Piggy thoughts, 6 months in

[arpthark]

I got an 80s Cerveny Piggy CC as a part of a 1,000 mile round-trip, 3-tuba-trade experience back in March. Here are some random thoughts:

- Hey, this thing has pretty good intonation. Open series is pretty good. Some alternates are required but nothing mind-bending. Biggest stumbling block for me is remembering to play D in the staff 1-3. Don't even really need to adjust the 1st slide that much. The 2nd valve slide kicker takes care of 2-3 discrepancies and helps with 2-4.

- 4 valves with a 2nd slide kicker is totally doable, but after 17 years of playing 5-valve CC tubas, I occasionally get "phantom thumb" syndrome. Long term project = add a 5th. I'll probably do that and install the new nickel-silver lead pipe I got from Cerveny at the same time (a few dots of red rot lurking about). Trying to rustle up some spare parts for that project (any trashed St. Petes with good rotors you want to get rid of?). 1-2-4 low F is right on the money.

- I think this tuba sounds pretty good, but at higher volumes it can get a little barky. I have tamed that by using a deeper mouthpiece -- Sellmansberger Orch. Grand with a cup extender works fantastic. I vacillate between that and a Symphony with cup extender.

- Physically, with the larger bore, it takes more work and more air to play than my erstwhile Eastman 832, but I think the payoff in character of sound is worth it. The ceiling is higher for louder dynamics, too. I never feel like I am overblowing the Piggy.

Overall, really cool instrument, worth the trip and hotel room and miles spent languishing in traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike. I liked my old 832, but I never really quite felt like it sounded like I wanted. The Piggy and especially the Alex 163 I picked up recently are much closer to attaining the sound I have in my head.

Obligatory Pigture:

[Three Valves]

“Pigture”

The erector set kicker set up.

[the elephant]

I remember that kicker being designed and built in a thread here (or TN years ago?).

[LeMark]

I had one on mine that I made out of miraphone parts except for the spatula that I shaped and bent to look like an oversized cerveny spatula. It was very handy.

The reason I never put a MTS rod on that horn was because the tuning slide was already out 75% of the way, so it wouldn't have helped with 2-4

[Eutubabone54]

Hi,
I'm the one who made the kicker. Got the parts from a hardware store. Cost $40-60. Cheaper than $1500 from a professional repair guy, works just as good, but not as pretty, of course. As one famous and well known repair guy said to me after seeing it in action at a Army tuba conference recently, " that looks like American ingenuity for ya". Ya, for sure, who cares what it looks like as long as it functions like it should.
Brent

[Eutubabone54]

Hey,
BTW, that 190 mira Bb is very good. Thanks Blake! Glad you like the Piggy! Maybe when I'm older in my 80's ( 70's now) I may trade to a smaller Bb or nice F tuba. Who knows? Groups I'm playing in now love the Mira 190! Brent

[Eutubabone54]

On this set-up, no soldering is needed. You have to make the second valve slide move like a trombone slide, however. Then the spring I installed ( see picture) will be sufficient to return the 2nd valve slide to the original position.

[Eutubabone54]

If you do not have the ring on the end of the 2nd vale slide, this design will notbwork for your tuba

[Eutubabone54]

Vale= valve. Fat finger, arthritis syndrome at work here.

[LeMark]

here's the setup i put on mine.