H.N. White #25 mouthpiece

[sdloveless]

I picked up an H.N. White Equa-Tru 25 from an eBay seller for not much. Arrived yesterday. The links are for a couple photos I took comparing it to my Conn Helleberg. The 25's cup is not quite as deep and the internal diameter is a couple millimeters smaller. I only played it for a few minutes last night, so can't really say how it compares in that respect.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/UxASAEj93Wp8W6RK7

https://photos.app.goo.gl/J7fMin33CzXh8Pdt6

There's some more information about them here: https://www.hnwhite.com/Mouthpieces%20Page.htm It looks like the 25 was advertised as being appropriated for Monster Eb or BBb horns in the 1919 catalog, but by the time they added the "Equa-Tru" only listed it as being for monster Eb horns.

I thought it was interesting, and thought that maybe someone here might think so, too.

[iiipopes]

IIRC, when I was in high school in the late '70's, we had fiberglass King souzys. We used model 25 mouthpieces on them. If you could get a micrometer on them to measure the actual cup width, that would be appreciated. Thanks.

[cktuba]

These were bigger and deeper than a Bach 25 IIRC. But smaller than the Conn Helleberg. Maybe more 7B-ish in volume with a more bowl shaped cup. I had an old instructor that used to really like these. I preferred the 26 at the time, it seemed a bit larger and significantly deeper.

[bloke]

Bach 18-ish?

[sdloveless]

IIRC, when I was in high school in the late '70's, we had fiberglass King souzys. We used model 25 mouthpieces on them. If you could get a micrometer on them to measure the actual cup width, that would be appreciated. Thanks.

Internal diameter measurement. My eyes suck and I can't read this even with my bifocals, which is why I bought a digital micrometer. But that one seems to be elusive this afternoon. Anyway, took a picture. https://photos.app.goo.gl/3pZ9ZPeawkooJsro8

[iiipopes]

Bach 18-ish?

But maybe 1.25 instead of "Bach spec" 1.26 cup i.d.

[hrender]

The King 25 I have is significantly smaller than a Bach 18. I compared it to a Holton 18 (I have a Mt. Vernon Bach 18 somewhere but didn't want to hunt it down), and the Holton is approximately 32mm/1.26in ID while the King 25 is approximately 30.75mm/1.21in. The cup on the King is also much shallower than that of the 18. From looking at the published specs for Bach mouthpieces, I'd say the King 25 is closer to a Bach 25 than a Bach 18. FWIW, the chamfer on the inside edge of the mouthpieces makes measuring them a bit of a challenge, but overall, the King 25 is a fairly small mouthpiece.

Images

[sdloveless]

The King 25 I have is significantly smaller than a Bach 18. I compared it to a Holton 18 (I have a Mt. Vernon Bach 18 somewhere but didn't want to hunt it down), and the Holton is approximately 32mm/1.26in ID while the King 25 is approximately 30.75mm/1.21in.

I'm sorry, I had intended to add the actual reading when I posted the photo of the Vernier caliper. I got 30.8mm, which certainly jives with your approximation. My digital caliper will return 3 decimal places, but I still can't find the darn thing...

I spent a little time last night A-B-ing it with the Helleberg. I've only been playing about a month since ending my 27 year tuba break, so there's a significant amount of ignorance in this statement, but I think it doesn't really affect my ability to play higher or lower. However, it does seem to affect tone and ease of playing with different notes (or maybe even different harmonic series entirely). For example, the C below the staff on my horn is fairly stuffy. I think it sounds a little nicer with the 25 than the Helleberg. Some notes sound better on the Helleberg.

I have a Schilke 62 arriving today, just for giggles. Then I'm done buying mouthpieces for a bit.

[iiipopes]

I spent a little time last night A-B-ing it with the Helleberg. I've only been playing about a month since ending my 27 year tuba break, so there's a significant amount of ignorance in this statement, but I think it doesn't really affect my ability to play higher or lower. However, it does seem to affect tone and ease of playing with different notes (or maybe even different harmonic series entirely). For example, the C below the staff on my horn is fairly stuffy. I think it sounds a little nicer with the 25 than the Helleberg. Some notes sound better on the Helleberg.

Ah, yes, vive la difference! Glad you're having fun with your mouthpiece safari. Please let us know how you get along with the Schilke. Thanks.

[sdloveless]

Ah, yes, vive la difference! Glad you're having fun with your mouthpiece safari. Please let us know how you get along with the Schilke. Thanks.

The Schilke 62 is...different? The cup is bowl shaped, more like the White 25, as compared to the Helleberg's longer taper. It's definitely deeper than the 25, but not quite as deep as the Helleberg. ID at the rim is somewhere between the other 2. It sounds completely different, and I'm not sure I like it. It's very breath-y sounding, if that makes any sense. I'm able to get a warmer, rounder tone out of the Helleberg than either of the other two. That's not saying much, because after my 27 year sabbatical my tone pretty much sucks all the way around.