Posted by Jay Bertolet on March 09, 2002 at 10:01:13:
In Reply to: CC or BBb an "old dog" posted by John Cooper on March 08, 2002 at 00:45:31:
I'd be a little careful if I were you about switching to really large mouthpieces as a way to get a bigger sound. My experience with my 184 CC is that larger mouthpieces don't offer much difference in sound, and offer more intonation problems. A larger mouthpiece also offers less resistance and feels like you can really blow hard on the horn which, in the case of the 184, can yield some pretty ugly results. Some professional players have made the 184 sound great in an orchestra and I think the 184 might not be such a bad choice, depending on the orchestra.
If you really do decide to buy a bigger horn, I encourage you to keep the 184 in the bargain. They are pretty rare these days and they make great quintet horns (that's what I use mine for). In this scenario, I'd probably try to find the biggest horn I liked so that you would have two horns of contrasting sounds. Otherwise, I'm not sure there would be much point for you to have two contrabass tubas around. Make sure whatever you buy is functional for your situation. Best of luck to you.
My opinion for what it's worth...