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Best Mouthpiece for Contra


FatJesus9

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I'm looking to buy a new mouthpiece to march with and I am wondering what some recommendations are.

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What do you normally play on? A lot of corps have their members get a Conn Helleberg and that's a good one if you want to avoid having a woofy sound, but there a lot of ones out there (that don't also require spending hundreds of dollars). Perantucci makes some great mouthpieces, but I would advise against getting one that's too large; I'd pick one that's more in the middle, like a 64, to preserve articulation clarity. A 48 or 50 is going to be massive and you may come out sounding muddier than you want to. You can usually get one of their mouthpieces for around $100-$120.

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I have three tuba mouthpieces I regularly use for tuba, Sousaphone, and G Contra. I have a standard Helleberg, a Helleberg 7B, and a Loud LM5. The Helleberg standard is ok on contra, good on Sousaphone, and so-so on tuba. The 7B is a good mouthpiece for me on a smaller G contra, like the baby Dynasty. the LM5 is a great mouthpiece on large tubas and contras.

A bigger mouthpiece on a smaller horn does not result in a bigger sound. A smaller mouthpiece on a bigger horn may not allow for the full abilities of the large horn!

It's all about trying different mouthpieces to suit your playing style!

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What do you normally play on? A lot of corps have their members get a Conn Helleberg and that's a good one if you want to avoid having a woofy sound, but there a lot of ones out there (that don't also require spending hundreds of dollars). Perantucci makes some great mouthpieces, but I would advise against getting one that's too large; I'd pick one that's more in the middle, like a 64, to preserve articulation clarity. A 48 or 50 is going to be massive and you may come out sounding muddier than you want to. You can usually get one of their mouthpieces for around $100-$120.

I am currently playing on a Pt 50 and have played on a 50+ and a g&w bayamo

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System Blue Tuba Mouthpiece, Or a Helleberg

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I have gotten great results with the System Blue mouthpiece. The Conn Helleberg is a classic.

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I am currently playing on a Pt 50 and have played on a 50+ and a g&w bayamo

You may find the 50 to be a little big, at least in my experience. The new System Blue mouthpiece is a good one, the cup is similar to the Helleberg but it carries the heft of the Perantucci. I've always preferred more bowl-shaped cups, though, so if you're in the same boat you may find a better experience using a smaller PT. Best thing is to try out a few different ones, but that isn't always an option given that most music stores aren't going to keep a huge variety of tuba mouthpieces in stock.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Well, for me I'd have to say the Bach 24AW.

Of course I've been playing the same one since 1978. (Your milage may vary. :tongue: )

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