Art Hovey wrote:
At festivals people like to see a big sousaphone
Now we're getting to what matters. Tubas pretty much all work and sound like tubas, you want a tuba that looks right.
Picking what horn I use based on looks is absolutely dead last on my list of priorities. In an un-miked festival setting you can blow your brains out on what ever upright you chose and nobody but the guys in the band are going to hear you. I've seen lots of guys who only owned one upright doing outside gigs playing for all their worth and they simply can't be heard. Even in miked settings I want to be able to move about on stage. Nothing more boring than everybody else in the band moving on stage and the tuba player sitting in his old man chair like a big sack of potatoes. And strapped on tubas I find uncomfortable. I personally have used all kinds of tubas in traditional jazz bands etc. (including a big upright BBb Besson comp when it was the only horn I had) but nothing beats a big old BBb Sousaphone or Helicon for ease of use, sound output and type of sound. They just make it a whole lot easier to get the job done. You can dig a house foundation with a shovel or a backhoe - personally I'd use a backhoe for ease of getting the job done right.
when it was the only horn I had) but nothing beats a big old BBb Sousaphone or Helicon for ease of use, sound output and type of sound. They just make it a whole lot easier to get the job done. You can dig a house foundation with a shovel or a backhoe - personally I'd use a backhoe for ease of getting the job done right.