I played a school instrument a little, LeBlanc "paper clip" BBb with an extra big mouthpiece. Other models (Selmer) could use a smaller reed, and that was all Rico made, so when I got it, it had a hand-whittled reed courtesy of the clarinet instructor. Complete with lipstick stains. Van Doren made a ...

Would you go for the optional trigger? My BBb has a short trigger slide, kind of helps with some of the 4th valve notes - but I may omit it at times, as those notes are fairly flexible.

However, valves are fantastic, very quick They aren't loud? The clock spring valves I used to have made quite a racket, I guess possibly because of some wear on the pivots. (I used to have a Moto Guzzi V twin, which also has pretty loud valves when properly adjusted. Moto Guzzi riders' motto was ...

There's some visual appeal, to be sure, but it looks like there might be an unappealing tendency to soil the player. That red patina in the second picture would be interesting if it could be effected more evenly and without the corrosion blooms. It would be interesting to know more about the ...

If my Spanish to Portuguese cognates are to be trusted, once I press the “Aceito” pop-up, will I be eligible for free valve oil? The premise apparently proved wrong. Azeite is oil in Portuguese -- olive oil (olives are azeitonas - these words are both from Arabic roots, but the tree is oliveira .) ...

the elephant wrote: ↑Thu Mar 13, 2025 6:23 amlink?

Tuba antiga de banda filarmónica

https://ireland.apollo.olxcdn.com/v1/files/8re7fcbtmdij3-PT/image;s=1000x700 Seller indicates that it's old, probably 50 years. I'd guess he might be off by a factor of 2. I've sure never seen anything like it. Seems rather lightly used. Priced at the princely sum of €40 - and he's willing to n ...

Kanstul isn't that bad, either. I have to confess to a senior moment here - my tuba isn't a 33-S, it's a 66-S Eb. These two tubas look more similar than they probably even should. The 33-S is BBb. So ... never mind. Sorry!

Thanks for posting a picture of yours, @donn . It does look like that bottom inner bow is different. Is your 5th valve a useable flat whole step? Like I said, mine is an odd length... It's fine. [edit] But who cares, since it isn't the same model at all. Note that the valve combinations described ...

I took the photo over and checked it against mine, just to be sure we're talking about the same thing - and I think, almost but not quite. [edit] of course ... because mine's a 66-S Eb, and yours is a BBb. Sorry! [/edit] 20250227_203028.jpg Aside from the 5th valve, something that seems kind of ...

I would recommend Austrian mouthpiece maker Windhager. The mouthpieces are 3 part modular and he made me something very similar to what you are asking for a couple years ago: https://www.whf-mouthpieces.com/en I was a little put off by that site, to say the least, but he publishes a remarkably ...

Even the Conn 120 Helleberg might not be guaranteed to come with the rim you have, as they've reportedly tinkered with that over the years. You can read a lot of interesting history of this mouthpiece here: The Post WW2 Conn Helleberg . For whatever reason, there are a lot of mouthpieces out there ...

I prefer a hard case, but don't use it. Impractically bulky and heavy.

Depends, though, on what you're doing. Tour with a van full of instruments? Hard case. Lugging the tuba from the parking lot across a sizable festival grounds? Bag.

Size is "big". Really, they're all pretty big. Be happy! But no, you're right, the terminology is vague. The categories aren't sharply defined, and its usefulness doesn't provide much motivation for an improved size classification. That said, it certainly isn't about how wide the small end is, valve ...

I guess the one question to ask here is can they be made somewhat modularly? So ask for a bell profile to be put on a body profile? Or would this mean that there was a weak point attaching the two? While the original post started with a mention of a hard case, the whole "Important post for the tuba ...

I love bicycle innertubes for various alternative purposes. They're elastic, strong and durable. (For tuba luggage, when I got my current tuba with a broken case and fixed that case up, I used dissected bicycle innertubes for corner seam bumpers.) What I'm not so sure I get, is the stretchy fabric ...

Well, let's have a look in the old mouthpiece bucket ... Ah ha! here's a current production mouthpiece that might not be familiar, a Mike Finn MF5. Featuring the same rim contour and diameter as the MF3 (and 3B) but a shallower cup, the MF5 is a big mouthpiece that isn’t too big. An excellent choice ...

For those who know the JK, how would you describe the difference between the standard and the classic? Well, the Classic is more conical, but of course this parameter going to be independent of the width, depth and throat diameter. i will say that I like the non-Classic better on my Eb tuba, but ...

OK, let's clear up the BS. American manufacturers like Conn and Schilke have routinely made .530 shank diameters for years. I mean, maybe I'm wrong, but I've reported this multiple times, and no one has ever come back with measurements that differ. Others, for example Marcinkiewicz, make them ...

arpthark wrote: ↑Fri Feb 07, 2025 9:48 am If you'd like to drop a bit more cash down the road, the Sellmansberger Imperial with the "£" shank might be an option.

What diameter is that? As I read it, the existing mouthpiece that fits, is a little over .530, which is supposedly "European" shank.