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So, I have a 6 valve one of a kind Norwegian Star. I’m nothing more than a good amateur player playing in a brass band. No one in my band notices it. But fundraising playing Christmas Carols in the local shopping centre there was a particularly excited person watching. She waited until we breaked and came up to us and asked about the tuba, was wowed by the fact it was a 6 valve Eb tuba, said she was a tuba player and then my band mates expressed a bit of mirth that someone was interested in what I play but the band mates still showed no interest in my tuba equipment.

Anyway, is it just other tuba players who notice what we use?

Yes...
In the best case someone will notice if the colour is different...

There are even tuba players out there that are not interested in what equipment they or others use, go figure

At a university concert band I play in (as an alumni) one of the euphonium players asked about the equipment I was playing that night. He said:

“Is that a different mouthpiece?”

It was a different mouthpiece with a silver rim rather than the gold rimmed one I used at the previous rehearsal.

What he didn’t mention: I was playing a raw brass 6/4 based on Martin Mammoth bows and a Holton 340/345 bell whereas I had a 4/4 silver York 712 at the last rehearsal.



So no, most people won’t notice nor particularly care. To be fair, would you notice if a bassoon player showed up with a different bassoon? Or flute player switched flutes?

You can be sure that if a trumpet player shows up with a Schilke as opposed to a Bach, the other trumpet nerds will notice right away (bottom valve caps are the easy tell).

Trombone players nerd out when someone shows up with a different wrap or valve on their horn.

Horn players usually geek out over Geyer/Kruspe or if someone shows up with a triple or whatever.

I have no idea what euphonium players geek out over. Of course, I still think that old comic book on brass players, “Les Brass”, is still on point regarding euph players.

Not many people care about the specifics of what you are playing. They just don't.

matt g wrote: ↑Mon Dec 12, 2022 6:49 amOf course, I still think that old comic book on brass players, “Les Brass”, is still on point regarding euph players.

And tuba players…

You should have said "hi" to @Mary Ann

- old retired guys that used to play tuba
- other tuba players, but a lot of times I suspect they decide to leave us alone. ( if I rarely stumble across somebody else playing a tuba somewhere, I try not to bother them. I figure they're busy... I've stepped into old-manhood, but I'm not retired.)
- a few people who see an unusual looking tuba, and ask what type of instrument that is. Actually, my Miraphone 98 is just unusual enough in appearance - so as I've already had a few people ask me questions about it as to what type of instrument it is.
================

old retired guys in general:
A couple of things that I've learned from them is to try to not talk too much >> in person << about one's self. I do it a good bit here, but no one here has to stop what they're doing in real time and read any of this crap (about which no one should care) that I post.
I've had old retired guys start talking to me just so they can impress me with how important they used to be in the tuba or music world, and I have to feign interest and feign being impressed until they decide to stop talking.
In the meantime, I'm thinking about my car, that cup of coffee two miles away at the convenience store, getting home, stripping down to underwear, and climbing into the bed.
>> An exception to this was recently when I was playing in a retirement home, and some old guy started telling us about his experiences quite a few decades ago in the Philadelphia Boys Choir. I found those reminiscences to be fascinating, and - further - the purpose of us being there was to reach out to some people who don't get to see different people very often. I feel like we're supposed to not just play music for them, but to interact with them afterwards.

In another thread and another forum, I posted about an old man bass trombone player who was a last-minute substitute on a gig. He's been busy trying to impress the other trombone player and me about his attendance at a prestigious University, studying with prestigious teachers, having his horn fixed by prestigious horn fixers, and so on. In the meantime, he's neither reading or playing with any competency through any of the charts that certainly not the ones that have anything other than half notes and quarter notes, and anytime there's anything other than a bass line, his ear is not telling him where the harmony notes are that he's supposed to be playing. (On one chart, I had to actually give him three different measure cues in attempts to help him to find his place. Once he finally figured out where he was, it would have actually been better had he just set his horn down.)

bloke "...off on a tangent (as is my tendency). I was really glad to get that job and pleased to play it, but some things are really-really distracting (annoying?)."

I recently participated in TubaChristmas. It had been a long time since I’d been around other tuba players, and I was super geeking out on what everyone else was playing. Some of the more unusual sightings were an old helicon and several players with Mighty Midgets. One fellow had a SUPER handsome B and S silver plated CC 4+1 (Perantucci? Not sure). There were also an assortment of Miraphones, Yamahas, and Conns. One fellow had a King 2341 just like mine. One thing that seemed obvious was, with only a few exceptions, most of the horns were dented up messes. I mean, some of them didn’t have a single square inch that didn’t have a dent. The reason I suppose is that some people have a special TubaChristmas horn and leave their good one at home. That way, with all the tuba players packed so tightly together, if you have a collision with someone else, who cares? Unfortunately I have only one tuba, and I was scared to death of getting my first dent. Fortunately, I was able to position myself advantageously and the King remains dent free!

