After playing for a few hours yesterday and switching back and forth between several mouthpieces and configurations on my Sonora BBb, I've come to the conclusive truth: I need to practice more tuba before worrying about equipment. :laugh: Realistically I'm just not a good enough tuba player to ...

Dang... Going to need to measure my Sonora, but it's probably too tall for that sideloader. I think it's 43 inches...

A bit of threadomancy here but I wanted to thank you guys for mentioning this combo. I have an Imperial I bought for an old Holton Eb that I haven't been using as well as the little ring extender. Gave this a shot on my Sonora B&S stencil last night and initial results are very promising. Lots of ...

It's my trusty Packer 274. I really like the instrument, but the tolerances seem to be "professionally tight" and it doesn't tolerate such nonsense as ignoring regular cleanings. I've owned old bessons and Kings before, and I've never had this kind of issue before, but I play this horn more than ...

Mirafone 186 CC (Blokespecial): Imperial cup, standard shank, goldkote Profundo #2 rim 33.2mm I have the Imperial with the Profundo rim. It is awesome. Great combination for My Miraclone 186. A bit of threadomancy here but I wanted to thank you guys for mentioning this combo. I have an Imperial I ...

I can (usually) go a couple weeks without picking up my euphonium, and I guess any oil in there dries out, and I put new oil on top of it, and the problem compounds every time I do that. Not sure how to deal with that. I'm 51 years old, and I've never had that issue before with any instrument ...

, . But it does help if your oil isn't contributing to build-up.) That's where I'm at. I was absolutely shocked how long it took to clean a thick layer of yellow shellac off of the interior of my valves tonight. That's really gross. I can't say I've ever had that experience. Do you mind me asking ...

I'm currently using Resilience Oils #1 Light on all of my piston horns except my flugabone (on which I use Hetman Classic). In the past I've tried Al Cass, Blue Juice, Zaja, Monster, La Tromba T2, Roche Thomas (I had an ancient bottle that I REALLY liked and lost), and many others. Resilience has so ...

Dana Hofer in Des Plaines, IL. Extremely good work and a great guy to work with; many professional Chicago musicians trust him with their instruments, including several notable tuba players.

My issue with mock orchestral auditions is I play euphonium.

LeMark wrote: ↑Thu Aug 20, 2020 7:45 pm I do like the Parker euphonium mouthpiece,

someday I'll get one, they ain't cheap though

I didn't know they made a euph piece. Website lists it as a 51D, is it similar to a Schilke?

Once upon a time it was in vogue to wrap a belt around your bell, or so I hear. My teacher wasn't particularly impressed. Many of the things we do are only noticeable to the player.

For mouthpieces and such, just wash it before you play it. It's probably fine after sitting in the mail for a couple days, but generally speaking I rinse off used mouthpieces before playing anyway.

Obviously a little harder to do that with a whole tuba. :/

I always thought the Besson 983/993 was a slick concept in that you get all of the intonation advantages of the compensating valves but with regular slide accessibility on the left hand for minor adjustments. I owned a 994 which was basically the same bugle and it played well enough and wasn’t t ...

Rudolf Meinl Sr., one of the truly great brasswind instrument makers of the XX. Century, celebrated his 81st birthday on July 25th. I had the pleasure and honor of working with him during the early Seventies. We remain good friends to this day. A photo, his favorite, is attached. His son, Rudolf ...

Because compensated valves are often attached to really good instruments. (...)the best euphoniums are compensated not because the compensation makes them so, but because nobody would buy the best euphonium without the compensation. I wish someone made a 5 valve non compensating euph that had the ...

Yes, I am happy to inform you that Rudolf Meinl, Jr. is still very much making instruments in Bavaria, and from the handwerk I've seen and played in recent times, Rudolf Meinl tubas are as good as ever, and maybe better than ever. My assistant Eric Murphy and I should finish servicing and repairs ...

I unfortunately don't have any experience with the models you're asking about. However, as always I'm a huge proponent of the old East German B&S 101 stencils. They are full sized contrabass tubas but handmade from very light sheet brass. Most are in BBb, but you do occasionally see them in CC ...

Some other very cool horns on your site! If I weren't overseas (and, you know... the whole pandemic thing) I'd love to stop by and check some of these out.

As it is, I barely play enough to justify owning the horns I already have. :lol:

This is one of the good ones... Assuming no cracks or leaks that's an excellent deal. Even if it has minor damage and needs play conditioning your total price will still likely come under $2000. I have more than that invested in my Sonora and it was well worth it.