playing stand... your recommendations

[Nworbekim]

i guess i'm shorter now that i was in college, but i don't remember the 186 i played there being so tall as this one is... i need a stand, is there one with enough adjustment to allow playing both sitting AND standing?

[bloke]

If you are determined to use a stand as a way of solving a problem of the mouthpiece being higher than your mouth (rather than adjusting the width of your thighs or the angle of the instrument), you should probably shop for the one that adjusts down to the lowest height, yes?

[edfirth]

Why can't you just have the leadpipe moved? I'm long waisted and the leadpipes on most of the horns I've owned hit me somewhere around my adam's apple so I had them raise the pipe so that with the horn on my lap the leadpipe hits my chops at exactly the right height and angle. Just a thought. Ed

[Nworbekim]

If you are determined to use a stand as a way of solving a problem of the mouthpiece being higher than your mouth (rather than adjusting the width of your thighs or the angle of the instrument), you should probably shop for the one that adjusts down to the lowest height, yes?

I've just never liked holding the horns in my lap. I've looked at the different types but I guess I'm missing which have that much adjustments. I'm not sure there is one that will adjust for both standing and sitting...

[DonO.]

I’ve heard that the Wenger Tuba Tamer has enough adjustability for sitting or standing. It’s expensive, heavy, and a chore to carry around. Really made for top action valve horns. Instructions say won’t work for Miraphone or other rotary horns. But there have been reports of players who tweaked them so that they would work.

Of course there are also straps and harnesses for standing up play.

[bloke]

Does "setting that particular tuba on chair seats" (between the legs) lower the mouthpiece too much?
Would dense foam rubber (on a chair seat) micro-adjust the mouthpiece position?

[Three Valves]

I’ve heard that the Wenger Tuba Tamer has enough adjustability for sitting or standing. It’s expensive, heavy, and a chore to carry around. Really made for top action valve horns. Instructions say won’t work for Miraphone or other rotary horns. But there have been reports of players who tweaked them so that they would work.

Of course there are also straps and harnesses for standing up play.

This instead. It also has an extension for standing.

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/accesso ... nstruments

[Nworbekim]

I’ve heard that the Wenger Tuba Tamer has enough adjustability for sitting or standing. It’s expensive, heavy, and a chore to carry around. Really made for top action valve horns. Instructions say won’t work for Miraphone or other rotary horns. But there have been reports of players who tweaked them so that they would work.

Of course there are also straps and harnesses for standing up play.

This instead. It also has an extension for standing.

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/accesso ... nstruments

that would do it... it looks pretty heavy though and i'm an old worn out fellow that would be great for home though. i gess i better just look for the SIT DOWN kind...

[Stryk]

I own a Hurcules and a DEG. I prefer the DEG. It is not as "well made" as the robust Hercules, but is lighter and more compact. I just bought two of them for church, one for the rehearsal room and one for the sanctuary.

[bloke]

I've tried several different stands (never feeling as though I needed one, but in response to all of the online hubbub about them; when you buy tubas to fix up and flip, all sorts of junk/stuff ends up being included with them).

Regardless of the make/design, the bottom of the tuba never seems to be able to be a far back (close to me) as I wish it were, I always end up craning my neck, and I end up with sore neck muscles.

[Three Valves]

These playing stands may, MAY, prevent at least some, SOME carelessness among middle/high schoolers destroying tubas or extend the playing enjoyment of mature players.

If I had a BAT I’d get one.

[JRaymo]

I have the DEG one but it has broken. I had to use a radiator style clamp to keep it at the height I want. I think BBC used to have their own which was supposed to be really good. I don't know if they still sell them.

[kingrob76]

When I was a freshman in college in 1985 my teacher (Mike Bunn) used a short drum tripod and a top he had cobbled together out of a wood block, some kind of rod and some electrical tape (I'm sure there was more but that's what I saw). The first reason for this was posture, and later when he added a 10-20 pound weighted ring to the bell of his Alex it became a necessity. After a few years I purchased a DEG stand, which didn't last because I over tightened the collar since it kept slipping. The second DEG stand did the same thing in about the same amount of time. I took the top and stem to a local super-mega-music store and they went down in the basement and produced a drum tripod. It was very heavy and my god was it great - stable and sturdy with rubber feet so it wouldn't slip or slide. It was extremely overbuilt for the task and never failed me once. I still have it, but it's been relegated to a backup role due to its weight.

At some point in the mid to late 1990's Baltimore Brass came out with one that Dave Fedderly worked with a local machine shop to develop and manufacture. I still have it, and don't play without it - ever. It has a lifetime warranty, which I used once to get a rivet replaced. These are the gold standard IMO, but it appears BBC no longer sells them (I will be there tomorrow and will ask why this is the case). If you see one used, BUY IT. I just reminded myself to acquire a second as a "better" backup.

I'm a huge fan of playing stands for a lot of reasons, but the best one is I don't have to expend any energy or create any tension to hold my instrument at the ideal playing height for whatever random chair I end up sitting. Good posture allows me to maximize my vital capacity and being relaxed just works wonders for me.

[DonO.]

I don’t see a playing stand working for me personally or anyone else for that matter if your horn is a water collector. Sure, if all the water came out of the water keys completely and nicely like it should 100 percent of the time. But I am doing the King Dump all the time. A playing stand would make that a very clumsy process instead of a quick and easy one. And if you have one of those horns where you have to turn the horn upside down to get the water out. So not for me.

[Nworbekim]

I don’t see a playing stand working for me personally or anyone else for that matter if your horn is a water collector. Sure, if all the water came out of the water keys completely and nicely like it should 100 percent of the time. But I am doing the King Dump all the time. A playing stand would make that a very clumsy process instead of a quick and easy one. And if you have one of those horns where you have to turn the horn upside down to get the water out. So not for me.

i understand... i don't need one with my 2341... the 186 is taller. tension in my shoulders/neck is uncomfortable while playing.

[kingrob76]

My 1291 and my Wessex Chicago Presence were both water collectors - major water collectors, especially in 3 and 4. Even leaving it upright and pulling the bottom slides, those still collect water necessitating pulling the top slide and rotating roughly 180 degrees counter-clockwise from my perspective.



That hasn't gotten in the way once.

[DonO.]

Yes Rob, that kind would be OK. I was referring to the type like “The Hug” or the “Tuba Tamer” where you basically gave to clamp it in and the tuba doesn’t just rest on it, but is held by it. That’s the kind that wouldn’t work for me. The kind you use would be just fine if I felt I needed it. But for now the lap works.

[Stryk]

Just got my two new DEG stands yesterday - they are MUCH stronger than the old ones.

[bloke]

Just got my two new DEG stands yesterday - they are MUCH stronger than the old ones.

hmm...
I have an account with the wholesale music accessories/instruments company that bought DEG.
How much did you have to pay? (I'm sure you shopped around for the best price.)

bloke "I guess - when I find that I have time to fool with small stuff - I'll sell my K&M (which I loaned to a girls school for years, but now have it back) and (if I still have it...??) the goofy/complicated-ish one - that one sits on - which features a bunch of alternate stem positions."

[kingrob76]

Baltimore Brass told me today they have NOT stopped selling these.

They order the parts from scratch and then assemble them in the shop. However, the last parts order was “wrong” and yielded nothing useable in terms of actually producing them for sale.

Insert supply chain reference here, as well.

So these will return, TBD on date.