Found: Small/British shank Bb tuba mouthpiece

[WakinAZ]

Found.
Looking for a backup mouthpiece for my Besson NS Bb 3v, which has the smaller British shank receiver. Would prefer a Dennis Wick "1", but will consider others. I'm in Tucson, AZ.

PM me please, unless you're a scammer.

[iiipopes]

Glad you found a mouthpiece. I also used to own a Besson NS 3v Comp BBb. Yes, the Wick 1 (no letter) is THE mouthpiece designed for this tuba and gets the best overall tone and intonation. The only drawback is with its larger throat compared to some other mouthpieces, you definitely need more air. But it is worth it, even if you are light-headed from hyperventilating at the end of a rehearsal or performance.

[2nd tenor]

Found.
Looking for a backup mouthpiece for my Besson NS Bb 3v, which has the smaller British shank receiver. Would prefer a Dennis Wick "1", but will consider others. I'm in Tucson, AZ.

PM me please, unless you're a scammer.

Did you actually end up with a Wick 1 or did you settle for something else?

I wouldn’t argue that a 1 is best, but believe it’s bigger than what was originally supplied with them and a lot of folk happily use smaller pieces. It’ll be interesting to hear about how you get on with your Besson.

[iiipopes]

Found.
Looking for a backup mouthpiece for my Besson NS Bb 3v, which has the smaller British shank receiver. Would prefer a Dennis Wick "1", but will consider others. I'm in Tucson, AZ.

PM me please, unless you're a scammer.

Did you actually end up with a Wick 1 or did you settle for something else?

I wouldn’t argue that a 1 is best, but believe it’s bigger than what was originally supplied with them and a lot of folk happily use smaller pieces. It’ll be interesting to hear about how you get on with your Besson.

The Wick 1, which I used to own one until I sold my Besson tuba and sent it along, is only 1.28 inches / 32.5 mm cup diameter, rather small by comparison with many players using 1.32 / 33 or even larger mouthpieces, and just barely larger than a "spec" Bach 18 or Helleberg 120S, which in production those two mouthpieces ended up measuring about the same 1.28 / 32.5 anyway. The problem is the throat. Besson 3-valve comp tubas can be stuffy, especially on 2nd ledger line C 1+3, so the throat is larger to be able to push more air to make up for the stuffiness. The Wick 2 is like a Kosi-Kup, the same size and similar cup geometry to a Bach 18. The Wick 3, which is usually used more on Eb tubas, is similar to a Bach 24AW, with a similar the deep cup but slightly narrower rim. Especially with the changeover from the New Standard to the Sovereign tubas, with a fourth valve and increasing use of the lowest register, yes, the Wick 1 became the standard mouthpiece for the BBb tubas.

[WakinAZ]

Found.
Looking for a backup mouthpiece for my Besson NS Bb 3v, which has the smaller British shank receiver. Would prefer a Dennis Wick "1", but will consider others. I'm in Tucson, AZ.

PM me please, unless you're a scammer.

Did you actually end up with a Wick 1 or did you settle for something else?

I wouldn’t argue that a 1 is best, but believe it’s bigger than what was originally supplied with them and a lot of folk happily use smaller pieces. It’ll be interesting to hear about how you get on with your Besson.

Yes, bought a Wick 1 from another forum member. I have always found the Wick 1 to be a perfect match to a Besson B-flat bass. Whether 3 or 4 valves, I don't agree with the opinion that they are "stuffy", just a different blow. Also don't agree the Wick 1 is small feeling or that it requires more air, regardless of the specs. All in all, it is "just right" for me, which is good because there are very few options in small British shank tuba mouthpieces in the US. This is my fifth Besson contrabass, fwiw.

I've had one or two with the larger "Standard"/American size receiver, and I tried some other mouthpieces, but nothing worked better than the Wick 1 ("L" in that scenario).

I also tried a wick 1L in a very similar horn, the Yamaha bb321, but surprisingly it didn't work very well/blatty. Probably because of the larger throat of the mouthpiece and the relatively thinner metal of the yamaha?