<p>Ok, I know most of the people on here are string players, but maybe you might know where I might be able to re-post my question.</p>
<p>I'm a senior in high school and I'm looking into investing in a new tuba mouthpiece for college. I've been dabbling with the idea of not only getting a new mouthpiece, but getting a KELLY (plastic) mouthpiece for cold pep band games/parades/etc, since where I'm going it can get pretty cold. I've played the Conn-Helleburg mouthpiece for the last four years, but KELLY also offers the different versions of the Bach's--18, 24AW and 25. I know 25 is generally a beginning student, small mouthpiece, but what about the 18 and 24AW? Any decent for a college student level of playing? Due to reasons that are a bit complicated to explain on here, I'll probably end up needing a Bach instead of my Conn-Helleburg. Which one should I probably be needing to look into the most. I'm currently on a Bach 25 and it hurts like none other to play because it's not large enough for me to drop my jaw with. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>You need to ask your question at TubeNet or The Tuba Euphonium Forum. Just google either.</p>
<p>Tubenet will get you some interesting responses. It’s a certain segment of the tuba community with some pretty unorthodox views.</p>
<p>Some teachers will be all right with a Kelly mouthpiece, but I’d keep it to marching band and pep band. Are you going to be a music major? If so, you should maybe ask your teacher what he or she thinks a good mouthpiece might be, and try to find a used one on Tubenet. If not, get what feels good, and a Kelly might be great if you’re just using it for marching band and stuff. The 24AW is tiny, but the 18 is a little bigger. </p>
<p>If you’re majoring in music, you might want to look into some of the reasonably-sized Perantucci mouthpieces (like the PT48 or something; the 50 and the 88 are buckets). I also know a lot of people who really like the G & W Baer CC.</p>
<p>I’m not majoring in music actually, but plan to study it as seriously as I can with my attempt at double majoring in Second Ed and English. We’ll see how that turns out. </p>
<p>But, ya, with the Kelly, I’m mainly just looking for something to experiment with. Not something for actual playing in symphonic season, just for super cold pep band/parade days, etc. I just hate the Bach 20 I’m on right now and need to see which one is the best fit in comparison. It hurts my jaw, it’s so small in comparison to the Conn-Helleburg I’m used to. Can’t drop my jaw on it wide enough, etc, which says something since I have a tiny little mouth. It just doesn’t work well for me. Would the 24AW or the 18 make much of a difference then, or if I get a Kelly should I just stick with the Conn-Helleburg edition?</p>
<p>I think the Helleburg or the 18 would work better; the 24AW is pretty small.</p>