Military musicians, do you play your own tuba or gov. horn?

[greatk82]

All Army Musicians are provided with "Professional" Quality Instruments. For the average band, that entails a mandatory 4 BBb Tuba and 5 Sousaphones and an option for an F, CC, or Eb. The 4th Infantry Division Band at Fort Hood currently has three HB1 BBb's, a B & M BBb and one HB 21 CC(we are spoiled.) We were fortunate to have a nice budget after our third deployment. We have also been granted funding for a new Norwegian Star for our Tuba-Euphonium Quartet for the Middle East Tour 2007-2009.
At local gigs, we have the option of using our own horns, but it is GREATLY DISCOURAGED. For deployments, we were forbidden from doing so as any damage done will not be fixed at Government Expense.
From my understanding, most bands have Miraphone 186s or 1291s. Conn Sousaphones are often found as well.
As far as trombones, we have Edwards and Shires, I believe, and two Wilson 2950 Euphers. It all depends on where you go.
Hope this helped and made sense. It's another percocet night. Only 16 days left in the Army for me...Bob, want to replace me?

[ai698]

I've been in my National Guard band for over 4 1/2 years and still waiting for my unit to get me a "Professional Quality Instrument". All we have is older 186 BBb's that are barely in playing condition. I play a CC and rarely play BBb's. Still waiting...

BTW. I'll go to the sandbox!

[ASTuba]

Congrats on getting out of the army alive, what are your future plans???

[pwhitaker]

When I was in the Maine National Guard Band 1979-1990 I had my choice of a Besson Sovereign compensationg 4v BBb or 4v King BBb with recording bell. We also marched with King plastic sousas which were easy on the back but hard on the chops.

... Bob1062 - please check your PM's.

[greatk82]

Congrats on getting out of the army alive, what are your future plans???

Looking forward to a 80%-100% VA Disability Rating. My wife is now a Police Officer here in Killeen, so I am going to take care of the house and children.
I will also stalk tubenet fanatically, wear only tubenet thongs and carve miniature Bloke bobble-head dolls out of cheese.

[KevinMadden]

Last year I had the pleasure of performing alongside the members of the Army's West Point band. Great bunch of guys, but that a different topic. pertaining to this topic they all had GI pt-6's

[greatk82]

Only 16 days left in the Army for me...Bob, want to replace me?

For 16 days? How much? Pay is good.

Only if they'll get me a Bb 1291!



How about "portable instruments" like clarinets, flutes, trumpets,....?

1. Starts around $2k a month with housing paid. More if you go to Iraq.
2.Get to a band and request it.
3. Everyone gets a horn provided. Off the top of my head, it's 2 piccolos, 4 flutes, 8 wooden and 8 plastic(greenline) clarinets, 4 alto saxes, 3 tenors, 2 sops and 2 baris, 2 oboes, 2 bassons, 8 trumpets, 6 flugels, 5 F horns, 5 Alto Horns, 8 Bones, 3 Euphs, 4 Tubas(Bass, BBb with Recording Bell and Two Piece Case in Army Words) and 5 Sousaphones are all required. There is also a butt load(official Army term) of percussion instruments.
Honestly, I would think about it. Alot of postive things can come out of a 3 Year Enlistment. I had a bad run with my injuries, back to back deployments and the Worst Battalion Commander in History and would still reccomend it.

[greatk82]

I've been in my National Guard band for over 4 1/2 years and still waiting for my unit to get me a "Professional Quality Instrument". All we have is older 186 BBb's that are barely in playing condition. I play a CC and rarely play BBb's. Still waiting...

BTW. I'll go to the sandbox!

Come to 4 ID. CQ number is 254-618-8839.
As far as your horns, pull serial numbers and find manufacture dates. Take proof of said date and find the replacement cycle. I beleive tubas are required by regulation to be replaced every 8 years or so. Contact the DC bands or other active duty bands and see what is available for Lateral Transfer.

[drewfus]

At the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, the 9th Army Band tubists stationed here have shown up with 191's that are Army property.

Most of the low brass guys in the military I have talked to do own quite a few horns of their own.

[scouterbill]

My son is in the North Carolina National Guard Band. He was provided with Miraphone 186. A couple years ago they replaced them with King 2341. I believe they allow individuals to use their own horns if they choose ( I may be wrong). As far as shipping the horns, the soldiers load them on the truck themselves and drive the truck to the destination. They probably handle them with greater care than you average baggage handler.

[jonesbrass]

Bob, when I was in the 76th Army Band (Wiesbaden, Germany 1993-1996), we had 4 Miraphone 186 BBb's. Our marching horns were a matched set of 3-valve satin-silver Kings. We also had anvil cases for all the horns, and those horns travelled A LOT.
Most of us own our own horns, many of us owned more than one. Like someone else mentioned, if you take your own horn to a gig and it gets damaged, it's on you. So its not necessarily a good idea to bring your own personal tuba to gigs. Things can get a bit rough. About the only time I used my personal horns was in a more "controlled" environment, like BQ or T-EQ gigs.
Here at Fort MacPherson, they have PT-6Ps, a gigantic Rudy 5V, and a Miraphone F. They might have a few more, I'm sure, but I haven't seen them around the bandhall.

[The Big Ben]

There is also a butt load(official Army term) of percussion instruments.

ObSpelling correction: Buttload is one word. Officially speaking, a buttload is equal to the number of doughnuts eaten in one week by the LA Police Department.

