Re: Mouthpieces


[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TubeNet BBS ] [ FAQ ]

Posted by Chris B on July 30, 2003 at 00:56:13:

In Reply to: Mouthpieces posted by Chris R. on July 29, 2003 at 17:49:17:

In the last year I bought a new horn. I had used a Shilke 66 for about 150 years prior to this but thought I'd try a few others. I ended up initially with a Marcinkewicz H1 but wasn't 100% satisfied. So I found a used Laskey 30H that I liked even better. Then I called Scott Laskey for his input and took his suggestion to try a 30G, since my Miraphone 1291 was a piston valve horn. This is where I settled. Along the way were a lot of others.

OK, so why do I waste time telling you this? Only because I have played a long time and yet when I surveyed all the mouthpieces out there (and purchased many of them), I was astounded at the variety and the subtle differences I found.

The net of all this is to see if you can beg, borrow or steal as many as possible and check them out not just for comfort, but to see what really gives you the best overall response and sounds best with your particular horn. There are several good theoretical articles out there that will give you a foundation for a decision.

I do not subsrcibe totally to the "if it feels good, do it" school because the Laskeys do not feel good if you use too much pressure. You also have to be wiling to ask yourself if the techniques you use are sound and make adjustments accordingly. For me, the process is learning how a given mouthpiece works, how I think it sounds and responds and then playing in a variety of environments for some knowledgable people who know what a tuba should sound like and having them confirm or deny my impressions. Put that all together and you will have made the right choice.


Follow Ups: