Re: YFB 621 Mouthpiece?


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Posted by Rick Denney on September 04, 2003 at 10:25:47:

In Reply to: YFB 621 Mouthpiece? posted by Greg on September 01, 2003 at 18:31:37:

I use a Warburton custom that has a Helleberg-size rim and cup with a bit smaller throat. The rim is more like a PT rim. I also use a Doug Elliott R4, with my standard 132-2N rim (very similar rim to your PT-48), but I find it is more work to keep a centered sound.

I'm a bit frightened to disagree with solid pros down the thread, but I find that I can't take advantage of the 621's wonderful low register with a tiny mouthpiece. I had a PT-9 (now the PT-64) when I first bought my 621, and I couldn't play the low notes at all. I had the same results with the Yamaha 67B4 that came with it. It opened up when I started using a contrabass mouthpiece, though if it's too big it becomes hard to control the pitch. If I experiment more with Doug's mouthpiece on this horn, I'll probably try a P cup with a 3 or 4 backbore and see what happens.

I suspect those who have success with the smaller F tuba mouthpieces on the 621 are accustomed to the finesse needed to make the small rotary F tubas work. That the 621 doesn't require this approach is to me one of its endearing qualities, but if you already know how to do it, you might carry that technique to the instrument with a smaller mouthpiece.

I tried the 7B but found it too small for my mouth, and too deep for its diameter. The regular Helleberg works pretty well, but it's harder to control than the Warburton I'm using. I've even played the instrument with a Miraphone Rose Orchestra. The deeper mouthpiece seem to bring out the fullness of the instrument, and I use it as a general-purpose quintet horn and need that low register to come out easily.

Rick "who can do better now than 12 years ago with the smaller mouthpiece, but who still gets more versatility out of the larger ones" Denney


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