Posted by Joe S. on September 16, 1999 at 20:02:25:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Physics of mouthpieces and buzzing posted by Alan Baer on September 13, 1999 at 22:50:25:
I don't believe that the actual mass of the mouthpiece has much of any effect at all on the sound of the tuba (nor trumpet, nor trombone), except that the weight of some of those silly massive ones tends to cut off the circulation in my legs after a while and I have to quit playing and try to stand up. ;^)
I have found that some of those huge (mass) and, by the way, expensive mouthpieces sound dull, "flat", and thuddy because of their INTERIOR shapes. I, too, am a Joe M. mouthpiece fan. I think that he does just about the BEST job of anyone in the venturi area of the cup (approaching the throat) making the sound sparkle in the way that I like, regardles of whether it is one of his "Helleburg"-style mouthpieces or one of his series that more resemble typical European mouthpieces. That being said and acknowledging that his mouthpieces are somewhat skeletal, I completely believe that Joe's mouthpieces would feel exactly the same to me (except, of course, to my thighs) whether they were as they are or if he left a bunch of useless extra material on the exterior of them.
I don't own any of the Beneath-the-Valley-of-Wasted-Metal mouthpieces because I haven't tried any that I think are useful. Most of them sound like those woofy/tubby old Holton 52 Revelation mouthpieces (remember those?), and again, why should I stick anything on my tuba that is going to make the instrument dig into my thighs even more than it already does?