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How popular are these British made mouthpieces in North America? Across the pond, they seem to be all the rage. I just got one for my 981 Besson Sovereign EE flat and I am enjoying it very much. 350 bucks Canadian make it the most expensive mouthpiece I have ever purchased.

I've never heard of this company. Are they a new concern?

Not really new. They have been around for a couple of years now and have their own website. Stated by two British tuba players they now make mouthpieces for every brass instrument from top to bottom.

A lot of folks around here (northeast USA) in the brass band scene have these. I had considered one for my Besson but I don’t think they offer small British shank, funnily enough.

eeflattuba wrote: Sun Jun 29, 2025 7:08 pm350 bucks Canadian make it the most expensive mouthpiece I have ever purchased.

Just for what It's worth, in my three piece stainless steel line of mouthpieces - adding an optional gold-tone titanium coated rim (+$35) and an extra tall rim (+$15)...

...I guess that barely hits on 300 USD (which Google tells me is about 410 CAD)...

... so - if you continue to be interested in setting new records - let me know, and I'll see what I can do for you.

(Admittedly, they're not the newest thing on the block, so I know that's not a plus.)

serious comment:
I'm always interested in checking out new things, but I suppose I would have to go to an elephant room to try one of those. I haven't been to one of those in a few years. If they feature 24aw style rims and/or huge throat diameters (??), they're a non-starter for me.

I have the MB5. I really like the sound and the flexibility I get, but I don't seem to match very well with the rounded rim.

I am sure @andycat can add some more info

Hi, yes, M+B are 2 friends of mine, both tuba players (an EEb and a BBb player) who live pretty local to me.

I helped develop the initial tuba range, plus my own model, the MB5 Cattanach (which is surprisingly popular!). Other players have models or input, Les Neish did one, James Gourlay uses a couple of ones etc.

The rim was my fault @BramJ so sorry you're not a fan! Getting the right rim for a BBb to enable definition whilst keeping the other features was my goal, but horses for courses, each to their own etc.!

If anyone wants comparison sizes or more info, drop me a message, although the website has lots of info too.

https://mercerandbarker.com

Andy

eeflattuba wrote: Sun Jun 29, 2025 7:08 pm How popular are these British made mouthpieces in North America? Across the pond, they seem to be all the rage. I just got one for my 981 Besson Sovereign EE flat and I am enjoying it very much. 350 bucks Canadian make it the most expensive mouthpiece I have ever purchased.

As a 981 player, I started looking at them. I was looking at the MB4. I'd love to take one for a spin.

Five Lakes Silver band have a full set of Mouthpieces for demos, worth contacting them to see if you can fix up trials.

They're showing up more and more. I love the comfortable rims since I can't stand flat rims or a sharp bite between rim and cup. Most are somewhat heavyweight. I use a MB3 in brass band, and own a Tim Buzbee Lone Star. I'll probably buy a MB3 “Power” soon. The Lone Star is an F/Eb mouthpiece that's shallow but too big for me, so I'll probably sell it soon. It'd be good for someone used to larger diameters.

Bloke, their rims are fairly narrow, and the throats are not extreme IMHO.

Where is a good list of their pieces? I keep hearing of mouthpieces models not appearing on their website.

I’m an idiot. Yes.

I was only looking at the stainless steel.

andycat wrote: Mon Jun 30, 2025 12:34 pm Five Lakes Silver band have a full set of Mouthpieces for demos, worth contacting them to see if you can fix up trials.

Hmmm. I grew up with their MD, so maybe I’ll reach out and say hello. lol.

Dillon Music carries some of them:

https://www.dillonmusic.com/mouthpieces ... 57&max=400

I reached out to Uncle Matt for an appointment. When I go up I'll give them a try.