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What do you all think of the Lexan Kelly 50?

As some of you may or may not know, I have suffered from allergy/sensitivity from various types of metal mouthpieces for quite a while. I'm able to get by with stainless steel and titanium, but neither are 100%, so when I have a random flair up, from extended rehearsals/performances, I have relied heavily on Kelly mouthpieces, and in particular, the Lexan Kelly 50, which had always worked surprisingly well Like almost well enough to just use it all the time

I experienced a flair up a couple of days ago, probably from a lot of playing/performances. I was asked to do a last minute BQ gig, that included "My Spirit be Joyful", I was cramming, lol Here's a clip of me practicing with the Lexan Kelly 50.

I’ve been very happy with the Kelly 50, and I used it exclusively until I convinced myself to buy one of Bloke’s mouthpieces, which I have also been very happy with. He made me a Lexan rim, which works very well for me.

Having said that, let me also say that I’m just a hack tuba player, so pretty much any mouthpiece works ok for me.

I keep a clear Kelly 50 in my mouthpiece pouch for 'emergencies'. I got it back when it came out as basically a prototype. It was produced on prototype tooling and hand finished. Did it ever go into full production?

From what I know, yes. Both the Lexan or stainless steel 50 are available for purchase on Kelly's website.

You sound good to me using that mouthpiece. Any reason not to make it your main mouthpiece?

Ace

I haven't really found any reasons not to use it as my main mouthpiece other than aesthetics Maybe a little different sound/timbre from other mouthpieces, but I am not sure that has anything to do with the material. Probably more to do with the shape/cup/backbore/throat/etc. I'm not sure if it projects as well, but I haven't been a situation where that was a problem for the group/conductors that I was playing/performing with

I have been using a Kelley 5 tenor trombone mouthpiece on my Bb/F trombone, and it does OK. Not perfect, but satisfactory for practicing here at home. However, it can't rival my Bach 5 in beauty of tone.

Ace

I definitely understand. Overall, I think that my stainless steel and titanium mouthpieces sound/perform better. However, not "a lot" better, which is surprising. It's nice to have so many great options these days. Here's one more video to demonstrate the Lexan Kelly 50 on something a little more lyrical.

Here's another video with my Giddings Talladega for comparison:

It's really interesting to hear two mouthpieces side by side like this, in such a clear and precise way. The difference is so small that anything I'd say would be an exaggeration, but it reminds me of something I notice with my current favorite mouthpiece, a bit of a tradeoff between the fullest tone and the most presence. Do the mouthpieces' shanks seat the same in the receiver?

Hearing my own buzz through the lexan bothers me. But it works fine.

That mouth piece is pretty big for you ain't it??

They are both American shanks, however, the Kelly 50 doesn't go in quite as far as the Giddings.

Three Valves wrote: ↑Mon Dec 13, 2021 8:32 am Hearing my own buzz through the lexan bothers me. But it works fine.

That mouth piece is pretty big for you ain't it??

Yes, they are both on the larger side, with the Kelly feeling the largest