Hello all,
I'm new to the whole tuba stand thing. I've used the DEG stand in the past but gave up on it. The hardware wore out after lots of use and the padded material would start flaking off onto my horn and the floor. Just a messy situation.
I've briefly tried the BBC stand and liked it. Compact and well designed, but didn't fall in love with it.
Last year, I went for a lesson at my teachers house and we did a blind test. I turned my back and he played the same couple things (scales, beginning of Prok 5, etc) three times. They all sounded VERY different so I assumed he was switching mouthpieces on me. We tried this a couple times through and each time one stood out the most. When we finished I asked what the difference was and he said it was the stand he was using. The stand was designed and made by a former student of his. (board member "NeilMacQuarrie" ) The three times my teacher played for me were:
1) Tuba in lap
2) Tuba on stand
3) Tuba on stand with rubber feet removed (metal on floor) The winner everytime
I contacted Neil a few weeks ago and asked if he would mind constructing one of these stands for me. I received it yesterday and WOW what a stand!
It's constructed from a drum throne with the seat removed, a piece of plywood cut in a circle put in it's place with rubberized cork on top. I've been playing for some of my colleagues at school and it's a resounding conclusion: This stand is awesome!
Another unique feature of this stand is the ability to switch from CC tuba height to F tuba height very quickly. Neil has designed a kind of "stopper" on the stand. You can set the height for your horns and a cable will stop the stand at the top height which you've set for your tuba and then lower it again in an instant. I hope the pictures demonstrate this.
We had a masterclass last year with a tuba player and teacher from the United States who talked about his own stand and how it had the metal feet of the stand touching the floor directly. The theory is that the tuba can resonate more when it passes through a better conductor of vibration like wood (instead of rubber or plastic feet) I'm now a firm believer in this.
It's amazing how much easier things are when the tuba is not sitting in my lap and I'm constantly shifting in my seat to get comfortable or wrenching my shoulder from manipulating my 1st slide.
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=46729
I'm sold.
If you're interested, contact Neil on this board ("NeilMacQuarrie")
Thanks for looking,
Kory Major