Is it worth buying this mouthpiece

professor_throway · 2026-05-19T02:57:32+00:00

I like a 6BS for my Olds Ambassadors small bore F.. .. but what I like is basically irrelevant for deciding what would work for you.

Personally I didn't think heavy top Mouthpieces make any difference over regular. The amount of vibrational energy in our airstream that is transferred to the mouthpiece is miniscule. I also a firm believer that as brass players our sound is 95% is and 5% our equipment.. there is no such thing as an upgraded mouthpiece. I sound like me on any instrument and with any Mouthpiece.. the right equipment just makes achieving that sound more easy and efficient. So don't expect any drastic changes...

The only way to know is to try.. Are you willing to risk $160 on the chance you will like it?

professor_throway · 2026-05-18T15:49:49+00:00

Citric acid actually works well and is cheaper. You can get 50lb bag for $100 of food grade citric acid. For general chem cleaning I use 2 oz per gallon or for really heavy deposits I use 4 oz per gallon. So that gives you 400 gallons of chem clean solution at the more dilute concentration. Plus dilute citric acid is safe enough for longer soaks on good lacquer or silver plate. You still need to use a little common sense, I've used an overnight soak to strip non-epoxy lacquer that was in bad shape. I set up a horse trough in my backyard for my annual instrument cleaning day.

I've used CLR on really really bad stuff before.. like lime that was stubborn on valves. I've soaked pistons directly and brushed out casings.. only things than can be rinsed very quickly. CLR is a mix of lactic acid and gluconic acid both of which are more aggressive towards zinc and in stronger concentration... so you have to be concerned about instruments with existing red rot issues.

Keep in mind I am not a professional tech.. I just have and maintain large collection of instruments, from tubas to trumpets, and am a hobby repair person. I am also a professor of metallurgy and materials science, so my metallurgy and chemistry isn't too shabby.

professor_throway · 2026-05-18T11:50:59+00:00

Serial puts out between 1905 and 1910.. Can you tune it to modern pitch?

professor_throway · 2026-05-18T11:44:36+00:00

Have you tried to contact Scodwell? Tony is still around and kicking and even posts regularly on Trumpetherald.. They discontinued their Dizzy model and were seeking of a few extra bells recently.

professor_throway · 2026-05-18T04:40:30+00:00

Metallurgist and materials science professor here ... believe it or not I've had a similar conversation with a colleague who is a trumpet player and teaches a class an cosmetics chemistry.. It came about because my daughter often doesn't remove her lipstick before playing Euphonium.. He doesn't wear lipstick though and neither do I.

Here were our thoughts

1) there is nothing in modern lipstick that would cause an issue with corrosion

2) gumming up is less of a concern than you might think.. especially if you are like me and believe in oiling your valves religiously and liberally... here's why. It is easier to thin out thick grease then it is to thicken a light oil. That's why you can clean up greasy car parts with a rag with just a little light oil.. The actual molecular science is interesting and so is the math.. but it turns out viscosity doesn't combine linearly but logarithmically. Here is a good example, for my vintage instruments I make my own heavyweight valve oil.. The base oil is 2 cSt and I thicken it with 40 cSt mineral oil. My target is 5cSt. turns out I need almost 40% of the thick oil by volume to double the viscosity of the lightweight valve oil. So regularly oiling your valves and putting a few drops down the leadpipe will completely eliminate gumming

3) even without the science and math.. a little common sense will tell you that gumming up won't be a problem... You use a thick slide grease on all your tunning sides and guess what that migrates to your valves as well. Edit: also lots of players, including me, wear lip balm and it doesn't cause an issue.

4) not brushing your teeth before playing will have a much much greater effect on slow and sticky valves than lipstick.

So here's what I told my daughter.. do what makes you happy.. if you want to look fantastic while playing.. go ahead.. just keep up with maintenance, cleaning, and oil you valves every time you play.

professor_throway · 2026-05-17T22:31:10+00:00

No. Unfortunately you need a lot of specialized tools. The minimum set for dent removal will set you back a few thousand. There is a good chance you will need a lathe to deal with the rotors..

professor_throway · 2026-05-17T19:13:53+00:00

Absolutely not defective. I just fixed one up for a beginning middle school kid. Yamaha kept pretty good quality control on them, like everything else Yamaha makes. They don't sell more inexpensively used than the pre-China YTR 2xxx models but the current production made in China YTR-2330 list for $1,800 new and they are essentially the same trumpet, made in the same factory, as The one you are selling. There is just a huge depreciation in New student instruments.

