Super-heavy-LOOKING valve caps with interesting stuffing come to my mind. Won´t even look suspicious on a trumpet... Or maybe that ultra-fancy big fat mouthpiece a.k.a door stop offers some space within it. Better still: many tubists in community band use only valves 1 through 3. That 4th valve ...

Music: 50 Years (if operating a record player at age 2, wearing down a "Deutsche Grammophon"-recording of Prokofiew´s "Peter and the Wolf" counts) If this doesn´t count: Music: 44 years (started singing in choir) Brass: 40 years (quit singing and started on flugelhorn) Tuba: 33 years (quit f ...

Depends on what ideas You want to convey, I guess. - YT is full of all kinds of cool stuff with different objectives. - Educational content will most likely lack in coolness factor. The intricacies of a well-played warm-up routine will not be accessible to many who haven´t been practosing music yet. ...

You might want to check out the "Supergroup Thomas Gansch". There are several videos on YouTube. https://ganschathome.com/projekt/blasmusik-supergroup Definitely NOT Mnozil Brass. But a profound nod towards the cultural roots shared by many of the musicians in our professional ensembles: Local ...

A few posts ago Bloke expressed hope for suitable German Composita. I´d suggest "Studentenhupe", abbreviated to SH. Very fitting command... The association being the ball horn that was installed on John-Boy Walton´s Ford. Google tells me the british english translation to "Hupe" would be "Hooter". ...

What bloke wrote rhymes with the effects of the two interchangeable leadpipes that come with the ADAMS Ftuba.
The "solo"-one provides clarity, flexibility and effortless high range.
The big one makes it somewhat harder to play high, but offers an even more solid bottom.

At this time I´m practising how to breathe in a way less stressful to my expanding "Linea Alba". Especiallly as this expansion has reached the sternum. This involves letting go of inclinations to try and drown the band in sound. Maybe it´s time for OTHERS to indulge fantasies of omnipotence and i ...

In German, there is a distinction between "billig" (i.e. cheap both in price and actual value) and "preiswert" (not necessarily cheap, but still reasonably priced and definitely worth more than its price tag suggests). On the other end of that range there is "teuer", especially "ZU teuer" and ...

She´s a true beauty.
Is that a gold brass bell on yellow brass body?

There is another aspect to not being glued to the page: Better interaction with other musicians to create music. I remember being the only tubist along with a very musical drummer in youth band (Yeah I know, sounds funny, but I´m not making this up). We used to play lots of Potpourris back then, so ...

I know it´s winter and all... we played for people in a Hospiz (in German, that´s a place where people with diagnosis beyond hope go to spend their last 2 weeks in dignity). But we did so from OUTSIDE, serenading in a way... Ideal for multiple-locations "shoot ´n´scoot" events. Most hospitals or oth ...

Some time ago, I was guilty of similar equipment-nerdery: - bought a nice K&M tuba stand I had seen Walter Hilgers use on standing gigs with German Brass. - bought a nice and comfortable bar stool, mushroom-shaped, with pneumatic height-adjustment/suspension. - bought a tuner AND a metronome AND a ...

I have an example of - well, not bad, but unfortunate programming: Young brass quintet gets hired to play a christmas-related event at a facility helping homeless men. Not just providing food, warmth and hygiene, but rather a program to get people off the road and into normal, employed lives. The ...

Regarding body sizes:

MW 46:
18.5mm bore on all valves but the 4th, which has 19.5mm.
38 cm bell, reasonably slim bottom- and top bows

MW46S:
18.5-21.5 (!) mm graduated bore
42 cm bell, more girth at the bows.

For fun´s sake:
B&S Apollo:
19-21 mm graduated bore
45 cm bell, fat bows.

Hello all, as a student about 30 years ago, I was fortunate enough to start my amateur F-Tuba experience on a M-W46 with 38 cm / 15" goldbrass bell. Back then, this and its larger sibling the 46S (42 cm / 16.5" bell and , I believe, slightly larger bore) had been on the market for a while already ...

It´s true, of course, that any skill (be it manual or otherwise) can and will be picked up by putting one´s own mind, energy, and elbow grease to it. If You´re lucky: find some experienced person willing to share the results of a lifetime of experience. If You´re in bad luck, You just THINK that per ...

I hadn´t polished my silver-plated horn in 13 years and it was heavily tarnished. Recently found "Poliboy Silber Intensivpflege", and suddenly the horn looks like new. Apply the stuff with moist sponge - no need to rub, just apply gently - wipe off with moist cloth - done. Under these circumstances, ...

I play CCs like that using 2345 plus about 5-6" worth of 4th valve slide pull, which will elongate tubing by 11-12 inches (25 to 30cm) in total. Especially when an occasional BB natural is lurking at the next corner: with all this tubing added already, 1st valve will represent a reasonably good semi ...

Upon seeking the holy grail, here´s a list of actions I would try in Your situation, in order of MY perception of practicability: - Just ignore the itch. Your Es and Ds project just fine and nobody besides You will notice or applaud a change in sound. - Try a huge MP and INVEST SERIOUS PRACTISE TIME. ...

In my whereabouts, I experienced the benefits of a duo of excellent Eb and BBb teaming up in a wind ensemble. The instruments were one Willson rotary BBb and an old Besson Eb (exact Type unknown), in the hands of very well trained teenage players. These guys would strategically divide parts among ...