I have three basic parts to my sound, and it carries across all horns.

1) Bad accuracy
2) Bad intonation
3) Bad tone

I have no difficulty maintaining these three qualities no matter which horn I switch to.

I say get a plastic Helleberg from Kelly. Or one of their other standard size plastic mouthpieces. It's what I did going from euphonium to tuba as an adult. Then I bought a stainless Kellyberg when they were on sale. I'm no expert but I do love the Kellyberg plastics, I play one on my sousaphone wh...

You might give the Kellyberg a try (plastics are inexpensive) and if you love it you can upgrade to metal in the same mouthpiece. Have you tried it? Just wondering if the two are really that identical, or possibly a little different due to very different manufacture, like minor differences in throa...

I say get a plastic Helleberg from Kelly. Or one of their other standard size plastic mouthpieces. It's what I did going from euphonium to tuba as an adult. Then I bought a stainless Kellyberg when they were on sale. I'm no expert but I do love the Kellyberg plastics, I play one on my sousaphone wh...

Name that tuba?

I name him Bob. His name is now Bob.

You are welcome.

No! Until I own a nice, heavenly light weight plastic tuba, I will not be satisified. I could buy one, of course, but I prefer to remain unsatisfied, rather than spend > $1K on a piece of Chinese junk. But that doesn't mean I own what I wash to own - not at all! I have played one, they are indeed t...

I own a decent playing BBb that I got from Dillon that I'm happy with, but I was wanting a lightweight sousaphone and as of today I have one... a 1960's Reynolds model player I just now got home with. I made the road trip up to Lee Stofer who had just gone through it doing those magical little thing...

Turns out I jumped the gun on this a bit, the horn sounds absolutely terrible and is very unwieldy (this is an early 60's contra by the company that invented them), off-balance and not fun at all to play. Change of plans... I'll put clean this up and put it back in the shed (this time covered better...

I've got a horn that I bought to be a wall-hanger back in the 1990's, an old Imperial brand (Whaley Royce & Company, Toronto) valve/rotor contra bugle (not really a "baby contra" but not a huge beast either) horn that's been sitting in my shed for about 25 years. A nearby drum corps al...

I tried out a Coolwind 190, it was absolute junk... and pretty big as well. No fitting that in any normal-sized suitcase. If you are bound-and-determined to make this trip with a horn, I would recommend an inexpensive Chinese euphonium and a tuba-sized mouthpiece (like a Yamaha Roger Bobo replica mo...

Sorry I wasn't clear, it's a baritone. Sorry for not being specific enough.

Thanks!

I saw it tucked away behind a pile of other stuff in a sort of an "mid-century" store (furniture, lamps, some guitars & amps, records, etc.). The guy handed it to me and I played it a bit (the valves moved but were very "slow", definitely would need a thorough going thru. Rep...

WTB: Helleberg Sear American Shank mouthpiece in good condition. No other variants, just the one by Walter Sear please.

I played one on the field in drum corps and in college, but over the years it has "gone into hiding".

Thank you.

Ken in NE Missouri.

Three Valves wrote: ↑Wed Jan 18, 2023 6:32 pm
I have some beginner/intermediate studies around here from my re-intro 5+ years ago.

Great condition, cheap!

viewtopic.php?p=24006#p24006

And now he doesn't, I bought Three Valves' music and as it has arrived am starting in on that!

Good stuff! Thanks for the post!

Here's a picture from the late 1970's (probably '79), our wandering Tuba Christmas group. I'm on the left on a Conn sousaphone, and Marshall is on the right with... what? My school had 2 of these, one in Bb and a much smaller one in Eb but nearly identical in looks. I'm thinking they might have been...

That is an Indian tenor sousaphone in Bb (not BBb) and it plays in the same range as a euphonium or trombone. They are wildly out of tune. Stay away! I've seen those horns in eBay ads, and I've always wondered if they took large-shank euphonium/trombone mouthpieces or what. I'd love to try one just...

I've noticed that some horns have copper colored lead pipes, while the rest of the horn is brass colored.

What is the reason for this please? (NOTE: Both the real and humorously false answers appreciated... the nuttier, the better).

May God have mercy upon the ears of anybody who happens to hear me play right now. SMOKES I was bad. I mean... bad. I guess a 25 year layoff is a bit hard on the embouchure, the wind, the range, everything. My first note, I was like "my goodness this horn has a ton of back pressure... I mean it...

My new Dillon 995 BBb arrived Friday (I just got it today... I was away and it was delivered to my workplace which didn't notify me that I had a giant box show up). For the last month I've been looking around for a basic, starter Bb to get back into playing, and I've contacted several sources (many ...