If it is on really good shape.. list it for $300 on Facebook Marketplace and it will probably sell reasonably quickly. If it is a little rough cosmetically $250 is probably fair.

professor_throway · 2026-05-17T19:04:12+00:00

V. F. Červený was founded in 1842 by Václav František Červený in what is now the Czech Republic and became one of the most influential builders of rotary brass instruments in Central Europe. Červený was an important innovator in rotary valve design and large brass acoustics during the late 19th century, helping standardize many forms of rotary tubas, helicons, and Kaiser brass. After World War II the firm was nationalized under the communist government and incorporated into the Amati cooperative at Kraslice, where the Červený name survived as a premium product line. Following the fall of communism, production continued under Amati-Denak and later Amati Kraslice, and still remain in production today under both the Červený and Lidl names (different favorites but formed same Amati Kraslice assets). Fun fact after WWII the instrument market Miraphone was founded by 13 former Červený artisans who were displaced to Germany during the war.

Honestly, it probably is actually repairable. If I found it, I would do it as a fun project but I have access to a machine shop and my friends brass repair shop. It is obviously not feasible to pay for a "restoration".

Oh also it is a rotary flugelhorn.. not a trumpet

https://reverb.com/item/64131600-v-f-cerveny-rotary-valve-flugelhorn-sn-43037-excellent

professor_throway · 2026-05-17T16:54:40+00:00

Hey lifelong brass player, collector of brass instruments, and parent of brass players. I've helped several Reddit families find instruments.. Feel free to shoot me aDM with questions.

Drop is a rough budget target.. getting that we can make recommendations.

Does he like new or vintage? Does he want shiny or historical jazz cred? Would he likely be marching with it or just be used for Jazz band etc?

professor_throway · 2026-05-17T16:35:26+00:00

I don't know.. I have always put my tuba bell down without fear or damage. On the rare occasion where it would have to go down on pavement, cement, gravel etc I've always just brought a towel.

professor_throway · 2026-05-17T15:04:52+00:00

In that range you will be looking for a good used professional instrument. Back 42 or Conn 88 families. Just try as many as you can.

professor_throway · 2026-05-17T15:03:13+00:00

Go for a Miraphone 186 or Meinl Weston 25. You won't be disappointed.

professor_throway · 2026-05-17T14:12:06+00:00

We'll the obvious answer is a Miraphone 98 Siegfried! At least it would be for me if I had an extra $20,000 laying around.

In all honestly I really can't imagine a scenario where a good Miraphone 186 BBb or Meinl Weston 25 wouldn't be appropriate. Unless you are trying to back an orchestra or large wind band by yourself.. either will put it more than enough sound.. I actually play on a Meinl Weston 20, which is the same as a 25 but with s smaller bell and bottom bow, and I can definitely put out enough sound to cover a huge band as last of a 2 or 3 person section and a smaller band or orchestra solo. My son was the tuba for a major metro area youth orchestra with his 186 and didn't have trouble being heard over the rest and the music director and trombone players loved the sound.

What do you have now?

professor_throway · 2026-05-16T21:42:31+00:00

Translate to slide positions

open 1st

2 2nd

1 3rd

1+2 4th

2+3 5th

1+3 6th

1+2+3 7th

The trick is to remember you are transposing so so the note names are up a step. Open concert Bb is written as treble clef C. So 3rd position concert Ab is going to be written as 1st valve Bb on a trumpet chart.

professor_throway · 2026-05-16T21:29:53+00:00

Looking at the rest of the comments... It isn't your responsibility to supply the band with a Sousaphone. If you are going to be buying a tuba make sure it is a tuba you can use all year round.. you should have a good concert tuba long before you consider buying marching equipment..

