Euphonium mouthpiece for tuba player

[DonO.]

Hello all! I recently got my euphonium back after being out on loan to my nephew for 7 years. In the interim I played nothing then came back to tuba playing about 9 months ago. I used to have pretty good euphonium chops but now I find the thing darn near unplayable. Is it because I spent so much time on tuba? I use a standard Helleberg. Is there a mouthpiece I could buy that makes things easier for a tuba player doubling euphonium? The two mouthpieces I have are the original mouthpiece that came with the thing, a B&S I-don’t-know-what, and a Bach 6 1/2 AL. Both seem small to me, but the Bach less so.

[DonO.]

Sorry double post.

[iiipopes]

I like a smaller cup mouthpiece than the solo euph players since my embouchure is not conditioned to euph (and we are not going to talk about the rare occasion I have to play trumpet). We all know what a 6 1/2 AL is: @ 1-inch cup, moderate depth cup, medium throat and tapered backbore. The improved version of that mouthpiece is a Wick Ultra 6, in your preferred shank size: small for trombone/brass band baritone receiver; medium for old Besson/B&H receivers, or large for modern large receivers. I find this mouthpiece easy to play, since it does not have the enlarged throat or backbore that the solo euph players prefer, so I preserve my embouchure endurance and breath support. The cup is a little deeper than a 6 1/2 AL, so that the low range is not grainy. The middle register is lyrical, and with the throat and backbore moderate the high range is secure as it helps manage breath support. I have two of them: one medium shank for my older B&H 3-valve comp euph, and one small shank for my Wessex BR115 that is the modern version, with slightly larger bore & 4-valves, of the "classic" American bell-front instrument by King, Conn, Olds, Reynolds, Martin, etc., that has been the staple of American concert bands for a century.

Another similar mouthpiece is the Schilke 50: one shade smaller than their famous 51, but has similar attributes, another "improved" 6 1/2 AL.

But if all three of these are too small, then the next one up is the Schilke 51D, a classic mouthpiece for euph, along with the rest of the Wick range, whether standard or Ultra, in the #5 and #4 cup sizes, depending on how large you want to go. Keep in mind these mouthpieces have the larger throat and backbore to go with the larger cup. AFAIK, all these mouthpieces come in large shank. And then there are all the boutique mouthpieces that you will have to go to Dave Werden's forum http://www.dwerden.com/forum/forum.php#.YpesdqjMKUk to explore.

[DonO.]

By the way, my euphonium is large shank receiver, 4 valve non-compensating, if that makes any difference regarding the recommendations.

[bloke]

I have some low-cost/new large shank 51D mouthpieces (a few left) that are stamped "WILLSON".
Their exteriors are "Bach-mouthpiece"-shaped.

YEARS ago, I sold them for $25, but (to end up with nearly the same equivalent-buying-power revenue...sorry, but) I probably had better now ask $35 plus (1st class in a padded bag with tracking - ie. cheapest) postage.

If you don't mind (and if you decide to take a chance), I'd prefer to not have an "it's just not for me" return requested on something at this low price point.

[Thomas]

I play rather wide (33mm range) deep funnel mouthpieces with BBb tubas and initially thought I needed something large in the SM3 range or even larger for euphonium, too.

Up to now I found my perfect mouthpiece with the Warburton Demondrae Thurman which really opened up my range and flexibility compared to the SM3. I never felt comfortable with a 6 1/2 AL which I anyway still use as a solid reference for comparison or as a fallback option for smaller bore instruments.

So in my experience there is only little relation between tuba and euphonium mouthpiece preferences

My euphonium is also a 4v inline non-comp (Willson 2704) changed to a large receiver.

[iiipopes]

Did you see this on the other forum?
http://forums.chisham.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=101336

[Nworbekim]

i masquerade as a euphonium player occasionally. i use a 6-1/2 AL or a 5G... i like the 5G better.

[DonO.]

I just took another look at my mouthpieces and I gave out some erroneous info. I have two- the one that came with the horn is a B&S version of 6 1/2 AL and the other is a Bach 1 1/2 GM. I just spent an hour trying them back and forth. Conclusions- the 6 1/2 AL is easier to play, produces a treble-y tone, and makes higher notes easier. The 1 1/2 GM takes more effort to play, produces a darker (and more pleasing imho) tone, but chokes off the high range when I try to get up there. My theory used to be that I wanted something big, as close to a tuba mouthpiece as possible. But now I think I might be wrong. I like the comment about finding the correct “characteristic” mouthpiece. Unfortunately I don’t think either of these are it, although I think the Bach is closer to the mark than the B&S.

[bloke]

51D (those things I have which are almost more trouble to mail than the price) is about the lips/embouchure width of the 6-1/2AL, but roughly the depth of the Bach 1-1/2...ie "a euphonium mouthpiece".

DO NOT TAKE MY ADVICE: (NEITHER are "all-purpose" euphonium mouthpieces.)

I use a straight (no letters after "51") Schilke 51 (small shank) on my old Yamaha 321 euphonium, and a (somewhat rare) Miraphone "562" (probably meant to be a bass trombone mouthpiece, based on the model number) on my very large-belled/very large-bore compensating euphonium (which I use for other applications).