I believe most people and even most fellow musicians and conductors don’t know one tuba from another. Specifically, fellow musicians and conductors couldn’t possibly care less what key it’s in, what the bore is, how many valves it has, or what name is engraved on the bell. All they care about is if you sound good or sound bad. All that other stuff is the obsession of only other tubists.

Hey guys & gals...
I had written and submitted a reply to this thread. My cat was sleeping right next to the keyboard and shifted a little, laying on some of the keyboard just as I hit the submit button. I don't know what happened or where the post actually went. It wasn't too long, but I just don't feel like retyping the whole thing. SO.... if it shows up somewhere else..... my apologies. If you happen to find it, let me know.

My cat probably needs to do that with about 7/8ths of my posts.

Three Valves wrote: ↑Mon Dec 12, 2022 8:28 am You should have said "hi" to @Mary Ann

I would have done that, but it wasn't me.

Ricardo wrote: ↑Mon Dec 12, 2022 5:07 am So, I have a 6 valve one of a kind Norwegian Star. I’m nothing more than a good amateur player playing in a brass band. No one in my band notices it. But fundraising playing Christmas Carols in the local shopping centre there was a particularly excited person watching. She waited until we breaked and came up to us and asked about the tuba, was wowed by the fact it was a 6 valve Eb tuba, said she was a tuba player and then my band mates expressed a bit of mirth that someone was interested in what I play but the band mates still showed no interest in my tuba equipment.

Anyway, is it just other tuba players who notice what we use?

Very recognizable. My experience is that an actual interest in the Tuba comes mostly from other Tuba players. Noticing that you play on “another” Tuba comes sometimes also from other musicians, but only a few.

Most just don’t notice (or care) what you play…but may care how you sound

I had mixed experiences last weekend with the audience.
Someone came over to me and complimented me on my sound. Not specifically interested in the Tuba. Turned out to be a euphonium player.
Another one came to me an complimented that my Tuba sounded so nice. He was interested in the Tuba. Turned out to be a Tuba player.

It only rarely happens that someone takes interest in the instrument…but I still liked the compliment of the euphonium player better…

Ricardo wrote: ↑Mon Dec 12, 2022 5:07 amAnyway, is it just other tuba players who notice what we use?

Yes. Anecdote: many years ago, when I joined a particular university sponsored community band, I actually asked the conductor (decades of experience) and assistant conductor (low brass emphasis) if they preferred the tone from one or the other of two mouthpieces I had at the time. After a couple of minutes, they confessed they could hear no difference and said whichever I preferred was fine.

We know. We care. That's as good as it gets.

Members in an equipment-related community of interest have a more than passing knowledge and appreciation of the equipment. Those outside of the community -- not so much. See bikes, cameras, knives, etc.

I've had some conductors notice the difference in sound when I use a different tuba.

After switching from a Gnagey CC to a 1-piece King recording bass in our community band, I was talking to a trombone player, whom I've known for years and who sits three chairs away from me, about how I appreciate being heard better with the recording bell. He asked, without a trace of sarcasm, "Oh, are you playing a different horn?"

Shorter: Nobody notices or cares what horn you play except (maybe) other tuba players.

When I see someone using a make and model that is known by me to be difficult to play - and they are doing quite well - I am understandably duly impressed.

I play in a moderately busy brass quintet where the leader, when introducing the individual members to the audience, as a “point of interest” routinely mentions that the horn I’m playing on at that given moment has been self-constructed - in effect, broadcasting what equipment I’m playing on, and that there is a unique “talent” involved with my performance on it, and therefore could theoretically appeal to non-musicians who create things with their hands.

The usual response:

I must admit it did give me a bit of a thrill to have someone appreciate it! Afterwards I took another break, put the tuba down and from a distance thought to myself it is a fine looking tuba -sparkling gold brass and 6 valves.

Musically though, I was more excited as the people who turned up to play were all good amateurs (with a couple of semi pro’s) so we played well together. Most importantly quite well in tune! After getting some tips on how to learn to play in tune from a pro player and reading Bloke’s emphasis on intonation I do place it at the top of my priorities now.