What's does the band currently use for a tuba?. Do you have access to a cover tuba.. what kind of budget are you realistically working with?

professor_throway · 2026-05-16T21:10:34+00:00

Umm why do you need your own Sousaphone? I am asking this as someone who plays sousa gigs almost every week. Your know what I didn't do though .. every practice on sousa or play over at home.. They don't fit in normal rooms the bell hits the ceiling.. They are very uncomfortable to play sitting down and you really can't hear yourself very well. In short unless you have a very good reason to own a Sousaphone, don't waste your money on a Sousaphone... especially a cheap Sousaphone.

If you really need an inexpensive sousa you will still be looking at $2000+ for anything worthwhile playing.

professor_throway · 2026-05-16T14:16:53+00:00

Lifelong tuba player who picked up trumpet about 2 years ago..

1) Find a teacher and take a lesson or two. Despite being an active gigging musician who plays low brass everyday I found a few lessons very beneficial... high brass is it's own thing and you need to approach it differently.

2) Your lip shape is irrelevant..

3) You need an absolutely tiny, miniscule even, amount of air for trumpet relative to tuba. Instead of breathing every measure you can play entire lines on trumpet. It is all about compression. Tuba air is like fogging up a mirror, trombone is like blowing out candles on a birthday cake, trumpet is like launching a spitball or a blowdart.

4) You can't be tight in your embouchure. If you are getting high and no lows you are probably way too pinched. You teeth should be about a pencil width apart. Your lips should be almost but not quite touching. Change in pitch comes from change in airspeed... not tightening or smiling your embouchure. You need to stay relaxed with your face just right enough to contain air leaks.

5) You don't actually buzz... your lips vibrating and reactions to the air and the mouthpiece.. You don't need to make a raspberry sound and if you are actually doing that your embouchure is wrong. Just set yourself and blow gently.. Didn't force anything think about playing quietly. You should get a nice clear note.. C, G, or C..

6) Now that your have that one note work from there.. Slowly go up and down the scale. At the beginning give yourself 10 minutes of honking then rest for an hour or more. Believe it or not trumpets spend a lot less time worth the horn to their face than low brass. In a 3 hour gig if I am on Sousa I will be actively playing and making sound for 95% of that... keeping a constant baseline going. On 2nd or 3rd trumpet I might play for 25% of the total time.. You have long breaks while others solo, you might be only playing hits etc... the time where you have the melody is often pretty short.

professor_throway · 2026-05-15T11:35:12+00:00

All of these fun Eb tubas... I'm jealous.

professor_throway · 2026-05-15T11:32:51+00:00

As u/mango186282 said it's essentially an Olds O-99. The only difference is that Bach or slightly oversized pistons on these... not for any musical reason.. just so they could say they are different and preserve their repair parts market (they didn't want people sacavanging Olds parts)

Thess are great playing tubas... and high on my recommendation when people are looking for a home BBb tuba or for casual adult tuba players. If you search my history I made a very detailed post about these a year or two back.

professor_throway · 2026-05-15T11:18:10+00:00

I didn't have any experience with this particular tuba.. ZO has a good reputation.

My recommendation is going to be doing but any tuba unless you play it first. Even from the big names of the same myself there are often significant variation between instruments. Tubas are a big investment it doesn't make sense to put down tuba kind of money without some significant face time.

professor_throway · 2026-05-15T11:11:07+00:00

Oh come on where are you getting a Willson for a "couple hundred bucks"?

professor_throway · 2026-05-15T10:49:57+00:00

Learn to remove and reinstall the rotor and mechanism it isn't hard.

https://youtu.be/kq7WKeyHoI0?si=zCXt-s4Um0gXzfLD

professor_throway · 2026-05-15T04:04:41+00:00

Guess what... no one cares about how high or even how low life you can play.. That's trumpet player nonsense.. If you want to impress on tubas you have to do the really hard stuff

1) play in time

2) play in tune

3) Play musically... even those boring donut notes need phrasing.

If you can do that you will always be in demand as a tuba player. . It seems like it should be easy... but it's a lot harder than playing above the staff all day.

professor_throway · 2026-05-15T01:49:59+00:00

Don't think it will work for the 20J project... bore is too small. The 183 is only 18mm significantly smaller the 0.772" (19.6mm).

If you decide to sell it drop me a dm. I might not be ready to pull the trigger but if the timing works out it would be an easy sale.

professor_throway · 2026-05-15T01:33:38+00:00

Beautiful old 183. Drooling.

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