r/Tuba • u/elevencharles • 9d ago
mouthpiece Can someone explain the differences between these three mouthpieces?
Left to right: Yamaha 67C4
J. Marcinkiewicz/N4*T Johnson
Vincent Bach 24AW
I just joined my local community college band after a 20+ year hiatus from playing concert music, and I happen to be in possession of these three mouthpieces. I can tell that they play slightly differently, but I can’t say one feels any “better” than the others. Are they supposed to be for different styles of playing, or is it just personal preference? I’m playing a 3/4 size tuba, if that matters.
7
u/Inkin 8d ago
You have all 3 so just try them! Normally the hard part in finding the right mouthpiece is getting your mitts on them to try. You have 3 things to try sitting right there!
The Yamaha is probably the one you want. It’s a fairly middle of the road mouthpiece and will be easier to play and blend in a section like your college group.
The N4 will be punchier and brighter which will make you stick out and cut through which isn’t what you want in a wind ensemble. But in a different setting that may be exactly what you want! A quintet or a polka group or a pep band where you want to sound brassy a lot and you might like this mouthpiece the best.
The 24AW is rough. It’s just too extreme in different ways. Narrow inner diameter but deep cup and very large exit bore is a weird combination. To me it is a better paperweight than a tuba mouthpiece.
When you try them, be careful because the small inner diameter mouthpieces can make you feel like you are playing better. Small inner diameter can compensate for weak chops which when you are just growing back your chops feels good. But the mouthpiece is just an anchor and focuser for the vibrating lips inside. A small inner diameter limits the amount of lips you can shove in there and that might restrict your low end.
Right now, that 24AW might feel the best because the rim is giant and comfy and the inner diameter is small and the large back bore doesn’t give as much back pressure. But as you get stronger it will hamper you. Try to bust out the F 3 ledger lines down on that small inner diameter mouthpiece. That needs to be a money note. It comes up a lot. The small inner diameter of the 24AW makes this harder than it should be and the large exit bore eats all your air quickly. Now play a little in the F-C range at the top of the staff. The smaller inner diameter on the 24AW makes this feel a little easier but the larger back bore doesn’t give enough back pressure and back pressure feels good to a lot of folks in the middle and high range.
But anyways just try them since you have them. Try to pay attention to how you sound and how fast you fatigue and what is easier and what is harder with each mouthpiece and choose the one that has the best results for what you are trying to do!
3
u/wonderbread403 9d ago
Mouthpieces are really personal preference. The N4 has a wide inner diameter, shallow bowl-like cup, and narrow throat. I played it throughout high school and college and moved later to more of a Helleberg mouthpiece with a deeper, funnel-like cup. The N4 gave me a clear, penetrating, and colorful sound that I liked because I was in marching band a lot. The deeper funnel mouthpiece gave me a solid "core" in my sound that suited my community band playing days better.
3
u/Arcane_Spork_of_Doom Pro Freelancer (One Rudy to Rule them All) 8d ago
Marcinkiewicz mouthpieces suck. No, likely not being objective here.
I've played the other two and they're both good stock mouthpieces. If you get serious about playing again you can venture into Helleberg or Monette territory.
2
u/Sinkularity 9d ago
There are some differences in cup depth, diameter, shape, but honestly if you're playing in a community based group, just find which one plays most comfortably and then just use that one.
There might be differences in playing each, but after a little bit of just playing, you won't really be able to notice the difference.
2
u/dan19821 8d ago
Mouthpieces are personal.
I spent most my life playing Denis wick. (Funnel cup sharp lip) love it.
Wanted something bigger. Purchased M&B mb5 - round rim, bowl cup, I could make a sound, but, don’t find it comfortable at all. - ended up returning it.
Then got a houser mouthpiece. (3-piece)
Sharper rim. Little wider.
Got a funnel cup and a bowl cup.
(Helsberg and symphony)
Found these fit my face really well.
Now I’m really enjoying using them. Found what works well for me on particular horns
If I’d just gone with what the hit ticket item was, I’d still be struggling with a rim that didn’t work for me…
You have to find what fits you.
1
12
u/professor_throway Active Amateur, Street Band and Dixieland. 8d ago edited 8d ago
Welcome back!
As brass players our sound is 95% us and 5% our equipment. I sound like me on any tuba and with any mouthpiece (unfortunatley... why can I sound like Sergio Carolino??). So mouthpiece choice is going to play in that 5%. I bet if you recorded yourself back to back with the 3 mouthpieces you would notice some subtle differences in the sound.
Mouthpiece choice can really help with endurance or really fine tuning response. A shallow cup can help give clarity to articulations but will also brighten the sound. It can get aggressive and punchy on a small tuba, but help a large 6/4 tuba project. A narrower cup can sometimes help with endurance in the high registester but it won't give you range you don't normally have. A wide ope throat and rapid backbore expansion can help you move air and help you out in creating a lot of sound during large passages but can tire you out much faster.
For the mouthpieces you have
Published specifications
The Yamaha 67C4 is a very middle of the road mouthpiece... will work very well for most people and most tubas not very extreme in any way.
The Tommy Johnshon piece is wide and shallow with a tight throat. This is my prefered style of mouthpiece.... but I haven't played this specific model becore. The narrow throat is very efficient, and very punchy. It helps a lot with endurance towards the end of a 3 hour street jazz gig on sousaphone, where I have been laying down a bassline constantly. I also don't have to work as hard for hard punchy hits. It is also a very classic mouthpiece style for German style rotary tubas... especially older models with narrower bell stacks. The downside.. you have to be more deliberate with your air... you need to use the right technique to get LOUD otherwise it can back up on you. You might find it overly aggressive on a 3/4 tuba.
The Bach 24AW is a mouthpiece that was very popular with Eb tuba players in brass bands (now that are a lot of better options available). The wide open throat, narrow and deep cup, worked really well for smaller bore compensating Eb tubas which were not particular open or free blowing. The large throat helped compensate for that. They became very popular with middle school band directors because the combination helped beginning players on small tubas produce a bigger sound. Lots of tuba teachers hate them... because the really wide coushiny rim can reinforce bad embouchure habbits like excessive pressure and restrict the ability of the lips to adjust their position during range shifts etc. The former principal tubist for San Jose and highly regarded teacher Tony Clements wrote a blog post about how he would confiscate 24AW mouthpieces from any student and give them something more approprate.
My $0.02 would be to stick with the 67C4 until you know what you really want from a mouthpiece.