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[WC8KCY]

In my formative years, every bass horn player I encountered--including professionals and my college professor--set their tubas on the bell. I've always done same, and haven't given it a second thought. My Schiller tuba is a bit tippy though, so it gets parked braced against a chair.

I've often wondered what players with recording basses do. If there isn't a corner nearby to tuck it into upright, and you don't have a stand, what can you do besides laying it down somewhere where it could be stepped on or tripped over?

My main gig once had a bass saxophonist, and he did not own a stand. I cringed every time I saw his beautiful axe lying on the floor.

[The Brute Squad]

Nothing wrong with putting your horn on the bell. Worried about it tipping over? Simple solution: place it against something solid, like a wall!

[bloke]

I've often wondered what players with recording basses do. If there isn't a corner nearby to tuck it into upright, and you don't have a stand, what can you do besides laying it down somewhere where it could be stepped on or tripped over?

I rest mine on the the rim and on that solid bead that runs down the upper bow.

I stick it "back there" - next to the drummer's throne, before leaving the bandstand or band area.

[Yorkboy]

When playing bell-front, I use a KM stand. Usually I’ll be also playing bass saxophone, and the stand makes it easier to switch back and forth while playing and uses up less space on the bandstand.

Otherwise, upright bell horns rest on its bell propped up against a wall or a chair. On breaks I will arrange surrounding by chairs (whenever possible) in such a way that folks would have to move the chairs to get near it.

My main gig once had a bass saxophonist, and he did not own a stand. I cringed every time I saw his beautiful axe lying on the floor.

When I was a younger man I played my bass sax using a harness, but even then I would put it in a stand (homemade) while not playing. Some time ago I found a vintage Hamilton bass sax stand, and now it stays in the stand for the duration.

FWIW, side-action works better for this set-up than top, and sousaphone is the least convenient of all….

[bloke]

Thanks to the (known by many) generosity of one of the subscribers here, I've recently come into the possession of this (of which the vintage matches that of the instrument).

I haven't yet used it on a job, but sitting down there and "hitting it" (bar 1 of the next chorus) is surprisingly easy/quick, and might be a great option for those polka band jobs whereby I'm mostly standing, playing various 9-foot brass (along with a bit of trumpet)...since the accordion can carry the bass...but also (a good bit) play those bass lines which are strongly associated with particular tunes.



The fact that the resonance of the instrument is also not dampened by contact with my body is also a huge plus.

[Dents Be Gone!]

I agree, guys. This is the way to go.

[bloke]

' sorry...

Being a pansy/weenie, I NEED that E-flat - because I'm not man enough to play a B-flat for two or three sets.

[bone-a-phone]

I asked AI to design a tuba that could be balanced on its bell such that the center of gravity was directly over the center of the bell. I have to say I think all human discourse is dead. We can just talk to AI and get even more imaginatively wrong answers. Seriously, which end would you blow in?

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[humBell]

Now i wanna play a tuba whose design is inspired by the Voyager series of space probes...

I imagine that one of the arms will be a trombone slide, and there is some complex relationship between what note i play and how fast i spin.

(yes yes... this belongs in the bad ideas thread. Along with my sputnik related busking idea.)

[acemorgan]

I have always heard that setting a tuba or euphonium with vertically positioned valves (top banger) on it's bell will allow dirt, grime and fluids, to make their way to the top (guide area/felts/top caps) of the valves when upside down. Briefly, at rehearsal likely not an issue. Longer term, unplayed, whatever, in that position, might be.

This is my main concern. I have a pretty decent case for my euphonium; it has feet on the bell end if I chose to stand it up that way. But I never do it because of the threat of goo seepage into the pistons. This is a valid issue, right?

[bloke]

It's probably valid, if an instrument needs cleaning.

[iiipopes]

I don't mean this as an insult at all, but I'm just being really practical here - due to a different corporate behavior and attitude:

When I might be rehearsing with a community band - and the rehearsal is over, I grab my instrument very quickly, immediately carry it to the side of the room, and put it in the hard case. Perhaps a decade or so ago, I was hired to sub in a community band, the rehearsal ended, one of the trombonists was welcoming me, several people were literally running with chairs and stands to get them put away, and one stand was knocked over which missed my instrument by angstroms. Lesson learned. (ie. Community bands tend to rehearse only once weekly in spaces that are not controlled by them, are required to completely strike the rehearsal space for each rehearsal, do it themselves, and those who undo it afterwards are very eager to finish that job quickly and leave...ok: particularly in Memphis, as being a straggler in a parking lot at night is really risky.)

Finally, there are quite a few orchestra concerts where I'm only playing the tuba (probably 2/3 of them), and it stays in my lap the entire time - during rehearsals and concerts.

One thing that makes me chuckle just a little bit is that I know good and well that some people who view it as taboo to set their tubas on their bells are some of the very same who carry their tubas around in padded sacks, rather than hard cases. Further, they put those padded sacks on their backs and rely on a pair of nylon straps (5, 10, or even 30-year-old nylon straps - holding up 30 lbs. of weight) to prevent otherwise disasterous situations.

Indeed. I do exactly that, with my tuba in its hard case. I learned that the hard way years ago when I (foolishly?) loaned my prior tuba, which had a gig bag, to a friend who is a retired band director, etc. It came back with a stuck valve as a result of what could only have been a blow to the tuba. Unintentional, yes, but surely a blow nonetheless. Fortunately, an opposite blow (imparted in frustration) freed the stuck rotary valve.

[Tubajug]

What does the “s r” stand for on that tuba?

Super Rare