swtrojan Posted March 10, 2004 Author Share Posted March 10, 2004 I have three Mouthpeices an 2 Bach, A 22, and a 18, and some yamaha not sure of the cup size i know that its small though. whats the best? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spcbrass Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 I have three Mouthpeices an 2 Bach, A 22, and a 18, and some yamaha not sure of the cup size i know that its small though. whats the best? None of the above.... I would go with the Conn or the Schielke Hellburg. That is a better all around mouthpiece in my opinion. Of course the Conn is now made by UMI an they tend to be a little inconsistent from mouthpiece to mouthpiece. My reasoning is that I don't like the bach rims. Also i feel the throat is a little more closed on them as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swtrojan Posted March 10, 2004 Author Share Posted March 10, 2004 Thats what my brass instructor wants us to use is the conn helberg. Whats the Difference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spcbrass Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 Thats what my brass instructor wants us to use is the conn helberg. Whats the Difference? The conn has a flatter rim ad it's not rounded from the rim to the cup like the bach. You lose a little flexibility, but you ability to center is much inproved. It also has a deeper cup then the bach mouthpieces. The throat of the mouthpiece is also more open allowing you to get more air through without any back pressure. All of those things combines give you a better tone. When you are playing contra that is the most important thing is how you sound. The only major difference i noticed between the schielke and the conn was the rim. It is slightly more rounded on the schielke. the mouthpiece is also a little more heavy weight too. The conn comes in 2 sizes. The standard and the 7B. The 7B I don't reccomend. The dimensions are smaller and it's more for the beginning player. If you can get your hands on an actual Conn Helleberg even better. The UMI just doesn't quite match the dimensions of the Conn. Seeing as how UMI makes all of the Conn mouthpieces now, good luck finding one. I found one used this year after using the UMI's for the past 6 years, and from playin gon it everyday I notice the difference. I can get even more air through it, and the diameter feels a bit larger as well. It would swallow up a beginning player, but like I said i have been on the helleberg for 6 years now. One other reccomendation. Gold is the way to go. It feels a lot softer on your face, and helps you get a much better seal without having to use any pressure at all. (you need slight pressure always, but less with the gold.) I prefer getting the piece plated as oposed to buying it in gold. Especially if you have friends that work in a music store that can hook you up. I usually get about 3 or 4 layers of gold on mine, so it lasts longer and feel that much better. I usually have to get it done once a year, sometimes twice depending on how much i am playing. I was fortunate enough to get a gold one this last time around, but I still had it replated just to make the metal softer. Anyhow how all that helps... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swtrojan Posted March 10, 2004 Author Share Posted March 10, 2004 Ok Thanks< Ill try and talk to my band Director about finding the helleburg. I dout shell get it for me Because the band is going on an 80,000 dollar trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
contrasteve2001 Posted March 11, 2004 Share Posted March 11, 2004 (edited) I play the Helleberg myself (gold) but Ive since found a Mirafone tu22 ,nice deep DARK sound, if you want to stay in the upper register a smaller cup is the way to go ...the Hellebergs are for LOW and LOUD ^0^ Edited March 11, 2004 by contrasteve2001 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BorisTS Posted March 11, 2004 Share Posted March 11, 2004 One other reccomendation. Gold is the way to go. It feels a lot softer on your face, and helps you get a much better seal without having to use any pressure at all. (you need slight pressure always, but less with the gold.) I prefer getting the piece plated as oposed to buying it in gold. Especially if you have friends that work in a music store that can hook you up. I usually get about 3 or 4 layers of gold on mine, so it lasts longer and feel that much better. I usually have to get it done once a year, sometimes twice depending on how much i am playing. I've heard some people say gold also feels a bit more slippery. Is that true? I don't think it makes much of a difference sound-wise, but I may be interested in doing it just because. Where could I find a place to do it, and is it expensive? I don't play contra yet, but the euph could use some bling, you know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spcbrass Posted March 11, 2004 Share Posted March 11, 2004 One other reccomendation. Gold is the way to go. It feels a lot softer on your face, and helps you get a much better seal without having to use any pressure at all. (you need slight pressure always, but less with the gold.) I prefer getting the piece plated as oposed to buying it in gold. Especially if you have friends that work in a music store that can hook you up. I usually get about 3 or 4 layers of gold on mine, so it lasts longer and feel that much better. I usually have to get it done once a year, sometimes twice depending on how much i am playing. I've heard some people say gold also feels a bit more slippery. Is that true? I don't think it makes much of a difference sound-wise, but I may be interested in doing it just because. Where could I find a place to do it, and is it expensive? I don't play contra yet, but the euph could use some bling, you know. They feel "slippery" at first, that is because gold is a much smoother surface then silver. Once you get used to playing on it though it feels better on your chops. When I was playing on the silver mouthpiece everyday my chops would get beat up pretty bad, playing on the gold they don't get nearly as beat up. I think the extra endurance is sue to using less pressure when I play to get a good seal. Also I feel like I have to wet my lips less when playing in the gold piece. I am sure that it doesn't work for everyone, but once you go gold you might never go back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spcbrass Posted March 11, 2004 Share Posted March 11, 2004 I play the Helleberg myself (gold) but Ive since found a Mirafone tu22 ,nice deep DARK sound, if you want to stay in the upper register a smaller cup is the way to go ...the Hellebergs are for LOW and LOUD ^0^ It certainly does well with low and loud! However I have found it to be a pretty good all around mouthpiece. It allows you to have power and good tone in all registers of the horn. Granted you have to work a little harder up high, but who really needs the upper stratosphere anyhow! I play low and I love it! I have tried the mirafone mouthpieces, and i wasn't crazy about them, that was about 6 or 7 years ago too. The pernatucci mouthpieces are great, but I would never use them for drum corps. They are just too much of an investment for something that is going to get beat up. Bach <**> that's all I got to say about them. A few others have come around that I have tried and I have had success on them. Those usually give me more flexibility but take away from the volume I can generate. In the end it's about TQ&I the Helleberg fits me great as a player. If you can get to aa music sotre and get a mouthpiece to try for a day or two or even a week (yeah you need connections for that) then give a bunch of different mouthpieces a shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 (edited) I marched contra for seven years no big deal. It has some good points though: 1. Your parents won't take long finding you if they lose you in a crowd. 2. If you have to take your horn on the bus ALWAYS sit up at the front. 3. You have to develop a drummer kind of attitute.(Nobody is better than me, then practise you butt off to back it up.) 4. You are usually at the back of the corps during parades so you get to see where the horses were before you step in it--(you know what I mean.) 5. You are the backbone of the horn line. Every body counts contras if you have a lot of them, 8-10, most people will think that your horn line is good(until you start playing that is. ) 6. When you stand at attention, put the horn on it's bell in front of you and only pick it up when some one yells at you. (Talk to your horn staff about a special stance--(They like it when you ask them for advise first) Edited March 17, 2004 by Old Dutch Boy Cadet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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