Tubas, euphoniums, mouthpieces, and anything music-related.
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A few years ago I found myself an ebay bargain second hand Conn 24J-with-upright-bell (25J). Since then I've been playing around with it using a PT-50 and a 24AW mouthpiece (both of which I already had). I can play it pretty well in tune with either.
I feel the PT-50 makes it hard to get clarity (but makes my tone sound like an organ) and the 24AW just isn't quite right. I like to think I'd magically sound better on a different mouthpiece rather than spending hours doing more practise to improve myself. I understand both these mouthpieces are 'big'.
So I've been googling around looking at different mouthpieces. I was wondering if I would be correct to think that this tuba would have an 'American shank'? I find my PT-50 sticks out a bit further than the 24AW.
thanks :)
ps - any tips on a magic mouthpiece to perfectly match my tuba and instantly improve my playing would also be much appreciated...
Relatively inexpensive home test kit: 1 Kelly Mouthpieces Lexan Kelly-18, 1 Lexan Kellyberg.
Both will play OK and you will be the envy of every brass player. You should find that the Kellyberg is the best. Later if you get lucky and find an old Conn 1, the Kellyberg will still be quite useful. Emergency spare that can rattle around and not break or dent anything. Mouthpiece that can stay in the tuba and never get stuck, likely never fall out and get damaged on the pavement.
For daytime use I prefer Crystal Green or Blue color, can't recommend Crystal Orange. If you ever work in low light conditions, however, Glow-in-dark can't be beat.
The 24AW is on the small side, not big. Probably the most commonly used mouthpieces on the 2XJ's are the Bach 18 and Conn Helleburg 120 because of school kids.
I have primarily played Conn 2XJ Tubas for several years. Standard "American" shank mouthpieces seem to be the right fit. Recently, I have been experimenting with Giddings Mouthpieces. The Alan Baer Original CC and MMVI CC work well. I also really like the Talladega.
In the past, I had success with the Conn 120S, Bach 18 24AW, PT50S, Sidey SS, Kellyberg, Kelly 50, 18, and 24AW.
When I owned a 25J for several years, I tried a Bach 18, a G&W Bayamo, and a bunch of other mouthpieces for a while, but I finally settled on a Warburton 30D. Great mouthpiece for that horn; lots of resonance and still retained decent brightness for clarity. It was also not too big and woofy.
GC wrote: ↑Fri Aug 20, 2021 5:58 pm
When I owned a 25J for several years, I tried a Bach 18 and a G&W Bayamo for a while, but I finally settled on a Warburton 30D. Great mouthpiece for that horn; lots of resonance and still retained some brightness for clarity. It was also not too big and woofy.
Might as well enjoy the "woof", that's exactly what these tubas were created for, at least from my experience and/or my opinion. These were not created/designed to produce what we have come to know as a modern "orchestral" tuba sound. You can certainly produce that type of sound with a lot of effort, and perhaps the right type of Mouthpiece. But why? You will just end up very tired, frustrated, and disappointed.
From my experience, I have found these tubas way more fun) enjoyable/satisfying by simply trying to achieve the best type of sound/timbre/resonance that this tuba was designed to create/produce. If that type of sound is not in your head, or what you are looking for, I don't recommend buying one of these Tubas. Also, if you don't like working with alternate fingerings on a few notes, I don't recommend these Tubas.
I really like these Tubas, and have always enjoyed the subwoofer type of sound. Sure, I enjoy the slice right through an orchestra sound as well. However, I might pick a different tool for the job.
I'm loving the sound from my 25J. I like it big and mellow... Orchestra playing is for chumps, I don't have enough spare time to count the rests. I'm mostly playing in brass bands where I get more actio.! 25J in a brass band blends really nicely and gives the depth I'm after. Also works well as single-tuba concert band (for me).
I probably actually need to work on my articulations to get the clarity I'm after, but would much prefer a magic-new-mouthpiece to do the job for me.
Thanks for the confirmation on 'american' shank size, and all the recommendations. I promise not to buy them all at once. I found a Warburton 30D on ebay that's not too expensive, seems like bach 18s are super cheap second hand - and the Amazon has a stack of the Lexan mouthpieces that won't break my wallet (I'll probably grab a few different colours just to look cool - will avoid crystal orange...)
