.

[GC]

When recording tuba (or anything that makes sound) you start with the instrument, but the sound quickly gets beyond the player's influence. There's the room and its frequency response/resonance/deadness, there's the tonal influence of the microphones or single mikes themselves, the position of the microphones and the ratio of direct/reflected sound they pick up, cabling, mixer, equalization, balance, recording medium, compression, etc., etc. ALL of them affect the quality of the recording even before the tastes of the engineer, mixer, and whoever else affects the outcome. Sometimes we're lucky to get a decent recorded sound at all, and sometimes the combinations of factors work out to make things marvelous.

Next time something strays a bit or a lot from your concept of tonal perfection, just remember what's between the player and your ear.

[donn]

Sure, it’s the entire result, but none of the recordings that inspired me to think out about this subject were performed on BBb tuba (I wouldn’t think, at least).

@bloke shared a video with me that really demonstrates this issue. I really wonder even more if this is a conscious choice influenced by cultural traditions. (I’m sure that will make zero sense to some and maybe even p!ss off a few. That’s ok.)

The flabby school of tuba performance. Characteristic of certain ensembles, who will settle for nothing less than the flabbiest. I take it this is all legit music - not any of the kinds of popular music that use tubas.

[BRS]

.

[donn]

Meanings of words are in the ear of the listener to some extent, but sometimes there's communication. What I meant is ensembles of the sort that traditionally play written music. "Classical" whatever that means, orchestra and smaller ensembles, British brass band, etc. As opposed to popular - polka, jazz, banda ...

Returning to 20 questions; someone else's turn.

[bloke]

Is it possible to be a thin-lipped flabbyist?

[arpthark]

Is it possible to be a thin-lipped flabbyist?

How do "flabby" and "stuffy" intersect?

Furthermore, do you think 3 valve compensating fiberglass sousaphones stuffed with flab would be more stuffy or more flabby?

Hey, it's the third page of the thread; what did you expect?

[BRS]

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[bloke]

Inflatable sousaphones are probably the flabbiest, since it's really hard to seal them up. There's a big leak at the large end.

bloke "page 3... and if we could effectively describe sounds without making them, why bother making them?" ← maybe rhetorical, but we've gone over this territory before about how people try to describe sounds with names of colors, textures, and all sorts of things that don't really name sounds in effective ways. The only effective way is to offer a sound sample, and that's going to reveal that someone judges someone else sounding a certain way.

[BRS]

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[donn]

It shouldn’t matter to anyone what I hear. It only matters what the listeners hear. This thread was supposed to be about suggesting what represents people’s ideal tuba sound. Well, you know, “internet.”

It matters to me what you hear, only if I'm trying to understand what you're talking about.

[BRS]

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[Mary Ann]

Hmmmm. To me, pancake bells get a different sound than smokestack bells.
Assuming Mark comes home with that NStar, I would really like to hear the same excerpt on it as he posted asking whether that was a flabby sound on his Franken Eb. (Vocalise, I think?)

[donn]

People just want to ignore this, though, and go all “National Inquirer” with “who does he thinks sucks and how can we throw crap at him for daring to make us think about our product —- SOUND.”

Was there some evidence you made anyone think about their product? You seem a bit sensitive about some imaginary ill treatment - maybe someone threw crap at you in a private email? The original post centered on an apparently specific criticism of an apparently specific tonal quality that apparently may be found on various tuba recordings. I can't blame people for being a little curious, what you're talking about, but of course it's up to you, if you don't want anyone to know.

[BRS]

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[bloke]

sidebar (related?)

I've noticed that - when many amateur/student/professional players dip down below "double low" E-flat or D (somewhere around there...) their sound changes (whether marked f, ff, or fff) to a totally different BLATT !!! type of sound.

Yes, it IS difficult to play "down" in that range - with a sound that matches the pitches just above (and all the rest beyond) and requires WAY MORE practice (to be able to play with the same sound/embouchure as the pitches above those really low pitches), but - again - the sound (with the easier-to-produce-those-pitches embouchure) is SO VERY different (and somewhat obnoxious - at least, to me). Further, it's VERY difficult (possible?) to play those very low pitches softly with (may I label it?) a "cheater" embouchure.

I hear this on contrabass tuba youtube "unboxing" or "check out this model" demos - as well as contrabass tuba "this model vs. that model vs. the other model" youtube videos.

The very lowest range is also the most difficult to play (with the same type of sound) on saxophones, but - rather than muscling/blatting through those lowest pitches - saxophonists actually spend a great deal of time on practicing (as they refer to it) "subtone"-ing those pitches (ie. playing them softly with a pleasant/marketable sound.

[bloke]

so full of schtick

"schmaltz"

violinists - can make use of it more than any other instrumentalists

tuba players - the least

[Jim Williams]

.....

[Jim Williams]

How do "flabby" and "stuffy" intersect?

@arpthark the answer, of course, is "fluffy."

[bloke]

@Jim Williams

Thank goodness it's not "stabby".
Does a grocery store chain still exist called Schnucks?
Quite a few years ago, a young man - who I suppose was paranoid schizophrenic or something - was working in the butcher department in the back of one of those in Memphis, and he went nuts and started running around the store trying to stab everyone with a butcher knife.

I don't think he killed anyone, but I think he injured a couple of people. Oddly, a man across the highway - who owned a billiard table store - was the one who stopped him and held him down before the police and the ambulance came.

After that, Mrs,. bloke and I referred to that store as "stabby Schnucks". After Kroger bought out the Schnucks stores in Memphis, we then called it "stabby Schnucks Kroger" - and that's still how we refer to that store, today.