Tuba for Travel

[LoyalTubist]

Hi everyone,
It's been awhile. I haven't posted anything up on the new Tuba Forum but I am finally moving back to L.A. (It says I'm in Arcadia but for a few weeks, I'm still in Needles.)

I am planning a round-the-world trip with my wife in a few months and I need a recommendation on a small tuba that I would like to take as a "personal item". I will be flying premium class (First or Business). I was thinking the plastic Coolwind tuba (in simulated chrome). I see one company makes a tuba with three rotary valves for children learning how to play the tuba and it meets all the requirements of every airline we plan to take. I mentioned in a reply to another post today that when I flew to Vietnam in 2006 I took a pint-sized 1923 E-flat bass that fit under the coach seat in the carton it was mailed in.

It is a bad time to travel, especially thinking part of the trip must involve going to Amman, Jordan, for some important personal business (we were originally planning to get there from Ben Gurion Airport in Israel, but now we plan to get there from Geneva, Switzerland).

Countries we plan to visit are Nigeria (business), Kenya, South Africa (business), Lesotho, Eswatini (ex-Swaziland), Switzerland, Jordan (business), UAE, Pakistan (business), Sri Lanka, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, China (business), and the Philippines, then entering back into the United States on Guam island.

I miss this forum.

Bill

[Mary Ann]

Given the number of places and the number of governments you will be dealing with, I'd take something you don't mind losing.

[LoyalTubist]

One of my points of contact is a girls' orphanage in Lahore, Pakistan. Did you know that one of the main Besson tuba suppliers is less than an hour away from that city in the Pakistani province of Punjab?

[bloke]

I believe I would cross my fingers and say a few prayers in regards to that trip, and leave the tubas at home.

[anadmai]

What a trip!!!

[LoyalTubist]

I think from what I gather here my best solution would be the Coolwind simulated chrome tuba with a plastic mouthpiece. I've always been wary that if I take a tuba into an airplane cabin, you never know what some people might do. Of course, I will pack light.

[jamiedstewart]

As someone who has lived and worked around Africa for many years, for heaven's sake, don't take a tuba of any kind, on your trip. It will become an extra piece of irritating luggage.

[Schlepporello]

As someone who has lived and worked around Africa for many years, for heaven's sake, don't take a tuba of any kind, on your trip. It will become an extra piece of irritating luggage.

Especially Africa. I have heard that they will only allow a certain amount of luggage to leave, but you can bring all you want into Africa. We had an associate pastor who took a mission trip there and took a beater guitar there for that reason.

[donn]

I guess you may be thinking of the Coolwind model 190. An alternative that might be worth a little research is Cantabile Mardibrass; similar size bell, possibly slightly more compact. There isn't much info on either of these. (Zo also offers a plastic tuba, but the picture I saw looked somewhat like the old Tiger - full size, rotary valves that may not be very robust ...)

You're keeping your reasoning to yourself about all this, it seems. For me, I had some idle thoughts about going plastic, in a period when I was without tuba. I didn't because they don't seem to be very durable, prices seem high and they're all Chinese, factors which may not be a problem for you.

I'd have gone with a color I like, maybe deep blue, orange, whatever. A metallic color would have been my last choice, because

• nothing looks worse than fake,
• a superficial treatment is more likely to deteriorate or be damaged,
• it would be harder to repair well, if indeed it's possible to repair this material at all (ABS plumbing is joined with solvent cements, so probably)
• the surface treatment might slightly weaken the material - no idea, not ruling it out.

[TriStateFans]

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 mouthpiece).