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It dawned on me yesterday that I've seen a lot of Miraphone players that do not use the removeable thumb rings on their tubas. I don't use mine on my 1291 CC...do you?

I used it back in High School when I played a 191..

I miss the 191.. hmmm

For some reason, the ring on my 186 was set ridiculously high. I have to stretch my hand as far as I can to get my thumb into it and depress the 4th valve at the same time. So, I just rest my thumb under the 2nd valve ring.

josh_kaprun wrote:For some reason, the ring on my 186 was set ridiculously high.

I think it's just the opposite. It's pretty low for me when my I put my thumb in the ring. My most comfortable position is to rest my thumb on the "far side" of the thumb ring (like a kid in an inner tube).

I have gorilla hands, though...

I actually do use the one on my 281 f tuba. I have large hands and I'm able to adjust it to where it needs to be so I can work the 5th valve thingy.
I have had a love/hate relationship with the thumb ring....On the PT6 I play right now it's fine, I don't even notice it. The one on my Hirsbrunner 2P popped off so I just played without it. When I played an Alexander I only had four valves (and they were really heavy), so I rested my thumb under the second valve slide for more leverage. I think that's what I did with the 186 I played in high school, too....Though that may be due to it being a school horn and several years of shared hand oils making pock-marks on the inside of the thumb ring kinda grossed me out.

jszkutko wrote:It's just in the wrong place! Thankfully Miraphone, unlike Yamaha, have made their ring removable.

The Yamaha YFB-621 F has a removable thumb ring, but I need it

J.c.

Sure, I use the thumb ring on my 184. The horn was equipped with a left-hand-operated 5th valve, and I am too cheap to get it changed over. Sooo, I tied a cord to the thumb ring and fished it over to the 5th valve mechanism. I put my right thumb on top of it and press when I want to operate the 5th valve without involving the left hand. Cost me a whole couple of cents.

I'll post pictures later.

Otherwide the thumb ring is kind of superfluous, and too much use tends to give me a wicked callous at the base of the end joint of my thumb.

I saw a 1291 where the thumb ring was replaced with the shell cashing from a .44 magnum. Looked great, worked great, and VERY cool.

kingrob76 wrote:I saw a 1291 where the thumb ring was replaced with the shell cashing from a .44 magnum. Looked great, worked great, and VERY cool.

Doc?

I had the thumb ring removed from my Marzan slant-valve CC. Not because it was awkward, but I thought that it would encourage bad finger/hand habits. Now that my balance sucks, I had it put back on because it was just too much effort to get it to my chair and on my lap in the first place.

But I still don't think that you need it while you're playing. Just park your thumb by a slide and let your fingers do the walkin'...

It's darned near impossible to come with a 'one size fits all' location for stuff like leadpipes, thumb-rings, harness loops, and lyre holders. Fortunately most of that stuff is easy to move and they make tuba stands so it doesn't matter much where the leadpipe is located.

Even though I have the ability to put all that stuff where I want it, I still put my thumb under the 2nd valve slide on my 186 most of the time. It's sort of nice to have options for when my carpel-tunnel decides to act up! On my piston horns, I like to use as light a spring as possible and that just about eliminates the need for a thumb-ring.

Old age can be a pain in the axx!

I rest my thumb in the ring on my 186. After playing trumpet for many years, I have an aversion to using leverage on valves as you never push them straight if you do. Means a work out for my pinky, as my trumpet is only a three valver....

I alternately used and did not use the ring on my 187. At one point I rigged up a loop of thick boot shoelace and attached it to some of the bracing in the back, worked "ok". The finish was so nice, I never had the thumb ring moved. I started using a Blue Note strap with it to avoid supporting any of the horn's weight with my thumb in the ring - let my stronger, less apt to get screwed up, back muscles do the work.

EDIT: I forgot to add that one of my favorite things about my YBB-641 is that is has *no* thumb ring, just a nice thick run of vertical 4th valve tubing in more or less the right place to hook your thumb.

Eric "all about the ergonomics" L.