Selection of the mouthpiece makes all the difference

[opus37]

I recently finished playing a 3 night Christmas concert with a 30 piece orchestra, hand bells, choirs and soloists. Where the brass was playing, the director wanted to hear the brass ring through. The brass section had 2 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones and 1 tuba. I was playing my Kanstul 66. In practice, I started out with a Sellmansberger Symphony thinking I wanted to blend. I did blend very well. A little too well. The director said, "can't hear the low brass". I changed to a Wedge Solo SJ. I was able to cut through and got a smile from the director. The moral of the story is, for the brassy music of this Christmas concert, the brighter mouthpiece made all the difference.

[TubaSteve]

I agree that the selection of mouthpiece can have a marked impact on you sound. I am glad that tuba players are not like trumpet players with their mouthpiece obsessions, but I have found that I have a few mouthpieces that I use in different situations. I played on my Helleburg 7B for years. I played on it so much, that I wore the finish off of it. I was given a new one for Christmas a few years ago, and I usually play it on my MW-25. I heard of the 120 Helleburg that several fellow players were using, so when I saw a brand new one on e-bay for $18 and no bids, I purchased it. I tried to compare the two, and I did find that I liked the sound produced by the 120 over the 7B. It was richer and less dark. I ended up playing the 120 for a good 7 months until I finally got tired of not being able to recover my accuracy in the upper register that I went back to the 7B. I can't say I didn't give it a chance, and I still use it on rare occasions, but I don't have much into it, less than $25 with shipping, so oh well.
When I would play one of my Reynolds horns, I found that I very much liked the sound of my trusty old Bach 18 that my folks gave me 38 years ago. That is hands down the best choice for me in those horns. I again had folks at my last concert on Wednedsay comment to me on the beautiful sound of my Reynolds recording bass. One fellow who was a substitute in our band, is a band director, said to me, "All tubas should be like this!"
I have another concert this Wednesday, and again on Saturday. I am really on the fence on what horn to play. I am leaning toward the MW-25 as these are both fairly round venues, the upright bell may be the best choice, but I may bring them both just to see how they sound.

Steve

[Billy M.]

I currently have a few mouthpieces in my arsenal. I tend to use my Sellmansberger Symphony on my 188 for larger groups and the Solo #2 (with Beer Mug) if the group is small and I need a brighter sound. The Solo also works wonderfully with my Holton Eb.