RIP. His mouthpieces fundamentally changed brass banding in the UK. I played a Wick 1 when I had my Besson New Standard BBb 3-valve comp tuba. I have a 4BW and 4W for the rare occasion I play my Globe Stamp Sovereign 921 cornet in a brass band. I have an Ultra 6 in the mid-sized shank for my B&H 3 ...

[Sigh!] The subject of this thread pops up every few years. Nothing has changed because, except for Alison and Resilience, there really have been no new valve oil manufacturers in the last few years. You will get posts from everybody who uses everything from Blue Juice to bloke purchasing lamp oil ...

Ok, so far the choice seem to be either a Denis Wick 3L or a JK Exclusive 6. For those who know the JK, how would you describe the difference between the standard and the classic? And should I aim for a 6B or 6C? For me, the Classic has a little bit smoother tone than the Executive and slots and ...

If you'd like to drop a bit more cash down the road, the Sellmansberger Imperial with the "£" shank might be an option. What diameter is that? As I read it, the existing mouthpiece that fits, is a little over .530, which is supposedly "European" shank. OK. Let's clear up the nomenclature. On the ...

Two mouthpieces that are routinely recommended for Eb are either a Bach 24AW or a Wick 3. I now play a K&G. Their #5F is similar to both the Wick 3L and the Bach 24AW. I play their 3F on my BBb, and it is the best mouthpiece I have ever played in five decades of playing tuba/sousaphone, and playing ...

Oh, and in case anybody thinks I am totally off my rocker, I studied Hindu/Tibetan history, culture, and philosophy in high school, and developed my ability to cognitively dream, out of necessity of getting everything done, from their philosophy and practices. Please read the following link starting ...

Re bloke's bell: please be careful with the lead, whatever you do about it. Re Norm's bell: there may be a rationale. Remember that some cymbals, especially pairs of hi-hats, have purposeful holes that modify the tone, especially when a high-hat is closed, to address "choking," and other reasons ...

When I get deeply into the "head-scratching" part of a project, trying to sort out a solution that will not require me to re-do it several times (like with my Kurath's 6th valve linkage solution) I have two ways to work it out. One is simply sleep. I obsessively work stuff out in my mind as I drift ...

In addition to the valve caps, look at the design of the nickel ferrules, the dog leg from the valve block to the main tuning slide, the general wrap and other aesthetics. They are all consistent with Miraphone. You can look up my threads on my "Bessophone," where I also changed out the bell on the ...

But, wait: there's more!
Thanks again.

Thanks!

Ahhhh. I haven't heard the instrument referred to as a bullfiddle for quite a number of years. Thanks.

Ah, yes! My favorite. To add to the above: G & D fingered 1+2 on other tubas is fingered 3 alone on these tubas, because 3 is not pulled to get 2+3 and 1+3 better in tune. That's what the comp loops do. On the tuba I used to own: 1) the aforementioned Eb was in tune; and 2) it had a dent in a valve ...

Having played both at one point somewhere along the line of decades, for the BBb tubas, I concur: the outer branches are the same, with one caveat: there may be differences where the collar and tenon are in order to accommodate the forward detachable recording bell.

Conn has nothing on the OP's picture!

bloke wrote: ↑Thu Jan 09, 2025 2:51 pm It's okay for you to think that.

Think? Please respect my 49+ years of playing experience from which my observations and conclusions are derived.

Schlitzz wrote: ↑Thu Jan 09, 2025 2:51 pm Yeah, a saxophone doubler’s tuba. Just put air through the instrument, and PRESS a button. Probably a Kenny G artist model from Schiller.

Indeed. Especially since a sax player can pretend the music is treble clef, adjust accidentals, and go.

10) Another not mentioned: when Peter Hirsbrunner, Sr. ran the company, he developed a 3-valve rotor compensating system after analyzing the Blaikley 3-valve compensating system. Reports are good, but oh, are these instruments extremely expensive, costing two to three times as much as a ...

It might be interesting to collect all of the different ways you could make a parts horn fully chromatic and how much work each method would be based on the different valve sets you have at your disposal. 3-valve piston sets, 4-valve piston sets, 3v compensating sets, 2 piston valves (from a G ...

Traditional magnetic pickups are far less likely to feed back, don't require being pre-amped, and can be secured across the sound hole, yet (previous post) don't seem to be preferred...Well (unlike what many solid-body electric guitar players believe about about ash vs. maple, vs. whatever...and ...