Posted by Rick Denney on November 07, 2000 at 17:42:06:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Most Popular MPC All Time posted by Mike on November 07, 2000 at 11:32:31:
Well, there are those that are labeled as Hellebergs, including the Conn and the Schilke Helleberg II. And there are those that are openly derivative, including about half the Parantucci line, the Tuba Exchange Rose, Miraphone's Rose Orchestra, several of Dillon's designs, and everybody's-getting-one-and-I-want-one-too Laskey 30H, and so on. Any mouthpiece with funnel shape has its roots in the original Helleberg. Most manufacturers will say something like, "The Denney-Model TB-1 (Toilet Bowl series) is a large, deep Helleberg-style mouthpiece with a large throat and aggressive flushing action."
But even without considering the derivatives, the Conn's themselves have been a stalwart. Most of the pros I know use a Dillon, Laskey, Parantucci, or Conn mouthpiece. Of those, only the Conn can be bought in any average music store by any average high-school sousaphone player.
Rick "who thinks that Marty Neilan needs some competition" Denney