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So I just bought my first tuba! Being a bass trombone player with a little tuba playing experience many years ago, I'm rather new to this fascinating instrument. But I'm in love and who knows: maybe I'll sell my bass trombone and go all in on the tuba playing in a near future!
I bought an 30 years old Willson BBb tuba (model 2945) which no one in here seems to know anything about. Maybe it's a very rare model?
It plays really nice with resonant tone, I think, and having payed only $700 I'm extremely satisfied. But - it's a non-compensating 3+1 valve horn and the ergonomics really sucks.
To reach the fourth valve I have to hug it like I hug my best friend after long-time-no-see. Of course there's no way I can pull the first valve slide to compensate for intonation problems in the low register. In addition to that the 3 piston valves are surrounded by tubes in a way that gives me no possibility of operating a potential trigger with my right hand.
I've been googling and searching this forum for threads concerning atachable trigger systems but can't find anything that would be usable on my horn, since the 4th valve is placed so hopelessly far away from the 1. valve slide.
Being a big fan of DIY solutions in every sence, that brings me to my question: has any of you experimented with DIY trigger solutions that could solve my problem?
I've been doing a little thinking regarding a foot operated trigger system: something involving a drummers pedal and a brake cable (inspired by the braking system on racing- and mountain bikes).
I know it sounds a bit nerdy, but I simply can't see a way of operating a trigger by hand, since my left hand is on the opposite side of the first valve slide and my right hand is locked by the tubes surrounding it.
Maybe that's why I got the horn so cheap

Any DIY people out there?

Bertil

I'm certainly no expert on slide pulling and intonation, but I think I would want to explore all the other avenues before trying some strange contraption to pull slides. Something like what Oberloh built would work, but it is a custom job that will not come cheap. If you can do it yourself and/or access some off the shelf parts that are used for a standard euph that comes with one of these, that might ease the way.

It isn't clear to me that you couldn't lip your problem notes into tune or find alternative fingerings for them that would work. These alternatives are a lot simpler, it seems to me. For notes that don't require the fourth valve, you might find it possible to use your left hand to pull a slide. You'd really have to spend some time learning the horn and then playing it against a tuner to see where your problems are and then devise solutions for them. Sometimes a different mouthpiece might help bring some notes into tune, too. I don't think the folks at Wilson would have built a tuba that required this kind of correction and was unplayable without a contraption, but I'm sure there are such horns and maybe I am wrong. I just wouldn't get out my soldering iron before spending some time exploring other alternatives. Being a trombonist and being able to blow right into the center of every note may have spoiled you a little. As a trumpet player, I instinctively lip notes into tune on that instrument and the cornet and flugel. It might just be a technique issue. . .

You might try a simple ring or "T" lever attached to the tuning slide with a long rod so it's above the body of the horn. As a trombone player, you'd have no trouble listening and recentering the slide after you move it. You can find examples by searching for the systems Alexander tuba players have constructed for their horns.

The complicated system that's been posted assumes the the tuba or euphonium player can't be trusted or bothered to get it back on pitch.

Marzan tubas were built on this principle and the tuning slide faced up at the top of the horn while all of the valve slides pointed down. Unfortunately, they haven't been built in years...