Good Mouthpiece for a Euphonium Player Switching to Tuba

[UCFEuph]

Hello all! I'm not too sure if this is the right place to post this. I am currently a Euphonium player switching to Tuba to help my University band out because we have 9 Euphoniums and only two Tubas. I was wondering if there was a good mouthpiece that would help me out. The mouthpiece I'm using is a Yamaha 67C4 which feels too big for me. Any help would be awesome! Thank you.

[103ace]

When I started doubling on tuba my college tuba/euphonium teacher said a standard Helleberg was a good place to start. He was right, and I still use it for tuba doubling. These mouthpieces are plentiful and you'd probably be able to borrow one from a teacher or fellow student to try it out.

[fmanola]

A couple of suggestions: (1) check out the tuba mouthpiece spec sheet on this site (2) if you want to experiment cheaply, you could try one or more of the Kelly Lexan mouthpieces -- they're patterned after typical mouthpieces, and you'd have pieces to use outside (even if it's not cold where you are).

[davewerden]

If you are thinking about a Helleberg, you might especially want to look at the Kelly mouthpieces Frank referenced. They have a Helleberg clone. Here is the Lexan version for tuba, for $31 from WWBW:
http://www.wwbw.com/Kelly-Mouthpiece...-i1417987.wwbw

If you like it, you can get a silver-plated Kelly for $91 or stainless steel for $129. I've played the ss KELLYberg on my E-flat tuba and found it a very good mouthpiece.

In any case, $31 is pretty cheap for a tuba mouthpiece to try!

[ghmerrill]

I'm pretty much in line with these other recommendations. For Kelly, the best candidates would be either the Kelly 18 or the Kelly 25 -- both clones of Bach mouthpieces (which I really don't like, but I've use the 25 and it's okay and I'll be getting another for cold weather work).

If you go for a metal mouthpiece, I would recommend a Miraphone TU-17, except that it is quite expensive. But it is an excellent German-style bowl-shaped mouthpiece of moderate dimensions that I think you would be comfortable with. Alternatively, what I played on for years (and still have one as well), is a Schilke 66. Again, this a moderately-sized mouthpiece that I think you'd like, but it is Helleberg (funnel) style. If you have a German tuba, I'd go with the bowl-shaped one. If American, try the Helleberg.

Another alternative would be a Wick 3L.

I would also strongly advise that you TRY before you buy. There are several places online that offer such an opportunity that often will cost you just the price of shipping each way if you return some. And several of these places let you try three or four mouthpieces at once. If you go the Kelly route, they're cheap enough to just buy one outright.

[davewerden]

There is a decent-looking Helleberg 7B tuba mouthpiece on eBay right now for $86:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HELLEBERG-7B...item2331093b12

And another one for $50:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Conn-Hellebe...item1c37e688a9

[ghmerrill]

The Conn Helleberg 7B would probably be a very good choice. Better than the Conn Helleberg 120S which I find tends to suck the air out of me. I also would not go with the Kellyberg. I have one, and it is a 120S clone. But I think that, if anything, it is a tiny bit larger than the Conn 120S. Nice sound, and I like the feel of it, but just too big for me.

[Davidus1]

This is a little late in replying but.............you mention the Yamaha mouthpiece feels too big. I think there will be a period of time that any tuba mouthpiece will feel too big. I remember starting on Baritone horn and when it came time to switch to tuba it took a couple of months before a new "norm" was established with the larger horn and mouthpiece. Putting in a lot of hours of practice can reduce this time down but there is still a transition period with any mouthpiece. I think the recommendations about "try before you buy" make sense if you have the opportunity. The inexpensive Kelly mouthpieces are great options as well. I played a Helleberg for years and ended up liking and playing on both a Perantucci PT-44 and a custom Doug Elliott Mouthpiece. Both of which I like much. There are many options and mouthpieces are pretty personal things. I wish you well in your search.

[Pat]

I'm doubling with a PT-66. It's a big mouthpiece and initially felt too big, but I've practiced into it and now really like it. Rather than risk buying a suitcase full of expensive mouthpieces I've decided to learn to play the one I've got.

[Davidus1]

I'm doubling with a PT-66. It's a big mouthpiece and initially felt too big, but I've practiced into it and now really like it. Rather than risk buying a suitcase full of expensive mouthpieces I've decided to learn to play the one I've got.

That's a great decision! They aren't cheap. I wish you well.

[ghmerrill]

It's a trade-off. I've spent way too much money in trying out mouthpieces -- unless you think of it as tuition in a course for understanding mouthpiece design and performance.

Definitely, there were a bunch of them that would have worked out very well had I just decided to "stick with them". But there were probably more where sticking with them would have been an impediment to my playing and progress.

As a result, at this point in time I can tell in a day or so whether a mouthpiece is a good candidate for me and whether it might be preferable to the one I currently use. My most recent experiment has gone on over the past couple of weeks. I wanted to see if I could do better than the PT-63 I've been using on the EEb horn. After much thought and hand-wringing, it seemed to me that the PT-90 would be worth a try. It was worth the try. But ultimately I decided that it really didn't offer me anything more than the PT-63 does. It seems like the trade-off between the wider/shallower PT-63 and the narrower/deeper PT-90 is (for me) a wash. And the PT-63 is more comfortable and plays a bit better and more easily in tune. It will have ended up costing me about $20 for this experiment, and that seems quite reasonable to me.

However, I don't "Buy them to try them." I get them on trial and am willing to pay the shipping costs as part of the experiments. Most decent vendors are happy to accommodate.

[hoffmie]

Are there any companies that will ship a few mouthpieces on approval before purchase?

[RickF]

Mouthpiece Express used to let you purchase three mpcs, then return two of them after a certain trial period. Not sure they still offer that or not. If so, you may have to pay a re-stocking fee.

[Pat]

So I relented and switched to a PT-44 after trying unsuccessfully to adapt to the PT-66 and I'm glad I did. Much better control and the rim is just as comfortable as the 66.