Mike Finn MF3 (many words)


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Posted by dmmorris on July 10, 2002 at 13:40:16:

Refer to pic' of the Mike Finn "MF3" tuba mouthpiece (left) and the Marcinkiewicz H2 Concert-Hall (right)............w/ “mystic elastomer tone-rings”

I was introduced to Mike via his postings on this BBS [http://www.chisham.com/tips/bbs/jun2002/messages/97116.html ]. I was sorta in the search for a different mouthpiece, so I contacted him after reading his post. I shelled-out the $125 clams for a 2-week trial and here is some of my thinking...........

My favorite mouthpiece from my youth and early adult life was a trusted Bach 18 used with big piston-valved tubas (Kings, Conns, and Bessons). But when I returned to playing 7-8 years ago, I made the switch to "German" rotary tubas (Cerveny and B&S). The Bach 18 just did not seem to work for me in these rotary tubas. I am currently playing an old ‘70’s era B&S (4/4, BBb, raw brass) with the Marcinkiewicz H2. This has been a great combo and I have been fairly secure with it for several years. Great low register, but I have some difficulty in the upper register (yeah, I know....go practice!). I tried the Laskey 30G....nice treble sounding mouthpiece with a good "grip" ( sharper inner rim), and better control, but I sort of lose the core of the bottom octave and it's too noticeably smaller than the Marc', so I only use it when I need to really stick-out with mid to upper register noises. My thinking has been that I wanted a mouthpiece as large as the Marc' but with a sharp entry like the Laskey. Mike’s MF3 is not like that. The MF3 is quite large, with a “soft”-funnel shape, and is slightly smaller in inner diameter with a more rounded inner edge (more like the Bach 18), than the Marc’ H2. The throat is slightly larger than the Marc’ H2. It is heavy.

Mouthpiece Inner dia.(in.) Outer dia. (in.) Throat (in.) Weight (g)
MF3 1.2983 1.9093 0.332 386
Marc’ H2 1.323 1.873 0.328 251
Bach 18 1.264 NA NA 257

I will confess that based on the figures and what I thought I was looking for, I really didn't think that I would like it much (ie "Bach-like" overly rounded inner rim and smaller inner diameter).

Enter the "Big MF" as Mike has referred to his MF3. I have had to opportunity to trial his "BMF" over the past month in several of different settings.......my music room at home (asking my wife and kids, “does it sound better now?”), with a mixed sextet ( reeds [2], cello, bass, tuba, percussion ), and my church’s praise-band. I still want to try it out in a large ensemble, but that group is off for the summer. So, I have had a fair amount of “face-time” with it.

My opinion...........All good stuff................It seats on my lead-pipe very well ~60% up on the shank.....a larger shank would be a nice option, but on my horn it is not proving to be necessary. Adapting to the inner rim has not been a transition issue at all and the mouthpiece seats on my embouchure similar to the Marc'. It initially feels a little smaller, but easily goes unnoticed.....very comfy. The sound is darker, rounder, more "organic"........very mellow, less edgy, and seems more fundamental than the Marc'. The fat sound is more like what I recall having back in my college years (when I played a lot more) and have not been able to recapture. Surprisingly, this mouthpiece allows me to play slurs and legatos with a much smoother transition from note to note. I think with more “face-time”, I should be able to achieve better flexibility with this beast than with my Marc' H2. The high notes have not suffered and the sound is powerful across all registers .......I CAN PLAY REALLY LOUD WITHOUT BREAK-UP......or raspyness. The low notes slot with equal authority as the Marc' H2.

I don’t understand how all of this works, but I like this MF3 very much. It is easy to play, sounds great, and I’m keeping it.

Sometime, I might still like to try a mouthpiece with the large inner diameter (like the Marc') and a sharp entry (like the Laskey) and maybe a deeper bowl (read: greater volume)...........but if I get much more comfortable with this "BMF", I may not be seeking for a "BMF-II". I appreciate Mike’s efforts in bringing another mouthpiece option into the field. At $125 (silver) and $155 (gold) they seem to be a compelling option in my purely amateur opinion.

.........oh yeah, don’t drop it on your foot!!

Best regards,
dmm



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