Over the years, I have had more than a few conversations about the 24AW mouthpiece. Maker (brand) doesn’t matter; Bach, Faxx, Blessing, Jupiter, who EVER. This is the WORST tuba mouthpiece. Under NO circumstances should anyone ever play on this thing. A little history first:
In the Vincent Bach catalog, originally printed in the 1950s (I think) listed their 24AW mouthpiece as “a good beginner mouthpiece.” So all the mouthpiece makers saw this and decided to make one of their own (cheaper, too!). WRONGO! Here’s why:
1 – The rim inner diameter: is WAY too small for any application. This would be good for a bass tuba or a solo mouthpiece IF:
2 – The cup is WAY too deep. To make up for the constricted sound that is accomplished by the small inner rim diameter, they designed the cup depth to compensate for this being a too small mouthpiece.
3 – The rim is too wide. Wide cushioned rims, while may be comfortable for playing, they inhibit lip flexibility. All well designed mouthpieces are a balance between a wide rim and a narrow rim. As a ‘beginner’ mouthpiece, (assuming for a smaller person or a child) they fill up their whole face!! Too wide. And lastly:
4 – The throat is HUGE! Again, to make up for the narrow diameter, to get the air through the darned thing, they make the throat too big. Check it out, you can drop a pencil through it! For a beginner, it sucks the wind right out of them.
4 strikes – YER OUT!!!
Anyone who comes to my place for lesson with one of these, I confiscate and they get to choose one out of my collection (with a recommendation, of course).
Feel free to disagree in comments below.
On a 3+1 compensating type Eb tuba, John Fletcher alternated between the 24AW and a Conn Helleberg. Due to his influence, I played one on my Besson compensating Eb (when I still had one) for quite a long time. For whatever the reason, it worked great on that horn. I was told that the 24AW had been specifically designed for Eb tubas. I can see where they would not be good for CC or F tubas in particular. I don't use one now.
ReplyDeleteAgree completely. I was never able to make one of those work.
ReplyDeleteI agree. In addition to your findings, I find that the lack of any definition of a rim edge makes any kind of clean articulation nearly impossible. Some old timers (and some younger teachers) hailed the 24AW as the best. Like you, I confiscated those from my students. If you must put a young player on a Bach, use a 25 or better yet, a 22.
ReplyDeleteUnless the young player is REALLY small, any standard size mouthpiece should be JUST FINE. TC's rule of thumb: Use the largest mouthpiece you can.
DeleteMy 6th grade beginner tuba players were always really small in September, so I started them on Bach 32E. After Christmas, they had usually grown enough for me to "graduate" them to a standard mouthpiece, usually whichever Helleberg was a good fit. I still think the 22 is one of the better mouthpieces made by Bach, but they are hard to find.
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