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Does anyone have info on any left handed tubas around that I could possibly borrow, rent, or buy?

I'm a freelance musician in New York City, and two days ago had a bad accident which will require surgery to repair a broken right shoulder. I'm either going to have a tuba converted to left handed operation, or find one to borrow or rent so that I can continue playing. The recovery on my arm should last 4 months minimum, and I'm not going to take all that time off the tuba, since I'd like to continue to work for a living! (I'll also have some medical bills to pay.)

Thanks in advance for any info or leads!

Yikes, so sorry to hear your situation!

Might start by calling Matt Walters and see what he knows.

Other thoughts:
-- Converting a LH tuba might take significant time and $$$
-- Since it's your entire right shoulder (and likely upper back and rest of your right arm), will you have enough strength to transport/support/hold the tuba with only your left arm?

Maybe some sort of 3v upright tuba could be easily "flipped" and played with your left hand?

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bort wrote:Yikes, so sorry to hear your situation!

Might start by calling Matt Walters and see what he knows.

Other thoughts:
-- Converting a LH tuba might take significant time and $$$
-- Since it's your entire right shoulder (and likely upper back and rest of your right arm), will you have enough strength to transport/support/hold the tuba with only your left arm?

Maybe some sort of 3v upright tuba could be easily "flipped" and played with your left hand?

Thanks for the info and thoughts!

I'm going to put the tuba in a stand to hold it while I play. Something that holds the tuba up for me completely. Sumner Erickson had a stand like this. I'll probably end up using a luggage cart or golf bag roller to transport my tubas for the next year or two, since I certainly will not be using gig bags for at least a year.

Dear Mr. Bove,
I own a B&H (i.e. Besson) EEb Sovereign tuba. That is the large orchestra or band model, not the Imperial model. Because the valves are top action, one can hold this tuba and play it left handed. I have tried this myself on occasion, just to see how quickly the mind adapts to using a different hand for the fingerings. Although the fourth valve not reachable (being a 3+1 set up) you still have range to a low A, and perhaps some usable fake notes if you have to play off the end of the horn.
The old model Yamaha Eb has four top action valves. The BBb B&H Sovereign, or the old Yamaha equivalant, may also work in this fashion. You may consider a marching strap to stabilize the instrument.
Best of luck in your search for a solution.
Scott

Andy,

I am so sorry to hear about what you are going through. I'll send you a private message.

Mike Milnarik

kathott wrote:Dear Mr. Bove,
I own a B&H (i.e. Besson) EEb Sovereign tuba. That is the large orchestra or band model, not the Imperial model. Because the valves are top action, one can hold this tuba and play it left handed. I have tried this myself on occasion, just to see how quickly the mind adjusts to using a different hand for the fingerings. Although the fourth valve not reachable (being a 3+1 set up) you still have range to a low A, and perhaps some usable fake notes if you have to play off the end of the horn.
The old model Yamaha Eb has four top action valves. The BBb B&H Sovereign, or the old Yamaha equivalant, may also work in this fashion. You may have to use a marching strap to stabilize the instrument.
Best of luck in your search for a solution.

Are you saying you operate the valves with your left hand by reaching in through the front of the instrument? Sounds interesting. That could be a good solution.

bloke wrote: bloke "always trying to keep solutions to (hopefully) temporary problems simple and low-cost"


If you can't rest ANYTHING on EITHER shoulder, you can use one of these (below) and still play it left-handed:

Simple and low cost is definitely a plus. I'll be playing right handed again for sure at some point, although my chances of becoming an NFL quarterback are definitely going to go down...

Are there a variety of sturdy stands like that for regular tubas too?

What a dreadful thing to happen.

I wonder on a rotary tuba it would be possible to move the keys to the left hand side and put temporary linkage to the valves? If you don't have a rotary tuba, then you could get an old one to convert - to be restored to normal and sold once you recover.

Good luck!

Neptune wrote:What a dreadful thing to happen.

I wonder on a rotary tuba it would be possible to move the keys to the left hand side and put temporary linkage to the valves? If you don't have a rotary tuba, then you could get an old one to convert - to be restored to normal and sold once you recover.

Good luck!

Oh yeah... didn't Dan Oberloh (I think...?) do something like this?

bort wrote:

Neptune wrote:What a dreadful thing to happen.

I wonder on a rotary tuba it would be possible to move the keys to the left hand side and put temporary linkage to the valves? If you don't have a rotary tuba, then you could get an old one to convert - to be restored to normal and sold once you recover.

Good luck!

Oh yeah... didn't Dan Oberloh (I think...?) do something like this?

It was a front loader euphonium Scroll down the page: http://www.oberloh.com/gallery/Complete.htm

A top loader might be easier to convert. It might be possible by loosening the braces, rotating the valve cluster and making a custom mouthpipe. Of course, I'm not a horn tech. I don't even play one on TV.

Not what I was thinking of, but still cool. I remember seeing a photo of a rotary tuba (like a 186) made to be left-handed.

Bove wrote:Are there a variety of sturdy stands like that for regular tubas too?

The classic stand of this type is a Wenger Tuba Tamer.

http://www.wengercorp.com/Chairs/Tuba.html

I was also thinking it would be possible to build a temporary linkage setup for a rotary tuba. The stop arms would be backwards--but the linkage could be temporarily soldered to the left branch and threaded-rod linkages could be built in a short time. I think the only thing any tinkerer could do is deal with the stop arms.

Rick "thinking 'reversible' won't prevent restoring and selling the instrument after the crisis has passed" Denney

I wonder on a rotary tuba it would be possible to move the keys to the left hand side and put temporary linkage to the valves? If you don't have a rotary tuba, then you could get an old one to convert

I have seen that done on an Eb Saint Pete. It's not too complicated. The guy who had it used to play a three-valve front-action tuba left-handed, and did it for years.

Bloke's suggestion is still the simplest, but most top-action tubas can also be played left-handed if your arm is not too short.

Good luck!

I know of a Schilke (Yamaha) YBB-321 left hand tuba in the Indianapolis, Indiana are that may be for sale. Not exactly a professional tuba but let me know by private email and I'll put you in touch with the owner.

Bove,

Neptune is right, any competent brass repairman can make this modification as long as the rotary valves have ball and socket linkages. Here's a Mirafone that I modified a few years ago, this guy could still us his right thumb.

Such terrible news!

I have a friend that I met back in high school that has a Miraphone 188/186 (can't remember) that has the valves redirected to the left for medical reasons. His name is Eddie Brown and his username is Ejbrown1. I'm not sure if he frequents the board much but you might try to PM him to possibly get some advice as to how he approached the situation. Good luck!

-CT

A rotary tuba modification makes alot of sense. To do the same on a piston horn would require a greater deal of work. Don't bend yourself into a pretzel to play. I can't imagine that having to reach a great distance around your horn can do anything good for your airway...

Casey Tucker wrote:Such terrible news!

I have a friend that I met back in high school that has a Miraphone 188/186 (can't remember) that has the valves redirected to the left for medical reasons. His name is Eddie Brown and his username is Ejbrown1. I'm not sure if he frequents the board much but you might try to PM him to possibly get some advice as to how he approached the situation. Good luck!

-CT

I crossed paths with Eddie a few times years ago.

For a couple of years he had a St. Pete that was converted to play with the left hand. I believe he eventually ended up with a Miraphone 186 setup the same way. He went to UNT (I think) to study with Don Little...might be able to track him down that way?

Thanks to everyone for all the advice! You have all been very helpful.

update: Matt Walters is converting one of my rotary tubas for left hand use. I'll put it on a Tuba Tamer, and should be all set for the next few months.