Oddball Bach Mouthpiece

[Paul Scott]

Hello All,
A very fine student walked in today with a Vincent Bach tuba mouthpiece I'd never seen before. It was stamped Vincent Bach Corporation 12M. Very similar to a Bach 7 but with a Euro shank. He had bought it as NOS from a music store that had it for years and it was still wrapped in plastic with a heavy tarnish. It plays nicely! Has anyone else ever seen one of these?

[UDELBR]

I've got a stock Bach Megatone 7 I've used for years that came with a Euro shank. I've never seen another since. Wish I could find one though!

[Paul Scott]

Yes, the first thing we noticed was the different outer rim (thinner and more angular). The "12M" is rather crudely engraved while the "Vincent Bach Corp." is clearly the standard engraving. It is not a megatone model. I believe that the "M" designation probably refers to the narrower rim, since Bach tuba mouthpieces usually have a "MW" or medium wide rim according to their catalogue.

I'll ask if he'd like to sell but I have the feeling he'd like to keep it. It's too bad that they didn't make more of their line with this rim!

[bort]

Which store?

[gregsundt]

In my (somewhat limited) experience, the "M" denotes a "symphonic" throat and backbore, slightly more open than standard. I once picked up an 18M at a T.U.B.A. conference (I'm old.) Not a huge difference, but enough to notice. I eventually went back to a standard 18.

[Lee Stofer]

I just consulted the Conn-Selmer 2016 Accessory Showbook, and although there are a number of details about standard and special-order throat sizes for Bach tuba mouthpieces, and a description of all of the models available (including the Bach 12), there is no mention of shank size anywhere in the tuba listings. I know that one can special-order Bach tuba mouthpieces with the slightly-larger European shank size, so I suspect that this is what this mouthpiece is. If the rim differs from that of the standard Bach 12, perhaps the "12M" denotes "12 - modified." The standard 12 cup diameter is 32.75mm, as opposed to the 33.25mm cup diameter for the Bach 7.

If the rim is the standard Bach 12 rim, then I think it would be relatively simple to order one with the Euro shank. I started selling Conn-Selmer mouthpieces over 10 years ago, when local music stores were telling my repair customers that certain-size Bach mouthpieces were not available. I think they did want to bother with a small order. Conn-Selmer has a quite wide assortment of mouthpieces that are still available.