What mouthpiece for ... ?

[ghmerrill]

I have recently acquired an old Martin 3-valve baritone/euphonium (take your pick, I guess). I'm planning on using this as a "project horn" with the idea of fixing it up and selling it -- and learning something in the process. Aside from the finish and the valves needing replating, it's actually in quite good shape (with a bunch of truly minor dings). I will almost certainly not get out of it what I will put into it, but it's an educational aid.

That said, it needs a mouthpiece. What it has with it is a Conn C3 that has seen better days. What I want is one that I can use effectively for testing it as I progress and that I also can pass on to whomever eventually buys it. (So I'm not looking for what I would regard as a good mouthpiece for ME for this instrument.) I would also like the mouthpiece to be as inexpensive as possible.

So ... Suggestions? A Kelly would be fine, for example (I quite like them myself), but what size? Let's assume that the buyer would probably be someone using it casually in a community band, or a student of some sort, or someone using it in a church group. Oh ... small shank. Which brings up another question: Would it benefit from replacing the receiver with a large shank receiver? Or would that just result in a mismatch to the horn?

This is an adventure (and an excellent excuse to buy some cool tools).

[daruby]

Gary,

On my two old American baritones (a Holton and a Conn) I use my Bach 6 1/2 AL. Kelly makes a copy that I would recomnmend. A Schilke 51D (or Kelly copy) is too large for most of tyhese older horns. A BAch 12C (or Kelly copy) is really too small.
The 6.5AL is generally just right for a nice tone yet good high range with decent pitch.

Doug

[ghmerrill]

Doug: Thanks.



Too bad that I gave the 6.5AL clone that came with my compensating horn to the 2nd trombonist in a band I play in. But she's making good use of it.

[davewerden]

If it were me, I might suggest a Wick mouthpiece, which I think is more widely used in British brass bands. The 6BS seems like a popular choice. It's roughly the same rim as the 6-1/2, but will have a little less edge:

Wick 6BS Mouthpiece

[ghmerrill]

I would get a Wick if it were for my own use -- since I've discovered that I really like them on euphs. But the Wick is twice as expensive as the Kelly. I guess I can't imagine anyone seriously into brass band work ultimately buying this from me. But I'll give it some thought as things progress.

This will take time -- and the purchase of various tools and measuring devices .

[davewerden]

I like Kelly mouthpieces for some things, but I would not use a plastic one for "real" playing. I have tried the Kelly plastic next to the same model of metal and the plastic changes the sound quite a lot.

Note to those who play outside in the cold weather: the plastic won't stick to your chops!!

[coolguy684]

arent there plastic rimmed metal mouthpieces for outside playing? how does the sound compare with a full metal?

[davewerden]

Originally posted by: coolguy684 arent there plastic rimmed metal mouthpieces for outside playing? how does the sound compare with a full metal?

I have one with a metal and plastic rim. The sound doesn't change much from one rim to the other. It's a much more expensive solution, though, but then you have a lot of flexibility. You can change rims, or change to a small shank / large shank, shallow / deep cup, etc. while keeping the same rim. Doug Elliott (forum member) can do this.

Link to Doug Elliott catalog...

[ghmerrill]

I have one of Doug's mouthpieces with a plastic rim and think it is fantastic. I don't think it has the overall "plastic sound" that a Kelly does (the rim really can't affect the sound all that much). I've got two shanks for it so I can use it both on my large receiver and my medium (euro) one. Great solution.

I agree that a Kelly mouthpiece does have a somewhat different sound than it's metal equivalent. This is not always bad, depending on what you may want. The Kellyberg I use for playing in cold weather on my tuba gives the Cerveny more of an "American tuba" sound (mellower).

[ghmerrill]

Hmmm. Faxx seems to provide a reasonable alternative with its 6.5AL clone that is just a bit more expensive than the Kelly.