Moputhpiece for a Vintage Eb receiver?

[Frank Ortega]

I have been considering having a a mouthpiece made or altering one to fit a 1915 Conn "Professional" Eb.
I know most people change out the receiver, but on many of these early horns the receiver is just a sleeve over the leadpipe. I want to try to not disturb the natural taper as best as possible.

Has anyone else had experience with this?

Also considering a Doug Elliot mp with a tuba cup and bass trombone shank, or threading my f-tuba mp and having an alternate shank made.

Any ideas, suggestions, etc?

Thanks,
Frank Ortega

[bort]

Maybe one of the small Wick mouthpieces? (No direct experience, I might be way off, just thinking "small shank" and "Eb"...)

[GC]

Wick small shanks should fit the old small receivers, and they come in all the sizes 1-5; there are several companies in the US that carry them. There are several companies that make modular shanks to fit. Dillon's custom mouthpiece man could probably make one for you. You could also have an existing mouthpiece shank cut down to the proper size.

You might also call around several people who restore old horns; they may have mouthpieces that would fit hanging around. I got a Warburton 30M with a modular shank from Lee Stofer about a year ago that works well for me with antique Eb basses.

[Doug Elliott]

As you already know, it's no problem at all for me to make a shank that will fit.

[Donn]

Which would be a little smaller than standard bass trombone, right? I can get a bass trombone mouthpiece part way into the receiver, but it isn't a good fit at all, and conversely a Wick 5 needs to be padded out in a bass trombone.

[windshieldbug]

One thing to be careful of, if you go to too much of a cup, the intonation will likely suffer.

These receivers are smaller for a reason.

[Ace]

I used a Schilke 60B bass trombone mouthpiece on an old Cuesnon Eb tuba. It worked fairly well.

[tubatooter1940]

My 1940 King Eb has the small reciever. I started out with a Schilke 66, then a Kelly 24AW, and I am most happy with a G&W Diablo.

[iiipopes]

The Wick designs take into account that too deep a cup may cause intonation problems. The standard mouthpiece for decades for an Eefer small shank is the Wick 3.

[GC]

It seems strange to me that the Wick 2s and 3s, shallow cups that would work beautifully on small eefers, only come in large shanks.

[Donn]

It seems strange to me that the Wick 2s and 3s, shallow cups that would work beautifully on small eefers, only come in large shanks.

Makes you wonder if the small shallow mouthpiece thing for Eb tubas is kind of a myth, doesn't it? I mean, maybe a myth based on fact, but not really so true for the kind of tuba people are buying mouthpieces for.

[GC]

I can tell a difference in intonation and response with deep mouthpieces on the old Eb's vs shallower. I like the tone of a deeper mouthpiece, but intonation in the high register becomes a problem for me. Shallower mouthpieces allow me to play better in tune and control the pedal register more cleanly, but I'm not as fond of the tone. I think it's a matter of finding a mouthpiece that hits one's sweet spot.

I really liked the Rudy Meinl 9 that I tried on my Conn monster Eb when I took it to Lee Stofer for an overhaul. I'm going to make my main MP when I get my horn back.

[iiipopes]

Any PT mouthpiece can be ordered with a small shank, and any of the boutique makers can turn a small shank for you. Since you like it shallower, Mike Finn might have a few left of a run of MF4 mouthpieces he made with a .500 tip to the shank.

[Lew]

I have been using a Wick 5 in my old Eb and it works well. The small shank version seems to be the right size for this and the small cup fits the characteristics of the horn. I think the horn I'm using it on was built in about 1919.

[tclements]

Frank,

Just swap out the receiver, it'll be less hassles when you want to change mouthpieces again.

[Donn]

It seems strange to me that the Wick 2s and 3s, shallow cups that would work beautifully on small eefers, only come in large shanks.

??? Mouthpiece Express has Wick 1-5 small (non-L) and L shanks.
http://www.mouthpieceexpress.com/catalo ... 97_216_261

Yes, but notice that there are more that end in "L", than that do not end in "L"? For example, there's 3, 3L, and 3SL. That 3SL is what we're talking about: there's no 3S.

[GC]

@Donn: Thank you. I should have been more specific.

Late addendum: Probably should have typed 3S instead of 3s, too.

[toobagrowl]

I have been considering having a a mouthpiece made or altering one to fit a 1915 Conn "Professional" Eb.

I also have a 1915 Eb tuba, a Holton. This is my main horn and when I bought it about 13 years ago it came with a new leadpipe/mouthpipe. There is a reason for this: most tubas over 80 years old most likely need to have a new leadpipe put on due to corrosion in the old one. Check and make sure your old leadpipe is not corroded first...