Like many primarily trombone-playing "low brass" professors, he could play "at" the tuba (when hired by his university) but has diligently striven to become an actually-competent tuba player.
I steer such friends - who decide to seriously "take on" the tuba (first) to compensating E-flat tubas (because of the quick-start "tenor clef" trick, AND the fact that the 4th valve and compensating system relate SO MUCH to a trombone's F-attachment and adjusted slide positions)...
...but (eventually) such folk should really master the contrabass tuba (because that's what their STUDENTS all play, and - well - because full-size contrabass playing is about twice as difficult to master as "cheater" compensating E-flat tuba playing).
(Again) he asked me what to buy - sending me some disastrously bad choices (links), and I recommended picking up a four-valve King.
He picked up more than one of them, and - now - has both types of bells.
He's been up here several times (to visit, and/or as an overnight stop towards a next-day's common-to-both-of-us gig, and - often - to have one of his several instruments - mostly: high-end trombones - fixed). This is one of those instruments to which I did a "wow, this-sure-is-beat-up,-but-let-me-see-how-much-I-can-do-in-the-two-hours-we-have-before-we-need-to-go-to-sleep,-because-we-both-have-a-rehearsal-tomorrow-morning-up-I-40-halfway-to-Nashville" hurry-up all-over dent removal job.
When finished with jobs such as this (particularly when really tired, and needing sleep) I don't step back and "admire" them...I just turn out the lights in my shop, and go back into the house...
...and I sorta forgot (and actually didn't realize) that this thing actually turned out sorta "nice"...
...and it would have actually cosmetically "popped", had I buffed across those worn areas, and hit it with some gold-tinted rattle-can lacquer.
