Small player?

[Leland]

I'll second.. or third.. or sixth!.. the nomination for a tuba stand. I don't usually have problems, but after seeing the problems that short players have, I'd expect that a stand would be great. Either that, or get the leadpipe position changed.

Also, about piston tubas & small hands --

Look at getting extensions put on the buttons. I knew a professor who had some cut from a guitar pickguard for his Besson Eb, and apparently they worked just fine.

[MaryAnn]

Look at getting extensions put on the buttons. I knew a professor who had some cut from a guitar pickguard for his Besson Eb, and apparently they worked just fine.

What worries me about this is that if you consistently play pistons by hitting them off-center, you wear them out and they start to stick.

MA

[MaryAnn]

As for MaryAnn's comment about finger stretching, have the thumbring moved closer to the valve cluster. That's for front action horns. I don't have the problem of short fingers and arms with a 35 inch sleeve length. And I'm olny 5'10!

hmm, talk about simian!! woo hoo.
I appreciate the idea of moving the thumb ring, but that's not the problem. If I spread my fingers as far as they will go, from the middle of my index finger to the middle of my pinky is 4-3/4 inches. That's a "full stretch," not comfortable for long playing time. In order to be comfortable, four valves would have to fit into about a 3-inch spread for them to work for me. You just don't find that on tubas.

MA, whose Bfriend calls her an Eloy (from the old Asimov story)

[Ames0325]

Thank you all for the info. I have ordered a DEG stand.
Amy

[Tom Holtz]

Chris Tiedeman, who joined the Marine Band a little over a year ago, stands about 6' 5". He uses a tuba stand regularly. If it works for the big guy, it'll work for the little guys.

[Lars Trawen]

Seeing that most people recommend the use of a tuba stand, DEG or K&M, I can't hear anybody speaking for the Tubassist. It's also a tuba rest however not placed on the floor but on the chair seat. Since neither DEG or K&M worked for me because it has to be placed beyond the seat I finally found the Tubassist on the net. I have used it now for some years for my kaisertuba (MW200) and bring it to all gigs. It's easily adjustable for all heights and tuba sizes.
Check out the link http://www.tubassist.com/
For me it was the best solution.
Lars

[MaryAnn]

(My pants inseam is 28-30" on a good day) Doc

heh. Well if your waist measurement is anything near mine, we could trade pants. somehow I doubt that aspect of it though. I bet you've got a good seven liters of lung capacity with that torso.


MA