorite mouthpiece of all time, but which I can no longer maintain enough air for its large throat: the Wick 1L.

Kelly have changed their specs, as well. When I bought my first Kelly 18, it was advertised as 1.28 cup i.d. Then it went to 1.285 a few years ago, and now it is advertised as 1.29.

And remember, Kelleys are not simply Lexan CNC versions of the corresponding conventional mouthpieces, but are adjusted in geometry to approximate the tone and response of their namesakes. This is especially true of their 18, which is deeper and wider than the Bach namesake, but has a similar tone.

[toobagrowl]

Yes, I've been using one of my Kelly 18's for the past couple months.
I own at least 4 Kelly 18's and at least one of every other model for tuba/sousaphone.
Great mpcs for marching band/outdoor use

[bearphonium]

Love my Kelly for outdoor marching gigs...and outdoor Tuba Christmas!