micfiygd Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 So I'll hopefully be marching contra this year and I was just wondering what mouthpiece I should look into. Anyone have any suggestions as to what brands and models I should be looking into? I obviously want something with a big, dark, and loud sound. Any good ideas? If it matters I'll be playing a yamaha 202 this summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDale Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 So I'll hopefully be marching contra this year and I was just wondering what mouthpiece I should look into. Anyone have any suggestions as to what brands and models I should be looking into? I obviously want something with a big, dark, and loud sound. Any good ideas?If it matters I'll be playing a yamaha 202 this summer. The Conn Helleburg served me well in college, through several junior, senior and alumni corps and still serves me today. It depends on what your line is using too. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Play what works for you and what sounds good. If there's one of those silly "everyone has to use the same mouthpiece" rules then I guess you're stuck unless you have the guts to tell your tech where he gets off messing with your playing, but otherwise Dale's right, hard to go wrong with a Conn Helleberg (the 120S is the deeper cup, maybe go for the 7B if you want something not so deep). Otherwise, play what you use in your normal playing. And thank you for calling it what it is, a contra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swb311 Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 I'm going to have to add a vote for the Helleberg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ussglassman Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 (edited) I must place my vote against the Helleberg. I ordered one at the urging of many of my tubist (contrabassbuglist) friends, and within 5 minutes, I knew I hated it. It felt small to me, and the inner rim is quite sharp and caused discomfort. I felt like my low range, low F and down, was much harder, if not impossible to lock in, and all in all it just didnt fit for me. Edited October 28, 2009 by ussglassman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ussglassman Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Unfortunately, my beloved Dillon PS-01 was in my car when it was stolen a couple weeks ago, and the brand new Helleberg is the only decent mouthpiece I had extra. So, I'm kinda stuck on it...unless someone knows where I can find a Dillon PS-01 or comparably sized mouthpiece? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDale Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 I must place my vote against the Helleberg. I ordered one at the urging of many of my tubist (contrabassbuglist) friends, and within 5 minutes, I knew I hated it. It felt small to me, and the inner rim is quite sharp and caused discomfort. I felt like my low range, low F and down, was much harder, if not impossible to lock in, and all in all it just didnt fit for me. Retry it for awhile. I started on mine my junior year in HS. Bob LeBlanc at Ohio State always suggested what he himself used and us tuba majors followed along. Now if we could only have played York CC tubas like him... Didn't fit in my Alexander Kaiser with that huge receiver, did fit my Cerveny 603 in college, but does not fit the receiver in my current two year old Cerveny 603 (Euro receiver!), but does fit and play VERY NICELY in my St. Petersburg. No problems with intonation or pedal range. I have a pretty good sized mouth and set of lips too! Maybe good advice would be to try before you buy...most good music stores have samples in stock, WWBW actually will let you try for awhile and return if you don't like it. I sit religiously with a tuner and check octaves, partials and my full range chromatically, especially with new mouthpieces. When I taught a certain finalist corps from Sacramento, the staff strobed the horns to center and marked them and handed your mouthpiece to you and made you play to the true center. This worked especially well with younger players and taught them to center pitch and listen. Again, Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeme70 Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 I must place my vote against the Helleberg. I ordered one at the urging of many of my tubist (contrabassbuglist) friends, and within 5 minutes, I knew I hated it. It felt small to me, and the inner rim is quite sharp and caused discomfort. I felt like my low range, low F and down, was much harder, if not impossible to lock in, and all in all it just didnt fit for me. Also note that there are 2 sizes of Helleberg - the 7B is the student model and has a smaller diameter and smaller bore, the standard is the one that many of us endorse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ussglassman Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 Also note that there are 2 sizes of Helleberg - the 7B is the student model and has a smaller diameter and smaller bore, the standard is the one that many of us endorse. I accidentally got ahold of a beautiful gold 7B in high school, and it was literally painful to play it. I swapped it out for a Jupiter 24AW that I marched in Mandarins 99. The Helleberg I am stuck on now is the 120S. I would still like to find a larger mouthpiece, as that's what I'm used to, but for now, I'll have to grow into the Helleberg...unless anyone wants to trade:-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 I've been playing on a Perantucci 36 for a while now, which I consider a mid-size mouthpiece at least for my face. It's got a somewhat-rounded rim and good response for what I like, and has moved well between drum corps, wind ensemble/orchestra, small ensemble, and now playing sousaphone in my band. I will say this: you have to be careful with rounder rims in corps, especially if you're playing a G bugle, it can make for muddier articulation, which is part of the reason that a lot of corps want their lines on Hellebergs as opposed to Bachs. For the record I've never liked the 24AW; my first mouthpiece was an 18 and the 24 has always been too small for comfort to me. Bottom line, though, is that you just need to spend time trying other mouthpieces if you feel like you need to move on to something else, it's the only way you'll know what works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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