Posted by Joe S. on November 30, 1999 at 22:03:04:
In Reply to: Is there any Helleberg for F tuba? posted by La Volpe Costantina on November 30, 1999 at 12:30:28:
Joe Marcinkiewicz makes his Helleburgs in four depths. The deepest is his H1, and the shallowest is his H4. The H4 is probably just shallow enough to use on an F tuba.
I am one who particularly believes in not over-playing an instrument with too big of a mouthpiece. (I think that means that I agree with you.) Doing so risks "deadening" a brass instrument, and muting its characteristic sound.
I DO use a very deep Helleburg-style mouthpiece, but only on my very large CC tuba.
On my F, which is a fairly large (for an F that is) F tuba, I use a sort of shallow-cupped C4-like mouthpiece with a large throat opening and large backbore. I DO have a fairly flat "Helleburg"-style rim on it, but is does NOT the same inner diameter as my CC Helleburg rim. I have played this mouthpiece on all 3/4 CC or F instruments that I have owned since 1976, when I had it made. (I had another one made exactly like this one except that DID have exactly the same rim as my CC mouthpiece, and it didn't play my F as well as the 1976 one does, so this to me reinforces my "not necessarily the same rim on all of your different mouthpieces" beliefs.)
I also personally believe that trying to use the same mouthpiece on vastly different tubas is folly. The analogy that I would offer is that of a bass trombonist who also likes to play "lead" trombone in a rock band, sometimes. Of course, he would NEVER consider trying to use his bass trombone mouthpiece in a small bore tenor trombone just to be "consistant" - It simply would be an acoustical disaster (and both of THOSE trombones are even built in the same key!).
I'm not trying to "sell" you on any particular mouthpiece. Not many people seem to use mouthpieces like the ones that I use. I'm just relaying some experiences, and general mouthpiece ideas.