I don't think I've ever heard of anyone discovering a true gap - if you define it as I do,
a space in the receiver
between the end of the mouthpiece shank, and the beginning of the leadpipe
where the diameter of the space is larger than the leadpipe and shank interior diameters.


As illustrated ...

It's hard to say for sure how much shank is in there, but it looks to me like that shank might be a little large for "American".

That sure happens. My amateur caliper measurements make some common American mouthpieces, like Schilke, closer to .530 inch - conventionally held to be "European", though ...

I sure wish those hand held XRF analyzers weren't so damned expensive. I'd get one to see if there's really tin in the bell. Not that it would matter a lot.

humBell wrote: Mon Mar 09, 2026 7:06 am Where's mini-me?

If I may ...

Any opinion on this tuba ?


I don't have a strong basis for comparison, but I like mine.

The valve section has some down sides, principally that it doesn't drain well. It's short a water key or two, but the main thing seems to be an upward bend in the tubing near the valves, where water pools ...

This is not only not the same tuba, but an entirely different model - a BBb "Professional" - but for what it's worth, it seems more comfortable with a couple of mouthpieces that sit lower than average in the receiver.

Yeah, "on steroids" usually indicates robust strength, but the reality of steroid abuse isn't always desired outcomes. The story of the F tuba.

There's always the Bass Saxhorn, though cost might be an issue.

For something conceptually like the Conn 7b, Schilke 66 seems to be a hair bigger at the throat, maybe a little deeper, and the more rounded rim feels a hair narrower though the published inside diameter is the same. Another excellent rim option in this format is the old Conn 2.

The end-on view of a rim is naturally a little ambiguous. What we need (along with better topic titles) is for you to saw one in half, a là Mike Finn, whose mouthpieces I believe mostly follow similar rim contours.
MF234Cut-Away---web.jpg

Others I like with rounded rims, though possibly not as ...

If it could be stretched out to 3 1/2 minutes, this could serve for a soundtrack: The Music Goes 'Round And 'Round - Tommy Dorsey - Edythe Wright - 1935

Thattubaguy345 wrote: Sun Jan 11, 2026 10:20 pm brass band

British Brass Band?

If particles of a more solid nature would help, you could mix sand into the resin. That could be a cool look. With a high enough sand content, might not matter if it's polycarbonate - possibly worth a try with hardware store two part epoxy. (I would think about making the cup that way and using ...

I wouldn't need a metal additive. (One word - are you listening? Plastics.)

Mouthpieces don't resonate, it isn't like a violin soundboard or something. The rim is bound to have a different feel, though.

That looks ... too cool for me. If I had this urge, I would look into 3D printing.

Some time back I wrote this little gimmick for some fun with "Elm", a javascript compiler programming language that's a lot like Haskell: Valve Lab .

To be honest, I didn't follow the explanation - "forced one note to be exactly in tune" etc. - but I'm probably too old and unambitious to be ...

For a side by side example - Confinement #1 - The Sound Of Silence (Euphonium & Saxhorn) .
Confinement #2 - Led Zeppelin (Euphonium & Saxhorn)

(I'm sticking with "that's a euphonium, even if the bell is distorted by the wide angle photo"; euphonium represented here by a 4V, and the saxhorn is the ...

Well, that's weird. I have a Couesnon Monopole 4v Bb that is, for sure, a saxhorn basse . Also with C/Bb alternative tubing; I have only the Bb.

The present instrument is different, to my eye, and I'd say more euphonium. Never heard of this valve setup with a euphonium, but the bell is much more ...

For instance: a funnel shaped mouthpiece will TEND to produce more fundamental. A shallow mouthpiece tends to be brighter, thereby accentuating the upper overtones, seemingly allowing more ease in the upper register. I can play just as high on a TU33, than I can on a TU11. The 33 tends to have a ...

Are those compression fittings with brass nuts? What a great idea!

Would it be unreasonably awkward to play it at the pictured angle? I'll have to try that with my Eb. Seems like the valve tubing would drain a lot better.