Review from Brass Band World

Cory Band’s principal tubist, Simon Howell, puts the Les Neish Signature Alliance Mouthpiece series for Eb tuba through its paces, with pleasing results

Having been sent a tuba mouthpiece to review, I was very keen to get it open and have a good look, and I was pleased to see that it was the Les Neish Signature Series by Alliance. My initial thoughts were great; the standard of packaging complemented the classy finish of the mouthpiece and there was the added bonus of a free leather mouthpiece pouch.

This specific mouthpiece was silver-plated with a gold rim and cup, aesthetically pleasing to say the least. Whilst trying the mouthpiece, it became immediately apparent that it was very comfortable to play with a fantastic tone quality, which was rich and full in all ranges. I found it very responsive and agile, especially playing in the high register, as well as having great projection.

The ‘LN Alliance’ Mouthpiece resembles many of the good features of my mouthpiece of choice for many years – the Vincent Bach 24AW, including having the same cup diameters of 31.25mm and similar depths. This is certainly a versatile mouthpiece that could cope in many settings – I personally would feel comfortable using it in a band, in an orchestra in a chamber ensemble or for solos on E flat tuba. Overall, this is an extremely well-presented, versatile and comfortable mouthpiece with a great quality finish and a very streamlined look, which lays in the same price bracket as many other leading tuba mouthpieces.