Tuba?

bradjonesbass · #1 07-06-2007, 12:36 PM

Anybody on here double on Tuba? I was a Tuba major in college, when I picked up bass guitar as a secondary instrument. Haven't touched a tuba in 15 years... I've thought about starting to play again and doing dirty dozen brass band type stuff, but they're so darn expensive I could buy 4 basses by the time I pay for one.

jady · #2 07-06-2007, 02:10 PM

I was a Euphonium major in college. Not many gigs for that little guy.........

Joe P · #3 07-06-2007, 03:03 PM

OH! ..Don't even get me started on THIS!

Those of us looking for killer growl and burp and bark in our bass tone are looking to sound like a TUBA! Tubas have SUCH killer tone to me.

I'd love to be able to play tuba! ..Or make my bass sound like one!

Joe

Alvaro Martín Gómez A. · #4 07-06-2007, 03:13 PM

Check this guy out:

http://www.myspace.com/kirkjoseph

rfclef · #5 07-06-2007, 04:41 PM

Tuba major, band teacher. I still play, though not enough... I am outta shape... I agree about the price... But keep an eye out on Craigslist and Ebay... I have seen great deals on CL... and if you know what you are looking for, Ebay can be good. A good, inexpensive new horn a lot of folks are buying as a cheap or second horn is some of the Jupiters. I had a student get one this year and for the price it is a great horn.

kevcooke · #6 07-06-2007, 05:34 PM

Tuba was my first instrument. Started at 8....stopped at 16. I played the Royal Albert Hall once. But then all the brass bands I played in got hell bent on contests, and playing/practising the same test piece for 6 months at a time just killed the passion for me.

I had a Besson Sovereign 981 in silver finish, recently sold it.

rfclef · #7 07-06-2007, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevcooke

Tuba was my first instrument. Started at 8....stopped at 16. I played the Royal Albert Hall once. But then all the brass bands I played in got hell bent on contests, and playing/practising the same test piece for 6 months at a time just killed the passion for me.

I had a Besson Sovereign 981 in silver finish, recently sold it.

My horn is a Besson Sovereign BBb (994, I believe). Big, heavy horn, but what a sound! If I had it to do over again, i would not get the 3 + 1 valve configuration, but I love the horn... Besson now has basically the same horn woth 4 front action valves, and if I had the $$ I would likely go that way, though I have not played one yet... I like Miraphones too, of course, but I love the sound my big Besson has...

Bard2dbone · #8 07-06-2007, 10:02 PM

I started on trumpet, but every school year they would hand me a larger horn so that by high school marching band I would be trapped under a sousaphone.

I'm sure a lot of brass playing big guys know the same story. They look at the trumpet player who is bigger than the others and think "Oh HE could carry one of those big suckers"

I had more fun with valve trombone in the school jazz band, but I played tuba, and whatever else I could get my hands on, all through school.

My sophomore year we had a new director and we were basically 'digging through the attic' of the band hall, clearing out the junk and partially mouse-eaten marching band uniforms. We found several old instruments up there that no one remembered belonging to the school. One of the 'found' instruments became my concert band tuba until I graduated. I got to play it because nobody else could lift it. It was immense and unwieldy, but MAN it sounded good.

It was the largest tuba I have ever seen. It was a Conn. And someone told me that model was called a 'recording bass'. I don't know about that But I do know it had four piston valves and a removable bell and weighed about eighty five pounds.