HTH

Jeff "Your faithful pendant" Benedict

[Jack Tilbury]

I don’t know how it works elsewhere, but during my 33 years in the D.C. Army Band what instruments we were able to get depended a lot on who was approving the purchases. For several years woodwind players were the NCOs who ran the Concert Band. As tuba section leader I tried for several years to get a Yorkbrunner for us and would just get laughed at when I would put in the request. Now, the band has two of those things as well as quite a few 4/4 HB, PT-6, and at least a couple of F tubas (Sean would have a better idea as to what everyone is using now). This is a direct result of a couple of tuba players who finally got themselves (for better or worse) into the upper leadership of the unit.

[greatk82]

When I lived in the barracks, I just kept it at the band hall. While deployed, I put it in Army Storage with all my other household goods. It came back in perfect condition.

[jonesbrass]

Thanks guys!

So if you have your own horn but don't use it (for whatever reason), what do you do with it? Store it til you get out? Sell it til you get out and buy another one?

If you plan on gigging outside in your few off-duty hours, you are not permitted to use a government horn on the gig. That's using public property for private gain, and it's a big ethical no-no. Hence, we also own our own. I would use mine at rehearsals sometimes, or for general practice around the bandhall, so most of the time mine lived at the bandhall, unless I had an "outside" gig.

Another thing: in the "regular" army bands, more than likely they don't have CCs, EEbs or Fs sitting around the bandhall (some bands do have a CC or two, but anything else is RARE). If you like playing other-keyed instruments, the only way to do it is to provide your own.

[LoyalTubist]

During my military career (seven years--1979-86), at the School of Music I was issued an old (but nice) King sousaphone and a Conn 4-J CC tuba. At the time, one of the two tuba teachers was playing with three of the local symphony orchestras.

With his and the School Commendant's permission, I got to spend many of the evenings during my time at the school playing with those symphony orchestras. Since that time, those orchestras have all merged to be one full-time group and, since he was at the end of his term of enlistment, chose to go with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra.

For the time I was at the school, my own personal tuba stayed at my parents' house.

My first band was the 298th Army Band and we used a matched set of King white fiberglass sousaphones. For all the complaints I have heard about white fiberglass, I couldn't really tell much difference. We were all better than average players.

Since our barracks and the band hall were the same building, our rooms where we slept were also our practice rooms. The walls were quite thin. You could hear everything that happened next door. Anyway, the tuba players had a game called "Sousaphone or Upright?" You would play something you were working on either tuba (we kept the horns in our room, too). Then you would ask which tuba you were using. Even tuba players couldn't always tell the difference. My Army issued tuba in Berlin, Germany, was an Alexander BBb. My personal tuba was a Mirafone 186-5U, CC.

I played for a time in between enlistments (there was a few months I couldn't decide whether I wanted in the Army or not after my first enlistment was up), so I spent that time with the 300th Army Band in Los Angeles. They issued me an old metal King sousaphone and a Miraphone 186-5U, CC, just like the one I owned. So, during that time, I took my personal tuba to the old Mirafone factory in Sun Valley (Los Angeles) to be overhauled and used the Army tuba (with my C.O.'s blessing) for gigs.

The last band I played with was the 19th Army Band at Fort Dix, New Jersey. There, they issued me a silver Conn sousaphone and a Meinl-Weston BBb tuba. Both were great horns, except the second sousaphone they issued me had been used by a guy who would smoke and play at the same time. Cleaning that tuba in the bathtub was icky. Hershey's syrup came out of the slides. (But I wouldn't dare try putting it on vanilla ice cream!)

All of the horns the Army issued me (and there were many others) were good, professional quality instruments. Generally, we usually had supply sergeants who were also tuba players.

[Evil Ronnie]

I was a bass trombonist in The Army Field Band of Washington, D.C., from 1973 to 1979. In those six years, I never heard even one word that we were ever required to play an army instrument, but top quality horns were provided. The band's supply NCO ordered us pretty much anything we wanted to use within reason, including mouthpieces. For the band's three bass trombonists (two in the concert band and one in the jazz band), that meant Holton 180's, dependent.

Our band had no barracks for single enlisted personnel, which meant that we all lived off base and recieved a housing allowance in addition to our regular pay.

When we weren't on tour, more privately owned horns would appear at rehearsals and gigs.

Most of us used army horns while on tour for obvious reasons. I kept my personal horn at home.

[runelk]

In the DC Air Force band we have HB-21s, a PT 20, a piston Rudy, 2 Conn 52J (sacks of crap), some CB50s, a Besson Eb, a couple of Rudy 5/4, a Yorkbrunner, a buttload of Conn fiberglass sousaphones for funerals, and another buttload of silver Kings for high profile jobs. The guy in the concert band has a HB-21 issued to him but I think he plays on his own HB-21.

[MikeMason]

So how long is a tuba kept and where are they all now?Looking at the recent TUBA journal with all those HB2's on the front makes me wonder.There're alot of high dollar tubas retired out there somewhere...

[tofu]

So how long is a tuba kept and where are they all now?Looking at the recent TUBA journal with all those HB2's on the front makes me wonder.There're alot of high dollar tubas retired out there somewhere...

I can't speak to how long they are kept, but I had a friend who retired after 20 years in a reserve unit last year and got to buy the Miraphone 186 he had in the reserve for it's depreciated value on the books which I believe was $800.