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Those familiar with the horn , what are the obvious and not so obvious upgrades ?
5th valve ? Longer 4th slide ? AGR ? Leadpipe ?
I'm starting to itch ...

KiltieTuba wrote:Second bell like Tommy Johnson's

Thought about that , nah ,,,

.

I like a nicely setup 2nd valve kicker; though not necessarily not 186's.

Even though the 186 is a very in tune tuba I've always been annoyed that the 3rd slide isn't more accessible. That's the slide I find the most need to move on a regular basis.

But as long as we are dreaming:
Add a 5th and 6th valve. 5+1 setup with a Miraphone tuned 5th and long whole step 6th.
Also, a kicker for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd slides... with requisite venting.
And for your left thumb, a main slide kicker that self re-centers and allows you to pull notes sharp or flat.

You could also drop in some carbon rotors to lighten up the action... or perhaps replace all the rotors completely with Rotax(from Willson) or another avant-garde design.

NO AGR, that would be silly.

Have a "tailoring" session with your tech to get the receiver at the right height and angle and the paddles tailored to your hand in breadth, length of paddle off the tang, and relative height so each right hand finger is as efficient as possible. A water key off the bottom of the 3rd or 4th circuit might be handy, depending on the player. If not already done, move the thumb ring so extraction of the 2nd valve slide is easier.

Sorry - on the BBb version, nothing helps that nested 4th valve slide.

I prefer the older start-smaller-more-taper leadpipes as well.

Last: if the tuba doesn't have the exact tone you desire, contact Tuba Tinker, who can advise on several different bells to change from the traditional point-and-shoot 16 1/2 inch bell or the modern "vanilla flavored" 17 3/4 inch bell.

Add a second water key to the main slide. Still need to do that to mine, but on my last rotary tuba, that was a great decision.

Would be cool too if you could get a vertical tuning slide on a 186, but that is way too risky.

bort wrote:Add a second water key to the main slide. Still need to do that to mine, but on my last rotary tuba, that was a great decision.
Would be cool too if you could get a vertical tuning slide on a 186, but that is way too risky.

Two questions:
1) Where on the main slide would you add the 2nd water key? Because of the way most people hold a standard rotary valve tuba, at least on the BBb version of the 186, the water key on the dogleg is just right to collect and empty water, even "on the fly."
2) Why would a person want a vertical slide, when the horizontal is in just the right place to adjust "on the fly"?

My old MW 30 had room to install a second water key on the back loop of the "pretzel," which was where all the water accumulated anyway. No more spinning.

Vertical vs horizontal slide is kind of pointless, but I just wonder how these things could play with less sharp turns in the slides (like Wade's old 180).

As for tuning, I can't remember a time I ever felt like a horizontal main slide was doing me a favor. Not hurting muv, but no clear advantages.

After all, isn't pimping out a tuba doing all sorts of unnecessary stuff to it anyway?

How about a Cronkhite leather bag? Some gold plated mouthpiece? A new lacquer job? or, strip the lacquer completely?

Cryogenic treatment!!!!!!

bloke wrote:Leave it alone.

The 186 (especially the 16.5" bell models) is one of those instruments that is just about perfect out of the box. It's not a BAT and doesn't pretend to be. Either it works for you, or it doesn't. If it isn't the right horn for you or for a specific application, find a different tuba.

Maybe new linkages? My old 188 has the nylon ball sockets, and they are still fine after 30 years of heavy use. Not sure they will last another 30 years, but that's not a huge problem either.

bort wrote:My old MW 30 had room to install a second water key on the back loop of the "pretzel," which was where all the water accumulated anyway. No more spinning.

On a 186, it is very efficient at draining water. The only problems are with the bottom of the 3rd or 4th circuits if condensation becomes an issue.

True, my 188 is good as well, but could always be better. Not worth the $ to change it though.