TromboneChat

Hey all,

Looking for some advice for a tuba mouthpiece as a bass trombonist. I've joined a quintet (2 trumpets, horn, trombone, tuba) and will be playing the tuba part on bass. There's a possibility that I can buy a used tuba, but I'm not quite sure what to do on the mouthpiece front. I usually play the Markey 85 and the Ult brass 375. I have a yamaha 66 tuba mouthpiece, but the rim is so wide that I'm having trouble playing on it.

Any suggestions?

Helleberg 7B

There's basically no overlap between remotely reasonable bass trombone and tuba mouthpieces; you just have to get used to the tuba mouthpiece being much bigger. I use a Wick 3 on tuba, which is in the same general ballpark as the Yamaha 66. The 66 is likely to be a good starting point for quintet playing once you adjust to it.

I also started with a Faxx 7B and a couple of the "smaller" Yamaha tuba mouthpieces (65 & 66). The have similar rims which do seem a bit wide. I had some trouble with that not really with executing anything while playing but having enough room under my nose to get my face on it where I felt like it needed to be.

I am currently using a Josef Klier which all have slightly thinner rims than the Bach-style ones listed above. They are also fairly inexpensive and you can get them in a wide variety of cup and throat sizes. Check them out, if you can.

As someone who doubled bass trombone and tuba I found the Helleberg shape mouthpieces worked best for me. I have 3: a Mirafone Rose, a Schilke 66 and a Perantucci S25. The Mirafone is the smallest and the Perantucci is the largest. When I haven't been playing tuba for a while, the Mirafone is my go-to. As my chops come back I switch to the Schilke. When I'm really back I move to the Perantucci.

The 7B size is good. I favor the Schilke 66 as my all-time go-to. Otherwise, I'd suggest you start with a Faxx or Kelly version of the Bach 25. Then go from there with more experience.

spencercarran wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2024 9:14 am There's basically no overlap between remotely reasonable bass trombone and tuba mouthpieces

My CB series is totally between bass trombone and tuba sizes. Maybe not "remotely reasonable?"

It's not that hard to get used to a real tuba sized mouthpiece; the Conn 7B is a reasonable place to start.