Stuck Kelly mouthpieces?

[Leland]

As a side note Lexan = polycarbonate= bullet resistant, a very strong plastic.

Yeah, but if you take a good swing at one in mid-air with a drum major's mace (yes, baseball-style!), you can blast the shank off of the cup..

[ThomasDodd]

Yeah, but if you take a good swing at one in mid-air with a drum major's mace (yes, baseball-style!), you can blast the shank off of the cup..

The drum major let you use his mace?

Or did you swipe it while he wasn't looking

[Joe Baker]

Yeah, but if you take a good swing at one in mid-air with a drum major's mace (yes, baseball-style!), you can blast the shank off of the cup..

The drum major let you use his mace?

Or did you swipe it while he wasn't looking

... or was he swinging for your head?

[Leland]

lol...

This was actually an extra mace, which we were using to teach the new guys about mace commands.

No, no no... we didn't hit them with the mace... we're not that "old corps"...

[JB]

...This thread is rapidly becoming an example of one of those obnoxious 'pet peeve' posts that is mentioned elsewhere on the TubeNet. Now.... go practice and don't worry about it!

Sincere apologies, but I do respectfully disagree with your point of view on this.

I had a genuine question to which I could find no related information anywhere (and recall that the original question cited that this was asked by a music educator without any experience in this area -- particularly where younger (i.e., late elementary/early jr high) were the potential users of these mouthypieces. I had also contacted Jim Kelly (whose reply was shown above.)

Before committing precious budget $ toward Kelly mouthpieces, I think she was asking (acting) with due diligence. To try and assist, I brought the question here, to this forum, in hope that some of those out there with worthwhile opinions, knowledge, and experience, could help in providing a sound answer. Sorry you feel it is a ‘pet-peeve post.’ Truly, it was borne of good intentions. (Plus, I was inquiring between practice and teaching sessions. )

I'm hoping that by providing a bit of the context behind this question you will see that it was not just a "waste of time/piston or rotary -- BBb or CC" post.

Now back to practicing.

Thanks.
JB

[Chuck(G)]

I'm wondering if Kelly mouthpieces are a good idea for school use. Sure, they look nice out of the box, but I wonder what they'll look like after a school year, geting all scratched up.

Does anyone have any experience with their use in a school environment?

[JB]

I'm wondering if Kelly mouthpieces are a good idea for school use. Sure, they look nice out of the box, but I wonder what they'll look like after a school year, geting all scratched up.

Does anyone have any experience with their use in a school environment?

Good question.

Do you think there would be increased scratching (and other signs of damage) compared to the same treatment of a metal mp -- especially in the hands of younger level players? Or, would these Kelly products stand up a little better to the abusive treatment?

I'm not sure; what do others think?

[Lew]

I'm wondering if Kelly mouthpieces are a good idea for school use. Sure, they look nice out of the box, but I wonder what they'll look like after a school year, geting all scratched up.

Does anyone have any experience with their use in a school environment?

Good question.

Do you think there would be increased scratching (and other signs of damage) compared to the same treatment of a metal mp -- especially in the hands of younger level players? Or, would these Kelly products stand up a little better to the abusive treatment?

I'm not sure; what do others think?

If you drop a Kelly mouthpiece it might crack, but it might not. If you drop a metal one it will probably end up with a bent shank and rim dents. Given that the Kelly's cost less, especially when purchased in quantity, than most metal MPs, in some cases much less, I think that they're worth a try. I would think that they are likely to get scratched but more likely to remain playable.

[Chuck(G)]

If you drop a Kelly mouthpiece it might crack, but it might not. If you drop a metal one it will probably end up with a bent shank and rim dents. Given that the Kelly's cost less, especially when purchased in quantity, than most metal MPs, in some cases much less, I think that they're worth a try. I would think that they are likely to get scratched but more likely to remain playable.

Hmmm, unless I knew for sure, if I were in the position of having to buy a bunch of tuba mouthpieces for some rowdy kids, I might hedge my bet by buying half Kelly and half Faxx (or even some of those cheaper "Jean Baptiste" mouthpieces).

[Joe Baker]

I believe that both the mouthpiece and whatever it hits (someone's head, the bell of the tuba...) will be less damaged if the mouthpiece is a Kelly. Lexan is extremely hard, ergo extremely scratch resistant. This isn't plexiglass, after all. And as for cracking, I remember someone here (Leland, was it you?) mentioning that they tested their Kelly by throwing it as hard as they could against a brick wall without significant harm.

They may not be the perfect playing mouthpiece for all situations, but I'd definitely take them for durability and safety.
______________________________
Joe Baker, who also thinks they'd be a lot easier on developing embouchures.

[Leland]

And as for cracking, I remember someone here (Leland, was it you?) mentioning that they tested their Kelly by throwing it as hard as they could against a brick wall without significant harm.

I remember that story, and that particular one wasn't me; although I have thrown mine against a chain link fence, bounced it off a concrete basketball court (right back into my hand, too.. couldn't repeat it after that), and tried to hit an owl with it one night.

It eventually ended up with a nearly-internal fracture, high in the cup, right about where the rim transitions to the cup wall. You could just about feel it, and you'd have to look at it carefully in good light to see it in the clear Lexan (it would be more difficult to see in one of the opaque colors).

I have another that I've kept in the car for several months. It's not cracked, but it scratches & dulls like you'd expect Lexan would. It's only really noticeable on the outer extremes (outer rim, outer-bottom cup, shank, etc), and it doesn't seem to affect how it feels on the face.

You have to really consciously abuse these things to damage them. They'll survive a normal drop to the pavement at least 99.9% of the time, and won't cause damage if they bounce around inside a case.

Probably the biggest thing about these is the existence of the Kellyberg model. So many other mostly-plastic & nylon mouthpieces are copies of either the Bach 18 or 24AW models. Either you had to spend some serious cash on a mouthpiece with a plastic screw rim or you just lived with a shape that you might not like. I'm surprised that it took this long for somebody to come to market with better-playing mouthpiece shapes; Jim really filled a need, I think.

[Kevin Hendrick]

Probably the biggest thing about these is the existence of the Kellyberg model. So many other mostly-plastic & nylon mouthpieces are copies of either the Bach 18 or 24AW models. Either you had to spend some serious cash on a mouthpiece with a plastic screw rim or you just lived with a shape that you might not like. I'm surprised that it took this long for somebody to come to market with better-playing mouthpiece shapes; Jim really filled a need, I think.

Very much so!

[Chuck(G)]

I'd put all my chips on the Kelly 'pieces...

Maybe so. All of the tuba, euphoniun and trombone mouthpieces disappeared from one of the local high schools--one of the kids sold the whole lot for use as bongs...

At least the Kellybergs would melt or burn up.

[Daryl Fletcher]

Anyway - it's prompted us to start a guarantee policy where we'll replace any broken mouthpiece for a flat $7 rate. We value our customers and would like to keep you as such!

Cool! Would this just be for newly shipped mouthpieces, or also for ones that we've had for a while?

[Tubaryan12]

Now that's customer service...a shame he never won a SuperBowl though

[tubarepair]

[Leland]

You just THINK that it's not the same guy....