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Tuba Glove

Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 1:21 pm
by tbn.al
I have a quintet concert this weekend in which I have two exposed ff B naturals. 2 and 4 is of course sharp. 123 is still sharp after pulling 1 as far as I can. I wanted a 2nd kicker like Joe put on his Alex but I couldn't get it done in time. I came up with this inexpensive homemade solution that works so well that I may not install a kicker at all.

I had a right hand wrist brace glove that came from the drugstore for 12 bucks. I took the metal brace out and cut it off so that I could bend the wrist normally. I sewed a piece of velcro down on the glove at the end of the shortened metal brace keeping it in place.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p77/ ... Glove3.jpg


I attached the velcro to the pull ring on the 2nd valve slide and adjusted it so it was in it's normal position when my wrist was in a comfortable playing position.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p77/ ... Glove2.jpg

When I need a 2nd pull I just extend my wrist up and back.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p77/ ... Glove1.jpg

When the wrist goes back down the heel of my hand kicks the slide back where it belongs. The downside is that I have to wear this ugly thing while I play. I also have to reach around with my left hand to get to the spit valve. Spinning is out of the question. It will work for now. My B will be in tune.

Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 1:25 pm
by Tubaguy56
wow, brilliant.

When I had a note like that I just played 2/4 with different fingers and stuck my middle finger down into the second slide ring and pulled, but thats just me (it also requires having a ring....)

Re: Tuba Glove

Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 1:55 pm
by Mark
tbn.al wrote:I have a quintet concert this weekend in which I have two exposed ff B naturals. 2 and 4 is of course sharp.
What note are you tuning your 4th valve to? If you are tuning to the C above that B, is the B really that sharp?

Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 2:02 pm
by Søren
Excellent!!

Re: Tuba Glove

Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 2:50 pm
by tbn.al
[quote="Mark]What note are you tuning your 4th valve to? If you are tuning to the C above that B, is the B really that sharp?[/quote]
I keep 2 out about a half an inch all the time and the B takes another inch of pull to really lock in. If it wasn't so loud I could lip it down even though I dislike that approach. At ff any lipping really distorts the sound and cheats my air on the phrase. It happens pretty quick too. Dotted eighth B in the staff, sixteenth A down a step, then 6 beats of B below the staff at ff. I wind up in octaves with the trombone and timpani. If the organ was doubling my octave I could just hide, but he has all this spaghetti going on and is no help at all. It's going to work just fine and I only have to wear it for the one piece.

Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 7:45 pm
by iiipopes
If the glove fits, you mustn't quit!

Re: Tuba Glove

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 7:16 am
by tbn.al
[quote="the elephant]Hey! That was me, not Joe! Now I'm gonna hafta cry . . . WAHHHH!

[/quote]

OOPS! PUBLIC APOLOGY! I just went from memory in a hurry. I was really thinking Wade but wrote Joe. NOT! Sorry, but I really do want one like you designed. With yours I could still use my right hand for all the other stuff like water keys, and spinning, and turning pages, etc. This will do for this one time though.

Posted: Wed Apr 18, 2007 12:03 am
by Dan Schultz
I just added a 'kicker' to the 2nd slide on a Mirafone 186. Pictures are here:

http://thevillagetinker.com/projects.htm

Posted: Wed Apr 18, 2007 8:31 am
by tbn.al
TubaTinker wrote:I just added a 'kicker' to the 2nd slide on a Mirafone 186. Pictures are here:

http://thevillagetinker.com/projects.htm
That is a neat job! I wish I didn't have to send the whole horn to you to get one put on. The glove works in a pinch, but it is not the long term answer. Of course I may not have another desperate call for it's use for a while. I think I can get a local guy to fabricate a ring like Wade made. He's not into that kind of work, but if things get slow maybe he'll do it for me.